How does a recording engineer get paid, and what is the average salary for a typical engineer? What is the average salary for a "top-of-the-industry" engineer?

There are really too many variables to give much of an answer to this. When I graduated from the recording engineering school I attended, they told us, starting out, assistant engineer averaged about $16,000/year. However, many times you will first take on an internship. Many people are now operating home studios because of the easier access to the industry that digital recording has created. Where you live and how hard you work will be major factors. It is really hard to give you a guess. Like anything in the industry, how hard you work and how bad you want it will help determine your success. Good luck!

jswope wrote:

There are really too many variables to give much of an answer to this. When I graduated from the recording engineering school I attended, they told us, starting out, assistant engineer averaged about $16,000/year. However, many times you will first take on an internship. Many people are now operating home studios because of the easier access to the industry that digital recording has created. Where you live and how hard you work will be major factors. It is really hard to give you a guess. Like anything in the industry, how hard you work and how bad you want it will help determine your success. Good luck!

Isn't that about $8/hour if you work a 40 hour work week?

I hope it gets better, quickly, if you're a good assistant engineer. $16,000/yr isn't really liveable.

We were told $8 to $9 an hour. As I said, that was an assistant engineer, not the engineer. There are so many variables, that was just the average that was presented to us by industry professionals that work with job placement for students.

What does the assistant engineer do, and how long does it usually take to get a real job from assistant engineer.

You can get more than $8/hr without going to school at all in NYC in manhattan, so it's hard to believe that figure.

That numbe is a national average. Assistant engineers can make more than that certainly. The cost of living is much higher in Manhattan than say, Southern PA, therefore you will make more at a nice studio there than a small studio in Harrisburg. Also, will you have that job with or without taking an internship first? As I said, you can certainly make more than that, but $8-$9 was the national average when I graduated.

People have told me that it really depends on how good you are, and how fast you can do it.
I have met engineers who take 50 dollars an hour... I can imagine what the top dogs charge.
Wonder what Bruce Swedien takes...

wowww!!!!, i been busted!!!! i'm working like assistant engineer in a big studio here in Argentina, and earn $4 (pesos is our money) by hour, and i'm working like between 10 and 16 hours per day.
Just to you have an idea 1 american dollar here in Argentina are 3 pesos.
And i tell you, just a comment... i'm live by my self, alone, i don't live like a king, but i survive!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cheers...
MARTIN

kasper wrote:

People have told me that it really depends on how good you are, and how fast you can do it. I have met engineers who take 50 dollars an hour... I can imagine what the top dogs charge. Wonder what Bruce Swedien takes...

Bruce Swedien actually just visited our school, Full Sail, last week. last month i got to meet Phil Tan.

and people say this school isn't worth the money



-josh

The thing that needs to be remembered is that for every person that thinks $8 is too little, there are ten people who will work for sometimes even less just to get their foot in the door. Is the old "supply and demand" situation. Back in '89 I was able to get a job at a studio for $20/hr(no benefits) and that was only because I had a ton of technical repair experience and spent most of my time fixing multitracks, mixing consoles, mics, and outboard gear. I also got offered a regular recording/mixing engineer position, but for the same pay I was getting for repairing their equipment. The other "assistant" engineers were getting paid $5/hr, and this was in Los Angeles.

And in '89, 20 an hour was a LOT of money. In retrospect, wasn't min wage like $4.15 / hr back then?

The best answer is, not enough.... heheheh nah its a decent living, but it depends on if you run the studio, if you own the studio, or if you are a seat filler.
personally, I run and partly own my studio, so what I make is up to me. Some months, we feast, some we famine. Best year I had in session work was like 60K (before taxes) and worst year was nothin (after taxes). Put your ear to the ground first and find out what kind of money is out there. Doesnt hurt to be clever and start recording your buddies podcasts for cheap! heheh just be clever and find your niche to money.

thanks for the info rage....just wonderin' where exactly your studio is? obviously LA studios will make more than a town of 5,000 people....thanks

LiBiD24 wrote:

thanks for the info rage....just wonderin' where exactly your studio is? obviously LA studios will make more than a town of 5,000 people....thanks

I'm in Macon, GA, just about 45 mins south of Atlanta. Now, I grew UP in Los Angeles and spent the first 18 years of my life there. THATS where I got started. Opportunity knocked out in the south, so I came here twords the knockin. It seems like studios are closing down everywhere else but here. One pops up every day, seems like. Anywho, the south may not make as much money, but the cost of living is WAY less than west coast or northern cities, therefore, my dollar goes a llittle longer.
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The revolution will not be televised... you'll hear it coming.

here in middel east im the only engineer in the studio where i work and i get about 10.000USD /Year + som free lances , in average i get about 15 To 18000 /year depend work , so u can see that im building my PR here cause a studio eng.+experiences here cost about 25.000$ and more /year and i want to get this target
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The only space where i feel like a king ..... My Studio