Technical Director

Explore employment trends, required job duties and skills for this career. ASU offers a variety of degrees that can help you prepare for and meet your career goals. Visit ASU's Career and Professional Development Services to learn how to develop your career plan.

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Potential job titles in this career

Broadcast Director, News Technical Director, Newscast Director, Operations Director, Production Director, Production Manager, Studio Director, Technical Director

* Additional schooling, certification, or degrees maybe be required for some of the potential careers that are listed.

What will I do?

Switch between video sources in a studio or on multi-camera remotes, using equipment such as switchers, video slide projectors, and video effects generators.

Observe pictures through monitors and direct camera and video staff concerning shading and composition.

Supervise and assign duties to workers engaged in technical control and production of radio and television programs.

Monitor broadcasts to ensure that programs conform to station or network policies and regulations.

Operate equipment to produce programs or broadcast live programs from remote locations.

Test equipment to ensure proper operation.

Train workers in use of equipment, such as switchers, cameras, monitors, microphones, and lights.

Act as liaisons between engineering and production departments.

Collaborate with promotions directors to produce on-air station promotions.

Confer with operations directors to formulate and maintain fair and attainable technical policies for programs.

In this career, it is important to know

Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

It's useful to be good at

Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Far Vision - The ability to see details at a distance.

Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Employment trends

Location	Pay period	2022
Location	Pay period	10%	25%	Median%	75%	90%
United States	Hourly	$20.26	$27.92	$41.02	$61.52	$86.51
United States	Yearly	$42,140	$58,080	$85,320	$127,970	$179,930
Arizona	Hourly	$18.08	$23.45	$27.96	$35.87	$51.02
Arizona	Yearly	$37,610	$48,780	$58,170	$74,600	$106,110

2022 Median%
United States	$41.02 Hourly	$85,320 Yearly
Arizona	$27.96 Hourly	$58,170 Yearly

Employment (2022)

175,300 employees

Projected growth (2022 - 2032)

Average (4% to 7%)

Projected job openings (2022 - 2032)

16,000

* Data obtained from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) under sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA).

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3 year programs

These programs allow students to fast-track their studies after admission and earn a bachelor's degree in three years or fewer while participating in the same high-quality educational experience of a 4-year option. Students should talk to their academic advisor to get started.

Accelerated master's

These programs allow students to accelerate their studies to earn a bachelor's plus a master's degree in as few as five years (for some programs).

Each program has requirements students must meet to be eligible for consideration. Acceptance to the graduate program requires a separate application. Students typically receive approval to pursue the accelerated master’s during the junior year of their bachelor's degree program. Interested students can learn about eligibility requirements and how to apply.

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Concurrent degrees allow students to pursue their own personal or professional interests, earn two distinct degrees and receive two diplomas. To add a concurrent degree to your existing degree, work with your academic advisor.

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Joint programs, or jointly conferred degrees, are offered by more than one college and provide opportunities for students to take advantage of the academic strengths of two academic units. Upon graduation, students are awarded one degree and one diploma conferred by two colleges.

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