Industry Intel: 2016 Audio Engineer Salaries & Jobs (By Industry and Region)

It’s that time of year once again: Time when audio students begin graduating into the workforce en masse, and time to review the past years’ jobs data to see where the best prospects in the audio industry lie.

Each May—not too long before schools let out—the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases its latest job numbers, which they collected in May of the previous year. The main figures are based on the Occupational Employment Statistics (“OES”) survey, a questionnaire filled out by businesses about the workers they employ.

It’s that time again. Read our new 2016 audio jobs report.

Because this survey only tracks regular employees, and excludes both freelancers and the self-employed, it leaves out far more jobs than it includes. So as always, we’ll supplement this post with data from the Current Population Survey (“CPS”) as well.

The CPS data is collected a bit less frequently, and the study is smaller in scale, but it tracks the responses of individual workers in real households, helping to account for both freelancers and the self-employed. Comparing the two sets of data can lead to some interesting insights as well.

So, how many jobs are there?

The first time we explored these numbers, back in 2012, we found that despite all the stories of big studio closings, the number of jobs for “sound engineering technicians” actually increased by nearly 50% in the first decade of the 21st century.

This was followed by a slowdown in job growth—and in projections for future growth. As recently as last year, the BLS’ Occupational Outlook Handbook estimated that the number of “sound engineering technicians” would likely grow by just 1% through 2022. Faster job growth of 9% was anticipated when the categories of “broadcast technician” and “audio and video technician” were included.

This year, the BLS has nearly reversed its tune on this front: They are currently projecting 8% growth for “sound engineering technicians”, 12% growth for “audio and video equipment technicians” and job losses of -6% for “broadcast technicians” through 2024.

Of course, if governments actually did a great job of predicting where markets were headed, there’s probably a major bubble or two that we could have avoided in recent memory. Alas, that does not seem to be the case. So we’ll take their estimates of where we’re going a little less seriously than their estimates of where we are and where we have been.

As far as the total number of current jobs is concerned, the OES survey of employers counts just shy of 14,000 salaried “sound engineering technician” jobs in the entire country once again. But this only tells a small part of the story.

If we take the CPS survey into account (which makes an honest attempt to count freelancers and the self-employed) then estimates of the number of people working in audio jumps up to something more like 117,000 nationwide. It is worth noting that this is a drop of more than a 3.5% compared to the 121,000 figure released last year.

This disparity suggests a ratio of just over 8.3 freelancers who do some meaningful audio work for every 1 salaried “sound engineering technician”. (Also a slight drop from last year’s 8.6-to-1 ratio.)

How much do they pay?

When we first looked into the figures in 2012, we found that median salaries for audio engineers rose from $30,000 to $46,000 in the first decade of the 21st century. By 2015, the BLS reported that the median salary for audio engineers had continued to rise, reaching just shy of $50,000.

Now, in 2016, the BLS estimates that the median salary for audio engineers has gone higher still, up to $53,000, or a 6% increase from last year.

The average salary once again, was a bit higher than the median salary, rising nearly 9% from $58,000 last year to $63,000 in this year’s report. The average salary is higher than the median salary because the smaller number of folks who earn more than the median can sometimes earn a lot more: The top 10% of earners averaged near $119,000 (up about 11% from $107,000), while the bottom 10% earned just shy of $23,000 annually (basically flat since last year).

When we first crunched the numbers in 2012, the highest incomes—and the highest levels of job growth—were in “Motion Picture & Video”. But in our 2015 report, audio engineers in the “Software Publishing” sector beat them out by a hair with average salaries of $79,000 for software compared to $75,000 for video.

In 2016, these two fields have both increased once again, and are neck-and-neck once more, with the video sector back in the lead at just under $83,000, and the software field close at its heels at $81,000. There are still a lot more audio engineers working in film & video than in software, but the gap has narrowed significantly since just last year, from a ratio of roughly 100:1 down 38:1.

But there’s a new entrant into the mix here: For the first time, audio engineers in the tiny category of “Computer Systems Design and Related Services” were making the beaucoup bucks with average salaries of roughly $100,000, putting them in the lead overall.

(Presumably, some reclassification of software engineers into the “computer systems design” category could be responsible for some of the slower salary growth in the “software” category when compared to video.)

The relatively small number of audio engineers working in “spectator sports” and “amusement parks” were once again among the highest earners even though both categories actually saw a slight drop since last time, from $72,000 down to $71,000 in spectator sports and $69,000 down to $67,000 for amusement parks. With such a small sample size however, it may not be worth reading too much into that small decline just yet.

What most people tend to ask about of course, are audio jobs in the music field. Sound engineering technicians who were identified as working in the “Sound Recording Industries” earned around $52,000, up from $47,000 last year. Once again, this was just slightly below the average for the audio field as a whole.

