Recording technicians work in a number of different industries.
Recording studio workers, also classified as sound engineering technicians, provide the basic hands-on experience necessary for recording live music as well as voices and sound effects. While most of these technicians work in recording studios with musicians, performers or providing backing tracks to movies or commercials, some engineers work in live theater or the movie production business. This industry incorporates professionals who have learned their trade through technical schooling or through hands-on apprenticeships.
Earnings
A 2009 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report on the earnings of sound engineering technicians listed the median annual wage of these workers at $46,370, with the lowest 10 percent taking home less than $23,420 and the top 10 percent earning more than $94,270. Wage earners in the middle of this field saw a yearly income between $32,450 and $67,010. The median hourly wage reported at $22.29.
Top Wage States
Washington, D.C. topped the list of states with the highest paying salaries for studio engineers with an hourly mean wage of $34.04 and an annual mean wage of $70,790. The remaining states in the top five in this 2009 BLS report were California ($33.58 per hour or $69,840 per year), Montana ($31.85 or $66,240), Georgia ($28.96 or $60,240) and Connecticut, with an hourly mean wage of $27.95 and an annual mean salary of $58,150. Los Angeles employed the highest concentration of recording studio workers nationwide, paying their engineers an hourly mean of $37.07 and a yearly income of $77,100.
Top Industry Jobs and Earnings
The motion picture and video industries marked the highest levels of employment in this industry, paying workers an hourly mean of $29.07 and an annual salary average of $60,470. The second highest industry to employ recording technicians is the sound recording industries, paying $26.63 on average per hour and $55,390 yearly. Radio and TV Broadcasting are in third place paying $25.61 and $53,270. The top paying industries are in software publishing and computer system design categories. Software publishers, according to the BLS, pay out an annual mean salary of $65,520, followed closely by computer systems design at $64,170.
Outlook
Between 2008 and 2018, this industry is expected to see a job increase of 6 percent --- slower than the national average for all occupations --- putting the overall employment numbers at 20,700 in 2018, a gain of 1,200 jobs over 10 years.
