Career Advice on How to Become a Broadcast TechnicianGeneral Career Information |
| You might not have a very clear idea as to what a broadcast technician does. Of course, that is what a job search or career planning is all about. In brief, a broadcast technician is the fellow (and yes, its still usually a guy) who sets up all sorts of equipment associated with radio and television broadcast. If you had ever seen one of these guys in action, you would likely remember the image of what he looks like due to the memorable rolled forward shoulders, ant-burningly thick glasses and generally defeated and crushed demeanor. |
Career Facts: |
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The broadcast technician is the guy who liked dealing with “stuff” more than people. But this isn’t a job that lets one completely hide from the world. You will be forced to interact with people on a daily basis. Yet, there will be prolonged moments where one can indeed hide and contemplate the correct way to level up the World of Warcraft forty-third level dwarf and so forth.
Once you have decided to embark on the exciting career path of the broadcast technician, you will be able to play with the equipment necessary to operate signal strength and clarity for television and radio broadcast. Yes, it comes with the power of knowing that you could, if you wanted, just turn it all off. But you won’t, will you?
This brotherhood of defeated souls, I mean movers and shakers in the exciting world of cutting edge technological development and implementation, also operates nifty and cool control panels. The broadcast technician even gets to switch from camera to camera on occasion and may even be seeing local programming live. Oh yes, it is that exciting. |
Career Opportunities and Job Outlook-Fair: |
| In 2006, there were about 38,000 people involved in the career, which has an expected job growth of twelve percent by 2016. New technology is constantly coming down the pipeline, and broadcast technicians are among the first to get to play with such new toys. With more and more high-definition and streaming technology appearing in the broadcast industry every year, there is ample opportunity to learn on the job constantly. |
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A Day in The Life: |
| Most days start with a fifth of gin, washed down by two and half beers, an episode of Two and a Half Men, soon followed by smoking two and half cigarettes. The average day in this career isn’t too exciting as broadcast technicians do much of the overlooked work that keeps the radio and television industry afloat. Increasingly, they are expected to know more and more about high-definition and digital technology and use this knowledge to make sure that the transmitters are transmitting and all equipment is functioning. It’s not necessarily exciting, but the job doesn’t require a college degree and top pay levels can actually be surprisingly high. |
Average Salary: |
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The average broadcast engineer earns about $31,000 per year with the top-ten percent earning a very respectable $65,000. This is excellent pay when one considers that the job does not require a college degree, which means no student loans for most people. With a decent rate of job growth on the horizon, those in the process of a job search who do not wish to attend college might want to take a good look at broadcast technician and audio video equipment technician. Further, broadcast technicians spend most of their time in well lit, relatively climate controlled conditions.
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$31k - $65k |
Career Training and Qualifications: |
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An associate’s degree from a community college is enough for most employers. Much of the job is also learned “hands on” because the technology changes very quickly.
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