Can Agents Work?

Jobs / Design, media, and writing / 27-4014.00

Sound Engineering Technicians

Assemble and operate equipment to record, synchronize, mix, edit, or reproduce sound, including music, voices, or sound effects, for theater, video, film, television, podcasts, sporting events, and other productions.

US jobs
13,080
Median wage
$73,130 a year
Job family
Design, media, and writing

Can agents do the work of sound engineering technicians?

We read the evidence at the level of the job family, Design, media, and writing:

  • Task levelPartialOnly adjacent evidence. OSWorld-Verified includes tasks in image, slide, and document apps, and the best agent passes 90.2% of all its computer tasks. No task-level benchmark in our collection scores the quality of design or writing work.
  • Project levelNot yetOn the Remote Labor Index, which includes graphic design, video, 3D, audio, and web projects from freelance platforms, the best agent completed 15.8% of projects to a standard a client would accept. GDPval deliverables score higher (84.9% wins or ties against professionals, reported by OpenAI), but those tasks are one-shot and fully specified.

Benchmarks for the job family

These cover work in design, media, and writing, not always this occupation's tasks.

Typical tasks

From O*NET 31.0. Core tasks first. Few of these tasks have a benchmark today.

  • Confer with producers, performers, and others to determine and achieve the desired sound for a production, such as a musical recording or a film.
  • Regulate volume level and sound quality during recording sessions, using control consoles.
  • Record speech, music, and other sounds on recording media, using recording equipment.
  • Separate instruments, vocals, and other sounds, and combine sounds during the mixing or postproduction stage.
  • Set up, test, and adjust recording equipment for recording sessions and live performances.
  • Report equipment problems and ensure that required repairs are made.
  • Prepare for recording sessions by performing such activities as selecting and setting up microphones.
  • Mix and edit voices, music, and taped sound effects for live performances and for prerecorded events, using sound mixing boards.
  • Keep logs of recordings.
  • Tear down equipment after event completion.
  • Synchronize and equalize prerecorded dialogue, music, and sound effects with visual action of motion pictures or television productions, using control consoles.
  • Reproduce and duplicate sound recordings from original recording media, using sound editing and duplication equipment.
Other job titles for this occupation (44)

Audio Engineer · Audio Operator · Mastering Engineer · Mixing Engineer · Mixing Technician (Mixing Tech) · Music Producer · Recording Engineer · Sound Editor · Sound Engineer · Sound Technician (Sound Tech) · Acoustical Consultant · Acoustical Engineer · Audio DSP Engineer (Audio Digital Signal Processor Engineer) · Audio Recording Engineer · Audio Technician (Audio Tech) · Audio Video Engineer · Disc Recordist · Dub Room Engineer · Film Recordist · Film Sound Coordinator · Film Sound Engineer · Mechanic Sound Technician (Mechanic Sound Tech) · Mechanical Sound Technician (Mechanical Sound Tech) · Mixer · Mixing Operator · Music Engineer · Musical Engineer · Play Back Operator · Producer · Public Address System Installer (PA System Installer) · Public Address System Mechanic (PA System Mechanic) · Public Address Technician (PA Tech) · Recordist · Rerecording Mixer · Sound Cutter · Sound Designer · Sound Effects Technician (Sound Effects Tech) · Sound Engineering Technician (Sound Engineering Tech) · Sound Equipment Mechanic · Sound Mixer · Sound Printer · Sound Recording Technician (Sound Recording Tech) · Sound Recordist · Theater Technician (Theater Tech)