How much do recording engineers make?

hitman07

New member
I'm just wondering because I'm thinking about going to a audio school and I want to make sure I'm making a smart decision. How long do you usually intern? whats the salary like after than?
 
I always wondered this myself. My boy makes 2000 a song. So thats a days work and he's steady getting work but idk
 
you have to intern an basically be a freelance engineer until someone gives a full time job which is hard to get since theirs so many engineers out their i was thinking about going to SAE institute in L.A. but i said **** it i want to produce not sit around an **** wit a mixing board all day an be some producers ***** an i think you get paid any where from 45k-90k i think not sure
 
I would like to go to school for engineering so I can just learn it incase i'm talking to an engineer and want to get into specifics.
 
most of the time......

i believe engineers get paid on a song by song basis. the one song that i did for a major artist (never got released but that's a different story.......) the engineer charged the label $500 an hour (for a session that took like 6 hours). So he made $3000 for the day. I'd say that's a pretty good living.

as an intern, i'm not sure what kind of salary you get, but i had a friend that interned at patchwerk studios in atlanta for a while. don't know how much he made, but he had a decent life (nice apartment, car, disposable cash). so go for it man, you can definitely pay the bills with this.
 
The stage engineer for the Rolling Stones apparently makes $1 million per show... chew on that :)


But for real tho, FocusOnDesign is right... you can go far as an engineer, but you have to want it, plain and simple. I'm actually attending SAE in New York and I graduate in June, and hopeully I can land an internship at a label. I've been trying to network with the staff at my school, talking about job prospects and what not... the outlook is honestly only so-so right now, due to our failing economy. But the possibilities are out there. Instead of going into music, you can also go into post production for tv and film, and a decent number of those pay you right from the start.

Or you could simply go freelance (gotta build up a good-sized contingent of clients first tho).

I recommend just doing some research, try to reach out to people who have been in the industry, and above all else, GET MANY DIFFERENT OPINIONS. i know plenty of bitter sound guys who wanted to be rich but never got to... but they didn't want it enough. Don't let them greatly influence your decision. Sure, it's hard, but given the example above, it's certainly not impossible.

And to M-dagreat... being a (good) engineer opens up the possibility of becoming a producer. You have to be observant, helpful and cooperative when recording. And you also have to be in the right place at the right time, among other things... but don't think that by being an engineer you'll be pigeonholed in that position forever. In fact, it's quite the opposite.
 
Illestnoiz said:
i believe engineers get paid on a song by song basis. the one song that i did for a major artist (never got released but that's a different story.......) the engineer charged the label $500 an hour (for a session that took like 6 hours). So he made $3000 for the day. I'd say that's a pretty good living.

as an intern, i'm not sure what kind of salary you get, but i had a friend that interned at patchwerk studios in atlanta for a while. don't know how much he made, but he had a decent life (nice apartment, car, disposable cash). so go for it man, you can definitely pay the bills with this.

that's watsup.
 
The amount an Audio Engineer can make is solely up to the individual and the budget of the client. I have a Bachelors degree in Audio Engineering, and to be honest from what I have witnessed the best paid engineers (on a yearly basis) is the live engineer. With the rise of the home studio and the in the box studio(which is great cause I have one) almost anybody can engineer an album. So my answer to the question is an Audio Engineer can make anywhere from nuthin to sumthin.
 
So beening that almost anyone can engineer an album is there any demand for engineers these days? or does it just varies?
 
IMO it varies, what ever the budget and the sound that is trying to be achieved. I do think for quality and dynamics(which most music is lacking) engineers are important.
 
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I have one more question my ultimate goal is to be a Producer if I make it in that field so I was wondering would balancing a career between beening a Audio Engineer and pursuing production be a good idea? or will it be better for me to just pursue Production?
 
most engineers fancy themselves as producers also. what type of production are you talking about?

most rock engineers (my boat) that i know make between 20-40 an hour.
 
lostcheshirecat said:
most engineers fancy themselves as producers also. what type of production are you talking about?

most rock engineers (my boat) that i know make between 20-40 an hour.

Hip Hop Production primarily.
 
I charge between $20-25 an hour when I work in my studio...doesn't seem like much but it pays the bills and keeps me humble. When I freelance at Central City Recording....it's more like $50 and hour and I pay the studio $30.

Post Production is where I get the easy money. I really don't have to worry about settin up mics and making sure artists are in the right mood for whatever. I can relax and work in my nice calm setting and concentrate to making their music sound "better" or "finished".

I make about 20-25K a year...not including my part-time job (which basically pays my child support and leaves me with money to kick it)
 
1st off... Im an engineer and I dont make ****. I got 4 certificates from Recording Workshop in Ohio and that dont mean ****. A degree is nothin in audio engineering, only what it took to get that degree is what counts, so if you think you're going to get a plaque and hang it on the wall and have people calling you you're wrong [and im not saying you think that im just stating the inevitable]
Why I dont make ****, maybe I havent tried hard enough, too stuck on doing my own thing in my home studio. I got my resume printed up and invested in equipment but I still havent taken the big step forward which will either be: Register a LLC at my clerks office or... this:

M-dagreat said:
you have to intern an basically be a freelance engineer until someone gives a full time job which is hard to get since theirs so many engineers out their i was thinking about going to SAE institute in L.A. but i said **** it i want to produce not sit around an **** wit a mixing board all day an be some producers ***** an i think you get paid any where from 45k-90k i think not sure

Thats true, and I know boys I went to school with who still havent found a job.. And they havent tried in vein either, theyve looked into sound for picture, broadcasting, soundtracking, commercial work... There is so much you can do but it takes a lot of "getting up off your ass and doing it."

-Thats why this engineer doesnt make any money, yet..

but Im happy. I went to school originally to learn how to hook all the analog **** up and ended up getting experience on Sony MCI24 and C24 DCommand, learn how to use ProTools HD, etc. There were 9 Studios there (Studio A-I) not counting the computer lab with PT LE, so I learned a LOT, especially in my maintenance class where we studied all the electrical aspects of equipment, how to troubleshoot and see whats going wrong in a bad session, etc. but I didnt know all this was considered engineering. by the 5th day an instructor was calling us engineers and I was thinkin wtf I juss came here to learn how to do "this an that"..and I didnt take him serious thinkin he was jokin but he wasnt. they called us engineers more and more until we graduated.

the quick truth:
mtp1178 said:
So my answer to the question is an Audio Engineer can make anywhere from nuthin to sumthin.
 
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