Sound technician

Sound technicians set up, operate and maintain sound recording and transmission equipment for radio and television, podcasts, concerts, movies and other audio productions.

Also known as

Audio technician, sound operator, sound engineer, audio engineer, sound recording equipment controller, radio control room technician

Work environment

  • Usually work long and irregular hours, including evenings and weekends
  • May work in studios, concert venues and outdoors
  • May work in noisy conditions
  • Need to be creative, practical and work well under pressure

Salary information

MOST COMMON
UPPER
LOWER
$50K-$147K 50000

Typical tasks

  • Operate audio recording equipment
  • Collaborate with others to determine technical details of productions
  • Mix sound inputs
  • Operate control consoles for sound, lighting or video
  • Select materials or props
  • Maintain logs of production activities
  • Notify others of equipment problems
  • Convert data among multiple digital or analogue formats

Outlook

Sound production is evolving as digital audio technologies, live streaming, immersive audio and content creation platforms become more widely used. In New Zealand and internationally, the growth of podcasts, live events, gaming, film and digital media continues to create new opportunities for audio production. Advances in recording, editing and audio-processing technologies are influencing how sound is captured and delivered.

What employers and industry want in graduates

  • Strong technical and audio production skills
  • Attention to detail and sound quality
  • Problem-solving and troubleshooting ability
  • Confidence using digital audio software and equipment
  • Teamwork and collaboration skills
  • Adaptability to new technologies and production methods

AUT programmes

The above is a suggestion only and a starting point. You may need to meet other criteria or take additional steps to work in this career.

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This data is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahtu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. Some of the information has been modified by AUT. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this data.