RecordMove

Radio producer to sound mastering engineer

A radio producer already meets 28% of what the sound mastering engineer role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional

From radio producer

Distant match

To sound mastering engineer

4 You already bring

8 Still to learn

18 Skills in the target role2

Learning distance Substantial retraining

63.8/ 100

adjacentmoderatesubstantialcareer change

1 How much of what a sound mastering engineer is expected to do is already part of a radio producer’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 sound mastering engineer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A sound mastering engineer role treats 4 of its required skills as things a radio producer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

assess sound quality
audio editing software
edit recorded sound
types of audiovisual formats

What stands in the way is 8 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 4 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A sound mastering engineer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a radio producer background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area

already held types of audiovisual formats arts and humanities
already held assess sound quality constructing
already held audio editing software information and communication technologies (icts)
already held edit recorded sound working with computers

All 4 carried skills, including the 4 the sound mastering engineer role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 14 missing skills fall into 5 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.

Skill to pick up Tier

01 arts and humanities 3 required, 5 supplementary

still to learn audio mastering required
still to learn audiovisual products required
still to learn audio technology required

optional, not held audio post-production optional
optional, not held audiovisual equipment optional
optional, not held musical instruments optional
optional, not held musical theory optional
optional, not held musical genres optional

02 working with machinery and specialised equipment 2 required, 1 supplementary

still to learn coordinate audio system programmes required
still to learn operate audio-signal processors required

optional, not held operate an audio mixing console optional

03 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 required

still to learn adapt to artists' creative demands required

04 constructing 1 required

still to learn manage sound quality required

05 working with computers 1 required

still to learn convert different audiovisual formats required

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a sound mastering engineer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 4 skills that carry over

Skill Type

already held assess sound quality skill
already held audio editing software knowledge
already held edit recorded sound skill
already held types of audiovisual formats knowledge

6 supplementary skills, helpful but not required

Skill to pick up Tier

optional, not held audio post-production optional
optional, not held audiovisual equipment optional
optional, not held musical instruments optional
optional, not held musical theory optional
optional, not held operate an audio mixing console optional
optional, not held musical genres optional

27 held skills the sound mastering engineer role does not ask for

Skill Type

not needed by the target role apply organisational techniques skill
not needed by the target role assess financial viability skill
not needed by the target role brand marketing techniques knowledge
not needed by the target role broadcast equipment knowledge
not needed by the target role copyright legislation knowledge
not needed by the target role create script for artistic production skill
not needed by the target role develop creative ideas skill
not needed by the target role develop program ideas skill
not needed by the target role develop programming schedule skill
not needed by the target role edit scripts skill
not needed by the target role evaluate broadcast programs skill
not needed by the target role identify music with commercial potential skill
not needed by the target role interview people skill
not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
not needed by the target role manage digital archives skill
not needed by the target role manage feedback skill
not needed by the target role manage staff skill
not needed by the target role monitor broadcast programming skill
not needed by the target role multimedia systems knowledge
not needed by the target role negotiate with artists skill
not needed by the target role obtain relevant licenses skill
not needed by the target role perform market research skill
not needed by the target role prepare broadcasts skill
not needed by the target role project management principles knowledge
not needed by the target role select music skill
not needed by the target role select scripts skill
not needed by the target role supervise sound production skill

8 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier

still to learn audio mastering required
still to learn audiovisual products required
still to learn audio technology required
optional, not held audio post-production optional
optional, not held audiovisual equipment optional
optional, not held musical instruments optional
optional, not held musical theory optional
optional, not held musical genres optional

Index

Other moves recorded from radio producer

Full index of moves from radio producer

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a radio producer become a sound mastering engineer?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A radio producer already covers 28% of what a sound mastering engineer is expected to do: 4 skills carry over, 4 of which the sound mastering engineer role treats as required.

What skills does a radio producer need to become a sound mastering engineer?

8 required skills are missing, plus 6 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by arts and humanities. The single most important is adapt to artists' creative demands.

How hard is the move from radio producer to sound mastering engineer?

Its learning distance is 63.8 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

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.