Where a sound mastering engineer can go next
5 destinations recorded, ranked by how much of the target role a sound mastering engineer already meets. The closer to the top of Table 1, the less there is to learn.
Sound mastering engineers convert finished recordings to the desired format such as CD, vinyl and digital. They ensure the quality of the sound on all formats.
Also known as mixing & mastering sound engineer, audio mastering engineer, mixing and mastering engineer, mastering technician, audio mastering operator, mastering engineer, digital mastering technician.
Technicians and associate professionals 18 skills on file 5 career moves 0 above 60% overlap Closest: recording studio technician, 31%
- 70% and above · short step
- 50 to 70% · real move
- Below 50% · substantial retraining
Table 1 · A bigger jump
Possible, but expect real retraining rather than a sideways step.
Table 2 · What the job itself asks for
A sound mastering engineer needs 12 required skills and areas of knowledge. These 10 are the ones fewest other jobs share, so they say the most about the work.
- audio mastering arts and humanities
- operate audio-signal processors working with machinery and specialised equipment
- convert different audiovisual formats working with computers
- types of audiovisual formats arts and humanities
- audio technology arts and humanities
- assess sound quality constructing
- coordinate audio system programmes working with machinery and specialised equipment
- manage sound quality constructing
- audiovisual products arts and humanities
- audio editing software information and communication technologies (icts)
Table 3 · Jobs that lead here
The reverse view: occupations whose skills already cover much of what a sound mastering engineer does. The figure is how much of this job each one brings.
- recording studio technician 64% covered · difficulty 33.6
- music producer 62% covered · difficulty 35.8
- audio-visual technician 45% covered · difficulty 49.6
- broadcast technician 38% covered · difficulty 56.3
- podcast producer 38% covered · difficulty 55.7
- acoustical engineer 28% covered · difficulty 64.2
- radio producer 28% covered · difficulty 63.8
- boom operator 26% covered · difficulty 65
- broadcasting programme director 24% covered · difficulty 67.1
Look up another occupation
Sound mastering engineer is filed under Technicians and associate professionals, ISCO major group 3. The full index lists all ten groups.
How these figures were compiled
Overlap is how much of the target role is already part of a sound mastering engineer’s work. It is directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. Every entry above opens the full comparison for that move: what carries over, what is missing, and where to start. The full method.