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Broadcast Technicians

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Set up, operate, and maintain the electronic equipment used to acquire, edit, and transmit audio and video for radio or television programs. Control and adjust incoming and outgoing broadcast signals to regulate sound volume, signal strength, and signal clarity. Operate satellite, microwave, or other transmitter equipment to broadcast radio or television programs.

Related: Audio & Video Technicians Electrical & Electronic Engineering Technologists & Technicians Electrical & Electronics Repairers, Commercial & Industrial Equipment Power Distributors & Dispatchers Robotics Technicians

Industries: Media & Communication

Summary
Details

Install broadcast equipment, troubleshoot equipment problems, and perform maintenance or minor repairs, using hand tools.
Discuss production requirements with clients.
Monitor strength, clarity, and reliability of incoming and outgoing signals, and adjust equipment as necessary to maintain quality broadcasts.
Observe monitors and converse with station personnel to determine audio and video levels and to ascertain that programs are airing.
Set up, operate, and maintain broadcast station computers and networks.
Organize recording sessions and prepare areas, such as radio booths and television stations, for recording.
Substitute programs in cases where signals fail.
Design and modify equipment to employer specifications.
Align antennae with receiving dishes to obtain the clearest signal for transmission of broadcasts from field locations.
Monitor and log transmitter readings.
Preview scheduled programs to ensure that signals are functioning and programs are ready for transmission.
Determine the number, type, and approximate location of microphones needed for best sound recording or transmission quality, and position them appropriately.
Give technical directions to other personnel during filming.
Monitor strength, clarity, and reliability of incoming and outgoing signals, and adjust equipment as necessary to maintain quality broadcasts.
Play and record broadcast programs, using automation systems.
Schedule programming or read television programming logs to determine which programs are to be recorded or aired.
Design and modify equipment to employer specifications.
Prepare reports outlining past and future programs, including content.
Report equipment problems, ensure that repairs are made, and make emergency repairs to equipment when necessary and possible.
Install broadcast equipment, troubleshoot equipment problems, and perform maintenance or minor repairs, using hand tools.
Edit broadcast material electronically, using computers.
Regulate the fidelity, brightness, and contrast of video transmissions, using video console control panels.
Set up and operate portable field transmission equipment outside the studio.
Select sources from which programming will be received or through which programming will be transmitted.
Schedule programming or read television programming logs to determine which programs are to be recorded or aired.
Maintain programming logs as required by station management and the Federal Communications Commission.
Report equipment problems, ensure that repairs are made, and make emergency repairs to equipment when necessary and possible.
Control audio equipment to regulate volume and sound quality during radio and television broadcasts.
Record sound onto tape or film for radio or television, checking its quality and making adjustments where necessary.
Develop employee work schedules.
Instruct trainees in use of television production equipment, filming of events, and copying and editing graphics or sound onto videotape.
Make commercial dubs.

Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
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.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
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.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
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.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
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.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

Education

Associate's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

Less than 1 month on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

56920/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

27.36/hr

Currently Employed

590

Yearly Projected Openings

Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines. They do well at jobs that need:

Attention to Detail
Dependability
Cautiousness
Integrity
Adaptability
Stress Tolerance

Audio mixing consoles
Camera controllers
Computer servers
Desktop computers
Digital camcorders or video cameras
Digital video disk players or recorders
Digital voice recorders
Frequency analyzers
Hard disk drives
Media control systems
Microphones
Minivans or vans
Modulators
Network routers
Notebook computers
Oscilloscopes
Personal computers
Radio frequency transmitters or receivers
Satellite receivers
Stage or projection or studio lighting system
Video cassette players or recorders
Video editors
Videoconferencing systems

Computer aided design CAD software
Desktop publishing software
Electronic mail software
Graphics or photo imaging software
Music or sound editing software
Office suite software
Operating system software
Presentation software
Spreadsheet software
Video creation and editing software
Word processing software

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