The much smaller number of audio engineers whose employers identified them as “Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers” earned an average of $60,000, which is down slightly from about $62,000 last time. Once again, the very small sample size for this category means we should take this change with a grain of salt, and avoid predicting a trend before one becomes clear.

If you are somewhat puzzled as to how each category is defined, don’t worry, you are not alone! Many of these category definitions are about as clear and transparent as the tax code.

At this point, it’s worth remembering that we’ve been looking at the “OES” data of salaried employees because it is based on mandatory employer reports, making this the most detailed and exacting data available.

The more casually-collected “CPS” data—which works to include freelancers and the self-employed as well—puts the median salary of the field a bit lower, at around $42,000 rather than $53,000.

While this may seem like a significant difference at first, it’s worth noting that many freelancers may work fewer hours in total each year. It’s also worth mentioning that the CPS survey likely suffers from greater reporting errors, a self-selection bias toward the least busy workers, and a greater likelihood for respondents to think in terms of net rather than gross pay. All of that is not to mention the greater propensity to round down one’s annual income when talking to a person who is representing the Federal government.

As always, a word of caution here: Although all these salaries look reasonable on paper, it’s worth stating that an “average” is neither a minimum nor a guarantee. It is always worth remembering that these averages won’t factor in the wages of aspiring professionals, who may often earn $0, or “too-little-to-report.”

Where are the jobs, by region?

So far, the numbers we’ve been looking at have been based on national averages. But local markets can vary significantly.

Once again, New York and California alone are home to nearly 47% of all of the audio jobs on the books at the BLS, making that a natural place to start looking.

There were some big changes in this front between our last two reports. From 2011 to 2014, the ratio of sound technician jobs in California vs New York went from about 1:1 to nearly 2:1, in just three years alone! In the latest data, the ratio has remained fairly steady, at just over 1.9:1.

This suggests that a lot of engineers moved from New York to California in recent years. But the tide may turn again in the future, based on salary trends. More on that in a minute.

After these two behemoths comes Tennessee, which was home to almost 4% of all the salaried audio jobs.

Following on its heels is Florida, which also claimed just under 4% of total jobs, but which is down from 5% in 2015 and 15% in 2012. This could help explain some of the salary decreases we saw in the “amusement park” category earlier on.

Georgia, Connecticut, Washington, Nevada and Colorado came next, ranging from 3.2% of the total market for Georgia down to to 1.7% of the total job market for Colorado.

Texas, which made the chart last year at around 4%, was suspiciously absent this year, presumably falling below Colorado’s 1.7%.

We can get even more granular than this and look not just at states, but at individual cities. By this measure, Atlanta, Nashville, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Hartford and Boston all make it into the top 10 for the number of audio jobs—although at a much smaller scale than New York or LA.

Some cities didn’t do quite as well as they have in the past: Denver and Washington D.C. fell out of the top 10 number of jobs this past year, while Chicago and Las Vegas fell out in our last report. Whether this is from a decrease in the total jobs, or from a switch to freelancing over salaried positions is not clear from the survey data.

Some very small and unexpected markets have an unusually high concentration of audio jobs compared to the total number of workers. By this metric, New Orleans, LA; Hartford, CT:, Salt Lake City, UT; Bridgeport, CT: Davenport, IA: and Richmond, VA are nipping at the heels of L.A., New York City, Atlanta and Nashville. They may not have as many total audio jobs, but they do have a surprisingly high number of audio jobs per capita.

How much do they pay, by region?

The first time we evaluated these numbers, back in 2012, sound engineers in LA reported the highest average salaries in the nation. But this was no longer the case by 2015.

Between our 2012 and 2015 reports, the average salaries for L.A. sound engineers decreased from $83,000 down to $67,000, for a loss of -7% in 3 years, taking them from the #1 slot down to #3 today. As of 2016, L.A. audio engineers have made back some of their losses with average salaries now just shy of $76,000.

Meanwhile, here in New York, the average income for audio engineers actually went up between 2012 and 2015 from $66,000 to $73,000 for an 11% increase, edging out L.A. for the #2 slot once again. As of this 2016 report, New York engineer salaries increased once again, to just shy of $77,000.

It seems reasonable to assume that the salary drop in L.A.—and the corresponding salary increase in NYC—may have been due in great part to the migration of thousands of audio engineers leaving New York for L.A. in recent years, following the trail of moneycrumbs out west.

This interpretation makes good sense, as one would assume that the lowest-paid NYC engineers would be the most likely to leave and seek their fortunes elsewhere, helping to increase the average of those who remained. Meanwhile, the huge influx of green engineers into L.A. would likely lower the market price of audio engineers there toward a new equilibrium.

With that said, it’s also worth noting that the cost of living is about 20% lower in L.A. than in NYC, meaning that direct comparisons of income may not be entirely relevant. An engineer earning $76,000 in L.A. may very well have a higher standard of living than an engineer making $77,000 in New York—depending of course, on their own values and preferences.

