Audio-visual technician to broadcast technician
An audio-visual technician already meets 42% of what the broadcast technician role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
64.5/ 100
1 How much of what a broadcast technician is expected to do is already part of an audio-visual technician’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the broadcast technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A broadcast technician role treats 9 of its required skills as things an audio-visual technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- audiovisual products
- calibrate electronic instruments
- coordinate activities in audio recording studio
- maintain audiovisual equipment
- maintain electrical equipment
- maintain electronic equipment
What stands in the way is 10 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 16 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A broadcast technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an audio-visual technician background worth leading with.
- already held operate broadcast equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held operate remote broadcast equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held set up audiovisual peripheral equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held coordinate activities in audio recording studio management skills
- already held set up sound equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held maintain audiovisual equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
All 16 carried skills, including the 9 the broadcast technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 26 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn monitor quality of broadcasts required
- still to learn select recording source required
- still to learn set up broadcast equipment required
- still to learn operate electronic measuring instruments required
- still to learn install low voltage wiring required
- optional, not held adjust video transmissions optional
- optional, not held align antennae with receiving dishes optional
- optional, not held broadcast using Internet Protocol optional
- optional, not held maintain broadcast equipment optional
- optional, not held set up portable field transmission equipment optional
- optional, not held record multi-track sound optional
- optional, not held operate audio-signal processors optional
- still to learn broadcast equipment required
- still to learn media formats required
- still to learn multimedia systems required
- optional, not held audio technology optional
- still to learn electronics principles required
- optional, not held ICT communications protocols optional
- still to learn meet deadlines required
- optional, not held develop programming schedule optional
- optional, not held administer ICT system optional
- optional, not held assemble video tape footage optional
- optional, not held execute integration testing optional
- optional, not held maintain internet protocol configuration optional
- optional, not held provide multimedia content optional
- optional, not held signal cues to announcers optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a broadcast technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 monitor quality of broadcasts practise this
- 02 select recording source practise this
- 03 set up broadcast equipment practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 16 skills that carry over
- already held audiovisual products knowledge
- already held calibrate electronic instruments skill
- already held coordinate activities in audio recording studio skill
- already held maintain audiovisual equipment skill
- already held maintain electrical equipment skill
- already held maintain electronic equipment skill
- already held manage sound quality skill
- already held operate audio equipment skill
- already held use audio reproduction software skill
- already held assist multimedia operator skill
- already held audiovisual equipment knowledge
- already held edit recorded sound skill
- already held operate broadcast equipment skill
- already held operate remote broadcast equipment skill
- already held set up audiovisual peripheral equipment skill
- already held set up sound equipment skill
16 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held adjust video transmissions optional
- optional, not held align antennae with receiving dishes optional
- optional, not held broadcast using Internet Protocol optional
- optional, not held maintain broadcast equipment optional
- optional, not held set up portable field transmission equipment optional
- optional, not held signal cues to announcers optional
- optional, not held ICT communications protocols optional
- optional, not held administer ICT system optional
- optional, not held assemble video tape footage optional
- optional, not held develop programming schedule optional
- optional, not held execute integration testing optional
- optional, not held maintain internet protocol configuration optional
- optional, not held provide multimedia content optional
- optional, not held record multi-track sound optional
- optional, not held audio technology optional
- optional, not held operate audio-signal processors optional
21 held skills the broadcast technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role acoustics knowledge
- not needed by the target role adapt to type of media skill
- not needed by the target role apply health and safety standards skill
- not needed by the target role assess power needs skill
- not needed by the target role assess sound quality skill
- not needed by the target role audio editing software knowledge
- not needed by the target role cinematography knowledge
- not needed by the target role coordinate audio system programmes skill
- not needed by the target role create moving images skill
- not needed by the target role determine visual concepts skill
- not needed by the target role digital media knowledge
- not needed by the target role operate a camera skill
- not needed by the target role operate sound live skill
- not needed by the target role operate video equipment skill
- not needed by the target role photography knowledge
- not needed by the target role plan audiovisual recording skill
- not needed by the target role receive appropriate permissions for use of recorded audiovisual examples skill
- not needed by the target role set up cameras skill
- not needed by the target role support audio system installation skill
- not needed by the target role transfer uncut audiovisual material to computer skill
- not needed by the target role use a telecine skill
6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn broadcast equipment required
- still to learn electronics principles required
- still to learn media formats required
- still to learn multimedia systems required
- optional, not held ICT communications protocols optional
- optional, not held audio technology optional
Common questions about this move
Can an audio-visual technician become a broadcast technician?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An audio-visual technician already covers 42% of what a broadcast technician is expected to do: 16 skills carry over, 9 of which the broadcast technician role treats as required.
What skills does an audio-visual technician need to become a broadcast technician?
10 required skills are missing, plus 16 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by working with machinery and specialised equipment. The single most important is monitor quality of broadcasts.
How hard is the move from audio-visual technician to broadcast technician?
Its learning distance is 64.5 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.