About This Career

Sets up, maintains, and dismantles audio and video equipment, such as microphones, sound speakers, connecting wires and cables, sound and mixing boards, video cameras, video monitors and servers, and related electronic equipment for live or recorded events, such as concerts, meetings, conventions, presentations, podcasts, news conferences, and sporting events.

This career is part of the Arts, Audio-Video Technology and Communications cluster Journalism and Broadcasting pathway.

A person in this career:

• Notifies supervisors when major equipment repairs are needed.
• Diagnoses and resolves media system problems.
• Compresses, digitizes, duplicates, and stores audio and video data.
• Directs and coordinates activities of assistants and other personnel during production.
• Installs, adjusts, and operates electronic equipment to record, edit, and transmit radio and television programs, motion pictures, video conferencing, or multimedia presentations.
• Controls the lights and sound of events, such as live concerts, before and after performances, and during intermissions.
• Switches sources of video input from one camera or studio to another, from film to live programming, or from network to local programming.
• Records and edits audio material, such as movie soundtracks, using audio recording and editing equipment.
• Performs minor repairs and routine cleaning of audio and video equipment.
• Designs layouts of audio and video equipment and performs upgrades and maintenance.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

People who do this job report that:

• You would often handle loads up to 10 lbs., sometimes up to 20 lbs. You might do a lot of walking or standing, or you might sit but use your arms and legs to control machines, equipment or tools.
• Work in this occupation involves using your hands to hold, control, and feel objects more than one-third of the time
• Work in this occupation requires being inside most of the time
• Work in this occupation involves sitting more than one-third of the time

Working in this career involves (physical activities):

• Picking out a particular sound in the presence of other sounds
• Identifying color and seeing differences in color, including shades and brightness
• Seeing clearly at a distance
• Detecting sounds and hearing the differences between sounds of different pitch and loudness
• Seeing clearly up close
• Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
• Identifying and understanding the speech of another person

Work Hours and Travel

• Weekend work