Also called: Backline Tech, Roadie
Sets up, tunes, and maintains the band's instruments and amps, and fixes problems mid-show.
A backline tech unloads guitars and amps, sets up the stage exactly the same each night, and runs out mid-song to fix a dead amp or hand off a fresh guitar.
Approximate. Touring crew are usually paid weekly or daily rates while on tour; big arena and stadium tours pay far more than club tours, and work has off-seasons.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
No formal education, about 0 years after high school. No degree; musician skills and lots of practice.
Ways in: On-the-job training, Self-taught. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Music Technology, Live Sound Technology.
Growing faster than average. Live music touring has hit record revenues since 2022.
Low risk for 10 years. Setting up and fixing a band's instruments and amps mid-show is hands-on work AI can't do.
Classes: Music, Electronics, Shop class, Physics (sound).
Official data: O*NET occupation 27-4011.
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.