Also high on the list for average salaries were the relatively small number of engineers in Las Vegas (#1 at over $80,000), Seattle (#6 at $74,000) and Denver (#10 at over $68,000). Included in the top ten were several other California cities as well, notably Anaheim, San Diego and San Francisco.

Although salaries are lower across the largest southern markets like Nashville ($58,000) and Atlanta ($46,000), the costs of living are also far lower in these areas, so conditions may be comparable to, or even better than, the big cities from a quality-of-life standpoint. It wouldn’t be surprising if engineers in the bottom 50% of earners in Southern markets had more room to stretch out in their homes than the top 50% of earners in New York!

How much training do I need?

The Occupational Information Network (O*NET), a joint project from the US Department of Labor and the Employment & Training Administration (USDOL/ETA) offers some estimates about education levels required for audio work:

According to their data, 31% of these jobs required at least a high school diploma, 25% required a post-secondary certificate from a vocational school, and 22% required at least an associates degree.

Presumably, the remaining 22% either required a bachelor’s or higher degree, or required no training at all. Unfortunately, that distinction was not made, which would have been useful.

Fortunately (because I am a nerd) I did my own original research when I ran a large audio school in New York in 2014 and 2015. When I surveyed employers there for my own edification, 22% of them expressed no minimum education preference at all.

43% of the employers who responded preferred at least a post-secondary certificate from a vocational school, 21% preferred at least an associate’s degree, and just 14% preferred a bachelor’s degree as a minimum credential.

While 64% percent of employers in the field said that an associate’s degree credential offered applicants “an advantage” in hiring, only 14% considered any kind of degree “a necessity”.

None of the employers who responded to my survey expressed any preference or requirement for candidates to have a master’s degree or higher.

I also collected some numbers on what kinds of audio jobs students found soon after graduation in the New York area. As of 2015, it broke down like this:

Live Events (Live Sound, A/V, DJ): 61%
Music Production (Recording Engineer, Freelance/Self Employed, Record Label): 18%
Sound for Multimedia/Sound for Picture (Post-Production, Audio Books, Broadcast): 15%
Other (Pro Audio Sales, Education): 7%

Tellingly, employment in the “live sound” category increased by almost 50% over a 3 year period, while employment in the “music production” category dropped by nearly 50%. Employment rates in “mulitmedia/sound for picture” and “other” stayed fairly constant as a percentage of job placements.

It’s also worth noting that over this same period, there was an increase in both the total number of graduates, and the percentage of graduates who quickly found relevant jobs. However, since the total number of graduating students increased, so did the raw number of students who couldn’t find jobs—even as their percentage decreased as a portion of the whole! So again, direct comparisons can only go so far.

There’s a lot of nuance in numbers like these when you dig deep. As always, no isolated statistic can tell the whole story. We need logic and sound reasoning to craft realistic narratives that truly make sense of the numbers.

What’s next?

One thing I know for certain of is that trying to predict the future too precisely is a fool’s errand. A trend will often continue unabated, until at some point it can no longer go on, at which point it may quickly reverse.

Because of this, it’s wise to approach employment statistics with some principled scrutiny and skepticism. I also like to try and remember that many of these numbers come from the US government. Though a well-meaning and well-educated bunch no doubt, they are also working within the same kind of institution that brings you the Post Office, DMV, VA, and FCC— none of which are widely renowned for their foresight or infallibility.

What we can say with some certainty is what has happened recently, and what is happening right now. We can also make some reasonable guesses about what trends are likely to continue for some time, barring major shocks. Here are a few things that I’m reasonably sure of:

1. The world now has more video, and therefore, more recorded sound than ever before. As companies continue to figure out more ways to monetize streaming web video, we can only expect more jobs there.

2. Recorded music, after a decade-long beating, is finally on a subtle upward trend again—aided in part by the slow but certain monetization of streaming audio services, as well as crackdowns on pirate websites. These developments have finally begun to make “paying for music” seem like the more convenient option once again, as well as the more ethical one.

3. Live events—both in music and in the corporate sector—are attracting more revenue than ever before. In the age of a non-stop stream of digital tools and information, people seem to be refreshingly willing to pay more for real-life experiences once again. That’s good, because evidence suggests that experiences make us happier than things.

4. Video games continue to bring in more dollars than movies and recorded music combined. The number of audio professionals employed here is small at the moment, but swiftly growing. Of course, more money often attracts more competition. Look for this field to continue to grow in the future.

5. As long as there is audio, there will be jobs in audio. Sometimes more and sometimes less. But this much is certain: Short of the collapse of civilization as we know it, audio isn’t going anywhere.

Justin Colletti is a mastering engineer, educator and writer who lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Please note: When you buy products through links on this page, we may earn an affiliate commission.