Hangs, wires, and runs the lights for concerts, theaters, and TV studios.
You climb a truss to hang 100 moving lights for a concert, run power cables across a stage, and stand by during the show in case anything fails.
Union Broadway and arena work pays far more.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 2 years after high school. On-the-job training, often through IATSE stagehand union; ETCP certification.
Ways in: On-the-job training, Apprenticeship, Certification. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Theatre Technology, Electrical Technology.
Growing about average. No separate BLS projection for this specialty; rating is an estimate based on industry trends.
Low risk for 10 years. Lighting consoles get smarter and AI can pre-program cues, but hanging, focusing and running live shows stays a human crew job.
Classes: Theater tech crew, Physics, Electronics or stagecraft 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.