What does a Broadcast Technician do?

Set up, operate, and maintain the electronic equipment used to acquire, edit, and transmit audio and video for radio or television programs. Day to day that includes work like report equipment problems, ensure that repairs are made, and make emergency repairs to equipment when necessary and possible and Monitor and log transmitter readings.

What skills should a Broadcast Technician put on a resume?

O*NET rates Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Monitoring, Operations Monitoring, and Complex Problem Solving among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Broadcast Technician list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe After Effects, Adobe Audition, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, and Adobe Photoshop. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Broadcast Technician work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Board Operator, Broadcast Engineer, Control Operator, and Audio Engineer. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Broadcast Technician need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 43% reported their level of education as "Associate's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Broadcast Technician role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Broadcast Technician resume example

A resume for a Broadcast Technician needs to show the work itself: set up, operate, and maintain the electronic equipment used to acquire, edit, and transmit audio and video for radio or television programs. Day to day that means work like this: report equipment problems, ensure that repairs are made, and make emergency repairs to equipment when necessary and possible; monitor and log transmitter readings. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Board Operator
Broadcast Engineer
Control Operator
Audio Engineer
Broadcast Maintenance Engineer
Broadcast Operations Engineer
Production Engineer
Audio Operator
Broadcast Operations Technician
Color Technician
Control Engineer
Control Room Operator
Control Room Technician
Digital Production Assistant
Engineering Operator
Engineering Technician
Facsimile Operator
Master Control Engineer

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

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.
Preview scheduled programs to ensure that signals are functioning and programs are ready for transmission.
Play and record broadcast programs, using automation systems.
Set up, operate, and maintain broadcast station computers and networks.
Select sources from which programming will be received or through which programming will be transmitted.
Install broadcast equipment, troubleshoot equipment problems, and perform maintenance or minor repairs, using hand tools.
Substitute programs in cases where signals fail.
Control audio equipment to regulate volume and sound quality during radio and television broadcasts.

27 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Report equipment problems, ensure that repairs are made, and make emergency repairs to equipment when necessary and possible, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Monitor and log transmitter readings, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Maintain programming logs as required by station management and the Federal Communications Commission, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Monitor strength, clarity, and reliability of incoming and outgoing signals, and adjust equipment as necessary to maintain quality broadcasts, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Adobe After Effects
Adobe Audition
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Premiere Pro
Apple Final Cut Pro
Autodesk AutoCAD
Avid Technology audio visual editing software
Character generator software
Cisco IOS
Dassault Systemes CATIA
Email software
Linux

24 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Audio mixer consoles
Audio patch bays
Desktop computers
Digital audio recorders
Digital video cameras
Digital video disk DVD recorders
Disk storage systems
Frame synchronizers
Integrated receiver decoders IRD
Laptop computers
Master control switchers
Modulators

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Critical Thinking
02Active Listening
03Monitoring
04Operations Monitoring
05Complex Problem Solving
06Writing
07Active Learning
08Equipment Maintenance
09Judgment and Decision Making
10Reading Comprehension

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Computers and Electronics
Telecommunications
Engineering and Technology
Communications and Media
English Language

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

43%Associate's Degree
27%Some College Courses
17%High School Diploma, or the equivalent

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Medium Preparation Needed”. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Common questions

What does a Broadcast Technician do?: Set up, operate, and maintain the electronic equipment used to acquire, edit, and transmit audio and video for radio or television programs. Day to day that includes work like report equipment problems, ensure that repairs are made, and make emergency repairs to equipment when necessary and possible and Monitor and log transmitter readings.
What skills should a Broadcast Technician put on a resume?: O*NET rates Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Monitoring, Operations Monitoring, and Complex Problem Solving among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Broadcast Technician list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe After Effects, Adobe Audition, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, and Adobe Photoshop. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Broadcast Technician work?: O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Board Operator, Broadcast Engineer, Control Operator, and Audio Engineer. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Broadcast Technician need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 43% reported their level of education as "Associate's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Broadcast Technician role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.