What does an audio visual technician do? Were you constantly tinkering with the family sound system and television, on a mission to make it have a more enjoying audio and visual experience? Was your favorite class in high school the audio visual club? You may make a great audio visual technician. Here’s what you’ll do as an AV tech:
- Work in theaters, auditoriums, events, conferences, and more
- Set up and fix all the audio visual equipment for events
- Also, set up and fix all the audio visual equipment for residential and businesses
- Take apart and fix malfunctioning and broken equipment
- Set up equipment for optimal functioning for events
- Test equipment after you’ve repaired it to ensure it’s working properly
- Tear down after events
- Make service calls to customers
- You can specialize choose to specialize in a particular product
- Explain proper care and usage of equipment to your customers
You might work directly with a performer, in charge of all his or her sound and lights. Or you can work for a company that specializes in AV equipment, or even a manufacturer of it. You can take this type of job in whichever direction you want to go.
How to become an audio visual technician
For this career, there are a couple different educational paths you can travel along. Your job will be a bit on the physically demanding side, lifting heavy equipment and maneuvering at near-impossible angles. So, whichever route you take to because an audio visual technician, make sure you learn how to load and move the equipment safely.
- Graduate high school or get your GED.
- Realistically, you just need a certificate to become an AV technician.
- Most certificate programs take one year to complete.
- You can also get either an associate’s or bachelor’s degree, but it is not required for this career.
- Consider earning your Certified Technology Specialist certification. It’s completely voluntary, but it gives you that extra edge when you’re looking for a job.
There will be some employers out there who would really prefer it if you have a bachelor’s degree in areas like journalism or broadcasting. But entry-level AV techs usually do just fine with having a certificate or an associate’s degree.
How much will I make as an audio visual technician?
The median wage for audio visual technician jobs is $47K, and those who get paid hourly earn $22 per hour on average. What the median means is that half of those in your profession earn more, and the other half earns less. The top paying industries are aerospace product and parts manufacturing, which pays a median of over $84K, and wholesalers of small household products, for which the median salary is over $62K. The highest paying states in your industry are District of Columbia, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, and California, all of which pay over $53K per year.
Are there jobs available for AV techs?
Sure, there will be jobs. However, this occupation will experience a bit of a slow growth through 2026. But, have no fear, you can move to states like California, New York, Texas, Florida, and Nevada, because those five states will be seeing the majority of the employment growth. Or, you may want to stick to industries such as the motion picture and video industry, equipment rentals and leasing, higher ed schools like colleges and universities, and within radio and television broadcasting. Not to mention live performance establishments. Pay ranges between $43K-$53K in those industries.
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