Sound Engineer
Make live shows, records and broadcasts sound the way they were meant to.
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- Typical pay
- €25k–€52k
- Usual education
- Portfolio-led
- Outlook
- Freelance-heavy; reputation and reliability matter more than credentials.
A day in the life
Setting up and line-checking, mixing during the show, packing down late, and building relationships with the artists and venues that book you again.
Ways in
- Music technology course
- Venue crew then engineering
- Studio assistant route
What to study at 16
The subjects you choose for the final years of secondary school can shape which degrees, exams and careers are easiest to reach. This is about choosing courses, not choosing a school.
Spain
Bachillerato de Artes
Portugal
Línguas e Humanidades
France
Bac technologique
Italy
Liceo classico / scienze umane
Netherlands
Profiel Cultuur & Maatschappij
Belgium
KSO – Artistic secondary
Skills that matter
Best courses to take
The study routes that lead most directly into this career.
BSc/Diploma Music & Sound Engineering
Recording, mixing and live sound in professional studios.
Studio and live sound training.
Helpful school subjects: Music, Physics
Video, DJ and Sound (Grado Superior)
Live and studio sound, recording and post-production for film, music and events.
Live and studio sound with equipment you will meet on the job.
Helpful school subjects: Sound engineering, Recording, Live events
Places that hire for this
Dentsu Creative
Recruits for this role through internships, apprenticeships and graduate entry routes.
Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian
Scholarships and traineeships across museum, music and grants programmes.
Havas
Recruits for this role through internships, apprenticeships and graduate entry routes.
Media Capital / TVI
Live studio, camera and editing roles for juniors on TVI and CNN Portugal.
Media.Monks
Recruits for this role through internships, apprenticeships and graduate entry routes.
Nerd Monkeys
Tiny indie studio; a strong portfolio matters more than a degree.
Observador
Multimedia juniors write, record podcasts and edit their own video.
Ogilvy
Recruits for this role through internships, apprenticeships and graduate entry routes.
Publicis Groupe
Recruits for this role through internships, apprenticeships and graduate entry routes.
RTP — Rádio e Televisão de Portugal
Curricular estágios in newsroom, sound and post-production.