Sound Engineering Technicians

People in this career often have these skills:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
• Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

People in this career often know a lot about:

• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

• Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

People in this career often have talent in:

• Hearing Sensitivity - The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Auditory Attention - The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.

• Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
• Selective Attention - The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

People in this career often do these activities:

• Collaborate with others to determine technical details of productions.
• Operate control consoles for sound, lighting or video.
• Operate audio recording equipment.
• Mix sound inputs.
• Notify others of equipment problems.

• Select materials or props.
• Maintain logs of production activities.
• Dismantle equipment or temporary structures.
• Convert data among multiple digital or analog formats.

• Audio and Video Technicians

• Media Technical Directors/Managers

• Librarians and Media Collections Specialists

• Broadcast Technicians

• Film and Video Editors

• Prepress Technicians and Workers

• Audiovisual Equipment Installers and Repairers

• Producers and Directors