Radio World has followed up on a report released this spring by the Society of Broadcast Engineers that examined the aging nature of the profession.
The article explores several explanations for why young folks aren’t going into the technical side of radio and television: in addition to consolidation and automation, employment-competition from industries such as information technology and wireless telecommunications has also had an impact. Especially when jobs in those fields generally pay (much) better and offer a stronger sense of job security. Continue reading “Dearth of Broadcast Engineers Felt Beyond Station-Level”
Tag: engineering
Broadcast Engineers: A Dying Breed?
A recent paper (PDF) from the Society of Broadcast Engineers paints a stark picture for the vocation of broadcast engineering.
The SBE notes that the number of broadcast engineers (especially those employed full-time) has been in a steady decline since the 1980s. This is when the FCC began getting rid of rules that required engineers to hold specific (and often multiple) qualifications to work at radio and television stations. Broadcasters could thus get by with fewer engineers, and many jobs which engineers used to do could now be done by lesser-qualified staff. Continue reading “Broadcast Engineers: A Dying Breed?”