Also called: Theatrical Rigger, Automation Operator
Runs and maintains the motors and rigging that move scenery and fly performers during live shows.
Backstage, you sit at an automation console during a Broadway show and run cue 47: a staircase glides across the stage while an actor flies overhead. Between shows you inspect every cable and pulley.
Union (IATSE) touring and Broadway jobs pay at the high end.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Certificate, about 1 year after high school. High school plus theater training, union apprenticeship or ETCP rigging certification.
Ways in: Apprenticeship, Certification, On-the-job training. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Theater Technology, Entertainment Rigging (trade school).
Growing about average.
Low risk for 10 years. Automated cue systems help, but rigging, running and fixing motors during live shows stays human.
Classes: Theater tech crew, Physics, Shop class, Electronics CTE.
Official data: O*NET occupation 27-4099.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.