How To Become A Recordist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a recordist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a recordist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $28.87 an hour? That's $60,058 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 10% and produce 12,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreRecordistUS Average

Salary

4.7

Avg. Salary $60,058

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

7.9

Growth Rate 10%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.37%

Asian 5.13%

Black or African American 7.74%

Hispanic or Latino 16.70%

Unknown 6.27%

White 63.78%

Gender

female 17.96%

male 82.04%

Age - 41

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41

Stress Level

7.9

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

7.5

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

0.5

Work Life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a recordist

Explore recordist education requirements

Most common recordist degrees

Bachelor's

68.0 %

Associate

17.5 %

Master's

8.7 %

Start to develop specific recordist skills

Skills	Percentages
Audio Equipment	41.80%
Promotional Videos	37.64%
ADR	7.43%
Sound Design	6.67%
Pro Tools	6.46%

Complete relevant recordist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New recordists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a recordist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real recordist resumes.

Research recordist duties and responsibilities

Manage media assets including creating graphics, digitizing, archiving, editorial 'string-outs' and tracking media assets.
Mix and record location sound to HD video camera and DAT recorder for feature film.
Provide audio/video recording and DVD authoring services for recitals and audition entries of classical instrumentalists
Operate various digital and analog audio consoles during musical performances to create optimal experience for listener and musicians.

Prepare your recordist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your recordist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a recordist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Recordist Resume templates

Build a professional Recordist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Recordist resume.

Apply for recordist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a recordist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do recordists rate their job?

5/5

Out of 1 Recordist reviews, 100% were positive.

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Based On 1 Ratings

Career Growth

3.0

Overall Rating

5.0

Work/Life Balance

2.0

Pay / Salary

2.0

Recordist reviews

5.0

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2024

Pros

Enjoy music and musicians

Cons

Stress! One imperfect connection, wire, power, mic, preamp, recorder, idiot tripping over your wires, bad SD card, etcetcetc and that no-do-over performance may NOT have been recorded by you after all.