Sound mastering engineer to podcast producer
A sound mastering engineer already meets 22% of what the podcast producer role asks for. The move turns on 16 required skills not yet in the profile.
78.5/ 100
1 How much of what a podcast producer is expected to do is already part of a sound mastering engineer’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 podcast producer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A podcast producer role treats 6 of its required skills as things a sound mastering engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- audio editing software
- audio mastering
- audio post-production
- audio technology
- audiovisual products
- edit recorded sound
What stands in the way is 16 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 6 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A podcast producer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a sound mastering engineer background worth leading with.
- already held audio mastering arts and humanities
- already held audio post-production arts and humanities
- already held audio technology arts and humanities
- already held audiovisual products arts and humanities
- already held audio editing software information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held edit recorded sound working with computers
All 6 carried skills, including the 6 the podcast producer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 31 missing skills fall into 9 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 coordinate activities in audio recording studio required
- still to learn plan audiovisual recording required
- still to learn plan digital marketing required
- still to learn plan marketing strategy required
- still to learn supervise sound production required
- optional, not held plan social media marketing campaigns optional
- optional, not held define measurable marketing objectives optional
- still to learn marketing principles required
- still to learn social media marketing techniques required
- optional, not held advertising techniques optional
- optional, not held channel marketing optional
- optional, not held content marketing strategy optional
- still to learn prepare broadcasts required
- still to learn implement marketing strategies required
- optional, not held apply social media marketing optional
- optional, not held execute marketing plan optional
- optional, not held work with a voice coach optional
- still to learn manage sales channels required
- still to learn assess studio production required
- optional, not held draw up artistic production optional
- still to learn record audio materials required
- optional, not held add elocution techniques to recording audio materials optional
- optional, not held monitor quality of broadcasts optional
- optional, not held mix multi-track recordings optional
- optional, not held operate audio equipment optional
- optional, not held record multi-track sound optional
- optional, not held set up basic recording optional
- still to learn media formats required
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a podcast producer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 record audio materials practise this
- 02 use microphone practise this
- 03 e-commerce systems study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 6 skills that carry over
- already held audio editing software knowledge
- already held audio mastering knowledge
- already held audio post-production knowledge
- already held audio technology knowledge
- already held audiovisual products knowledge
- already held edit recorded sound skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn receive appropriate permissions for use of recorded audiovisual examples required
- still to learn use microphone required
- still to learn e-commerce systems required
15 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held add elocution techniques to recording audio materials optional
- optional, not held monitor quality of broadcasts optional
- optional, not held draw up artistic production optional
- optional, not held mix multi-track recordings optional
- optional, not held operate audio equipment optional
- optional, not held plan social media marketing campaigns optional
- optional, not held record multi-track sound optional
- optional, not held set up basic recording optional
- optional, not held advertising techniques optional
- optional, not held apply social media marketing optional
- optional, not held channel marketing optional
- optional, not held content marketing strategy optional
- optional, not held define measurable marketing objectives optional
- optional, not held execute marketing plan optional
- optional, not held work with a voice coach optional
12 held skills the podcast producer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adapt to artists' creative demands skill
- not needed by the target role assess sound quality skill
- not needed by the target role audiovisual equipment knowledge
- not needed by the target role convert different audiovisual formats skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate audio system programmes skill
- not needed by the target role manage sound quality skill
- not needed by the target role musical genres knowledge
- not needed by the target role musical instruments knowledge
- not needed by the target role musical theory knowledge
- not needed by the target role operate an audio mixing console skill
- not needed by the target role operate audio-signal processors skill
- not needed by the target role types of audiovisual formats knowledge
7 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 e-commerce systems required
- still to learn media formats required
- still to learn marketing principles required
- still to learn social media marketing techniques required
- optional, not held advertising techniques optional
- optional, not held channel marketing optional
- optional, not held content marketing strategy optional
Common questions about this move
Can a sound mastering engineer become a podcast producer?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A sound mastering engineer already covers 22% of what a podcast producer is expected to do: 6 skills carry over, 6 of which the podcast producer role treats as required.
What skills does a sound mastering engineer need to become a podcast producer?
16 required skills are missing, plus 15 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is record audio materials.
How hard is the move from sound mastering engineer to podcast producer?
Its learning distance is 78.5 out of 100, which is the career change 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.