Audio Recording Engineers

Employment of broadcast, sound, and video technicians is expected to grow about as fast as the average of other professions through 2032, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. New hardware and software is rapidly changing the way many recording engineers perform their jobs, making the entire audio recording process easier. These technological advancements will negatively affect job prospects for entry-level studio technicians whose more mundane recording tasks will increasingly be performed by computers and artificial intelligence. However, technology will also have some beneficial impact. On the other hand, as American media expands through technology and national and international markets such as digital cable and satellite broadcasting open up, opportunities for audio recording engineers will likewise increase.

With computer technology making the music recording process faster, easier, and ideally better, this will free up time in the studio—time that the studio managers can book with more recording sessions, which in turn may require a larger staff. As this technology becomes affordable, though, some performers, particularly rock or jazz groups, may choose to record themselves. With computers doing most of the grunt work and allowing complete control and manipulation of sound, some of these "home" recordings (also called "low-fi" recordings) can sound just as good as a studio recording for certain music genres. However, to take full advantage of digital and multimedia technology, contemporary musicians will still need to continue to seek out the expertise of trained and experienced sound engineers and technicians to produce the sound quality and mix required to produce high quality recordings.

Competition for jobs will be steepest in high-paying urban areas. Audio recording engineers will find jobs more easily in smaller markets and stations, and in small cities and towns.