As going back to school time nears, recent reports indicate that the employment of sound and broadcast engineering technicians and radio operators is expected to grow 17 percent over the 2006 though 16 decade, which is faster than the average for all occupations.
However, job growth in radio and television broadcasting will be limited by consolidation of ownership of radio and television stations and by labor-saving technical advances, such as computer-controlled programming and remotely controlled transmitters. Digital broadcasting will increase employment opportunities.
Historically, music recording professionals use most audio communications technologies in their work. This includes recording, mastering and mixing music or adding sounds. Sound engineering technicians work in recording studios and at live events to monitor and operate the equipment for high-quality audio productions.
Recording engineers typically work on radio or television programs and operate recording equipment such as soundboards, tape machines and equalizers.
Within the music industry, recording engineers work to ensure high-quality primary tracks and then mix and master these tracks to produce a polished product.
In the television or film industries, recording engineers typically produce special effects sounds and oversee the integration of various elements into a program's complete audio track.
And then there are audio forensics specialists who use their knowledge of recording technology and audio science to provide evidence and legal assistance in a variety of circumstances. For instance, they might be asked to analyze audio surveillance tapes to identify the sources of sounds or voices. Or they might be asked to examine digital audio files for embedded information that might be linked to criminal activities.
Additionally, audio/video equipment technicians typically set up and operate audio and video equipment, including microphones, sound speakers, video screens, projectors, video monitors, and recording equipment. These professionals also operate sound and mixing boards and other electronic.
And then there are broadcast technicians operate equipment that regulates the signal strength, clarity, and the range of sounds and colors of radio or television broadcasts, and they also operate control panels to select the sources.
By February 2009, TV stations will only be allowed to broadcast digital signals, and therefore by law, they will be forced to turn off analog signals. Many radio stations are also beginning to broadcast digital signals, but there is no law that will require radio stations to convert. This means technicians who can install and operate digital transmitters will be in big demand.
Insofar as salaries, the median for recording engineers back in 2004 was approximately $38,000 per year, which has gone up by now. (Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), www.bls.gov)
Almost one half of all radio and television announcers, some of whom were disc jockeys, earned between $8.10 and $18.62 an hour in 2004. The highest-paid 10 percent made more than $32.98 an hour while 10 percent of the lowest paid earned less than $6.55
- In 2006, announcers held about 71,000 jobs.
- About 30 percent of these workers are in broadcasting, mainly in radio and television stations, with 17 percent working in the motion picture, video, and sound recording industries.
- Working in the evening, on weekends, and over holidays is common
- Sound engineering and broadcast technicians and radio operators held about 105,000 jobs in 2006. Their employment was distributed among the following detailed occupations:
- 30 percent worked in broadcasting (except Internet) and 17 percent worked in the motion picture, video, and sound recording industries.
- 13 percent were self-employed. TV stations, on average, employ many more technicians than radio stations employ. Some technicians are employed in other industries, producing employee communications, sales, and training programs.
- Film production jobs are primarily in New York City and Los Angeles.
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