Audio and Video Technicians
Set up, maintain, and dismantle 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.
Most important skills
- Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Operations Monitoring
- Complex Problem Solving
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Speaking
Key knowledge
- Computers and Electronics
- Communications and Media
- English Language
- Telecommunications
- Fine Arts
- Engineering and Technology
- Customer and Personal Service
- Education and Training
What the work involves
- Notify supervisors when major equipment repairs are needed.
- Design layouts of audio and video equipment and perform upgrades and maintenance.
- Perform minor repairs and routine cleaning of audio and video equipment.
- Switch sources of video input from one camera or studio to another, from film to live programming, or from network to local programming.
- Compress, digitize, duplicate, and store audio and video data.
- Direct and coordinate activities of assistants and other personnel during production.
- Record and edit audio material, such as movie soundtracks, using audio recording and editing equipment.
- Control the lights and sound of events, such as live concerts, before and after performances, and during intermissions.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Artistic.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Bachelor's Degree (42.7% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (36.5%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 3 months, up to and including 6 months (44.2%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 3: Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Audio and Video Technicians is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very low | Lower on contact with others than 83% of occupations compared | 55% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | High | Higher on dealing with the public than 64% of occupations compared | 44% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Very high | Higher on teamwork than 82% of occupations compared | 76% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | High | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 77% of occupations compared | 56% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Moderate | Higher on time pressure than 51% of occupations compared | 45% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | Moderate | Lower on conflict situations than 52% of occupations compared | 60% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 54% of occupations compared | 42% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | Very low | Lower on consequence of error than 84% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “Not serious at all” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: moderate
- Conflict situations: moderate
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- Consequence of error: very low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 27.71%
- Contact with others about half the time: 14.17%
- Contact with others most of the time: 2.86%
- Constant contact with others: 55.26%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2018
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 14.22%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 23.31%
- Very important: 18.31%
- Extremely important: 44.16%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2018
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0.07%
- Fairly important: 7.4%
- Important: 0%
- Very important: 16.69%
- Extremely important: 75.84%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2018
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 3.42%
- Limited freedom: 4.14%
- Some freedom: 36.03%
- A lot of freedom: 56.41%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2018
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 3.42%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 28.43%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 45.06%
- Every day: 23.09%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2018
Conflict situations
- Never: 6.85%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 21.23%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 59.76%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 9.11%
- Every day: 3.05%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2018
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 2.95%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 41.68%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 22.99%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 32.38%
- Every day: 0%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2018
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 39.04%
- Fairly serious: 27.19%
- Serious: 3.6%
- Very serious: 30.17%
- Extremely serious: 0%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2018
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O*NET-SOC 27-4011.00 · SOC 27-4011 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8