Recording Arts Degrees

Recording arts degrees help students learn about recording technology. These programs focus on music, video sound and broadcasting. A degree in recording arts can help students become eligible for working as recording and mixing engineers, sound designers or music producer. Graduates can also qualify for positions such as sound effects editor, or broadcast technicians. Opportunities are also available in the movie, music, gaming, and video production industries. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the employment of broadcast and sound engineering technicians is expected to grow by 10% from 2010 to 2020, about as fast as the average for all occupations while jobs for audio and video equipment technicians are expected to grow by up to 19% during the same timeline as according to O*NET.

Broadcast and sound engineering technicians operate, monitor, and adjust audio and video equipment to ensure quality in radio and television broadcasts, and other performances. They record speech, music, and other sounds on recording equipment and also synchronize sounds and dialogue with actions in movie productions or TV. Audio and visual equipment technicians set up and operate audio and video equipment such as microphones, sound speakers, projectors and video monitors.

Students who are interested in pursuing a career as broadcast and sound engineering technicians or audio and visual equipment technicians can equip themselves with the knowledge and technical skills required to enter into this field by pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees in recording arts. They can work towards the associate, bachelor’s or master’s degree offered at the campus-based or online schools. They can take courses such as analog and digital audio, multi-track recording, recording techniques and mixing and editing among others. These programs also help learners improve their aural and aesthetic judgment.

Students who cannot attend regular classes due to busy work schedules or other commitments can work towards the recording arts degrees online. The online learning programs allow students to study at timings that suit their individual routine. But online degree programs require a lot of discipline so they require sticking to a personal schedule as well as being self-motivated relatively more than what is needed in pursuing the traditional mode of learning.

Graduates of recording arts degrees can possibly find a number of jobs. The ones who want to improve their job-hunt prospects should look for work in urban areas, particularly cities with an active music scene such as Austin, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. Compensation is subject to various factors such as location, type of job, qualification and experience. As of May 2012, the median annual income for sound engineering technicians was $46,310 while broadcast technicians made $37,880 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Students who want to work towards the recording arts degrees should look for programs that have been ranked highly. To find the most beneficial academic programs, you should compare between the programs in terms of the quality of staff, program content and fee structure.

States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Source: bls.gov