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Broadcast Technicians

Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media · SOC 27-4012

2.0% AI Exposure — Medium
$59,570
Median Annual Salary
Average
O*NET Outlook
3,800
Proj. Annual Openings
21,110
Employment (OEWS 2025)
-5%/yr
Empl. growth (2019–2025)
98/100
AI Resiliency Score

AI exposure from the Anthropic Economic Index (2025); salary from BLS; skills from O*NET. See /sources.

Decision card

Career Evidence Passport

SOC 27-4012 evidence across exposure, wages, projections, postings, certified LCAs, skills, and transitions.

Proxy / seed data labeledDescriptive-only
SOC exposure
2.0%
Medium · Anthropic AEI
Automation friction
43/100
Moderate friction; broad SOC seed ORS job-requirements coverage.
Wages
$59,570
H-1B offered wage $55,000; LCAs are filings.
Projected openings
3,800
BLS EP 2024–2034; employment change -2.8%.
Observed/proxy demand
1
FY2025 certified LCAs; 4,359 postings in 2025.

Skill evidence

Critical ThinkingActive ListeningMonitoringOperations MonitoringWriting
  • H-1B values are certified Labor Condition Applications, not visa approvals.
  • Job postings are seed-static / seed-derived; treat as provider-ready proxy coverage until observed provider data is wired in.
  • Transition matches are directional skill-overlap context, not placement guarantees.
  • This release is a FutureGrid broad-SOC seed derived from public BLS ORS requirement concepts and categories, not direct occupation-level ORS survey estimates. It describes job requirements, not worker ability, AI capability, or displacement probability. Automation friction is a FutureGrid derived score and should be read alongside exposure, demand, wage, and projection signals.

Best transitions from here

Explore all pathways

Lower AI-exposure roles that reuse your skills, ranked by a transition score (skills that transfer, safety gain, pay and retraining effort).

AI Exposure Analysis

AI Exposure2.0%
AI Resiliency98/100
Exposure BandMedium
Sector Avg. Exposure18.3%

Across AI measures

Multiple exposure lenses for this occupation.

40.3%
Consensus
Actual adoption · Anthropic2%
AI capability · OpenAI52.4%
AI ability · AIOE66.5%
Automation baseline (2013) · Frey & Osborne74%

AI could do ~52.4% of this role but only ~2% is currently done with AI — a large capability-vs-adoption gap.

Top Skills

1.Critical Thinking
2.Active Listening
3.Monitoring
4.Operations Monitoring
5.Writing

H-1B Visa Sponsorship Demand

View full H-1B trends →

Certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications naming this occupation, FY2016–FY2025. A descriptive high-skill labor-demand signal — employer filings, not visa approvals or individual outcomes. Note: one LCA can cover multiple worker positions.

7
Decade Total (Certified LCAs)
1
FY2025 Volume
0% of all H-1B filings in FY2025
$55,000
Median Offered Wage (Latest Year)
#496 of 776
Rank by Total Volume
H-1B filing volume, FY2016–FY2025

O*NET occupation profile

What this work involves

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.

Common titles: Audio Engineer, Board Operator, Broadcast Engineer, Broadcast Maintenance Engineer, Broadcast Operations Engineer, Broadcast Technician

Representative Tasks

  • Report equipment problems, ensure that repairs are made, and make emergency repairs to equipment when necessary and possible.
  • Monitor and log transmitter readings.
  • Maintain programming logs as required by station management and the Federal Communications Commission.
  • 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.

Detailed Work Activities

  • Maintain recording or broadcasting equipment.
  • Notify others of equipment problems.
  • Operate communications, transmissions, or broadcasting equipment.
  • Maintain logs of production activities.
  • Monitor broadcasting operations to ensure proper functioning.

Tools & Technologies

Adobe After Effects · hotAdobe Illustrator · hotAdobe Photoshop · hotLinux · hotMicrosoft Outlook · hotMicrosoft PowerPoint · hotMicrosoft Windows · hotUNIX · hotAdobe Premiere ProApple Final Cut Pro

Employment Projections & AI Exposure

15
Occupations Shown
17.7%
Avg AI Exposure
3
Bright Outlook
Horizontal bar chart showing occupations with the highest projected annual openings. Each bar length represents annual projected openings. Color uses a gradient from violet (lower) to cyan (higher). Summary statistics are shown above the chart.

Employment & Wage Trend

BLS OEWS, 2019–2025


Occupation Employment & Wage TrendMulti-year BLS OEWS history for SOC 27-4012: 2019 — employment: 28,650, median wage: $40,570; 2020 — employment: 25,960, median wage: $43,570; 2021 — employment: 25,270, median wage: $44,740; 2022 — employment: 33,020, median wage: $60,700; 2023 — employment: 26,190, median wage: $57,690; 2025 — employment: 21,110, median wage: $59,570.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). See /sources.

Sector Comparison

MetricThis CareerSector Average
AI Exposure2.0%18.3%
OutlookAverage18% Bright
Median Salary$59,570N/A
AI Resiliency98/100N/A