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Major · Communications Technologies

Hands-on craft for the people who run the signal chain

Communications Technology trains you to operate, install, and maintain the gear that moves audio, video, and data — broadcast equipment, studio signal chains, AV systems, and increasingly fiber and IP transport. About 458 degrees are awarded across 27 colleges each year, with most graduates entering the field through community-college associate’s programs or trade-credential bachelor’s tracks.

Schools offering
27
Annual completions
458
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$38k

About this major

Communications Technology prepares you to work as a technician, operator, or junior manager in industries that move audio, video, and data — broadcast stations, production studios, AV integration shops, post-production houses, and the operations side of streaming and digital media. The CIP definition covers business economics, basic management, interpersonal and mediated communications principles, radio and television and digital media production, and the related technology and systems work that ties them together. In practice, coursework leans heavily into labs: signal flow, transmission, cabling, console and switcher operation, troubleshooting, and the workflow rhythms of live and recorded production. Some programs add SCTE, BICSI, or CompTIA certification prep alongside the academic credit hours.

The major fits students who already tinker with AV gear, run sound or lights for school events or houses of worship, or built their own home studio or streaming rig. Patience for repetitive setup work, comfort under deadline pressure, and the temperament to sit through long sessions or live broadcasts matter more than performance ability. Strong candidates can read schematics, follow a punch list, and stay calm when something fails on air.

On scale, the field is small and concentrated: 458 degrees a year across 27 colleges, with Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL alone graduating 185 (about 40% of national completions). The remaining producers are mostly community colleges — Pellissippi State (81), Ozarks Tech (27), Delaware Tech (13), Montgomery College (11) — plus a few regional bachelor’s programs. The packet reports a five-year earnings median of $37,569 and a $8,700 gap between associate’s ($32,732) and bachelor’s ($41,439) completers, signals that match the field’s technician-tier reality more than its catalog descriptions of broadcast management.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Film and video editors $71k +4.0% Bachelor's degree
Media and communication workers, all other $72k +2.7% High school diploma or equivalent
Broadcast technicians $54k -2.8% Associate's degree
Sound engineering technicians $66k -1.7% Postsecondary nondegree award
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$38k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$33k

Bachelor's

$41k

Who this major is for

The fit is strong if you already spend free time setting up AV gear, running sound, building a streaming rig, or fixing other people’s equipment, and the lab-and-field cadence appeals more than seminar discussion. Comfort with the BLS reality of associate’s or postsecondary-nondegree-award entry levels matters: this is a field where stacking SBE, BICSI, or CompTIA certifications on top of an associate’s often returns more per dollar than chasing a bachelor’s. Geographic flexibility helps too, since broadcast and AV work clusters in media cities and around large institutions. Strong candidates also accept the $32,732–$41,439 five-year earnings band as a starting condition rather than a ceiling — pay rises with field hours, certifications, and into supervisory roles.

The red flags are real and worth surfacing. Two of the four packet career destinations show negative projected growth (Broadcast technicians at -2.8%, Sound engineering technicians at -1.7%), so the legacy broadcast lane is contracting under consolidation and AI-assisted production tools. Full Sail’s 40% share of national completions means many graduates exit a single for-profit pipeline whose net price and outcome data deserve scrutiny against community-college alternatives. The major also runs through what looks like an administrative-grouping anomaly: 458 completions across the country is a small CIP, partly because many institutions classify similar students under broader engineering-technology codes. If you want a four-year degree to do meaningful engineering work, the Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology track (3,682 completions) is the more durable choice.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Communications Technology/Technician

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Full Sail University Winter Park, FL 0 185 185
Pellissippi State Community College Knoxville, TN 81 0 81
East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania East Stroudsburg, PA 0 32 32
Ozarks Technical Community College Springfield, MO 27 0 27
Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon Bayamon, PR 0 25 25
Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO 0 21 21
Delaware Technical Community College-Terry Dover, DE 13 0 13
University of Cincinnati-Blue Ash College Blue Ash, OH 12 0 12
Montgomery College Rockville, MD 11 0 11
Belmont University Nashville, TN 0 10 10
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician

3,682 completions/yr

Construction Engineering Technology/Technician

3,657 completions/yr

Mechanical/Mechanical Engineering Technology/Technician

2,735 completions/yr

Diesel Mechanics Technology/Technician

2,426 completions/yr

Industrial Technology/Technician

1,933 completions/yr

Manufacturing Engineering Technology/Technician

1,695 completions/yr

Recording Arts Technology/Technician

1,311 completions/yr

Electromechanical/Electromechanical Engineering Technology/Technician

1,104 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do Communications Technology majors actually study day-to-day?
Coursework centers on signal flow across audio, video, and data systems: how broadcast and studio equipment works, how cabling and transmission move information, and how to set up, troubleshoot, and maintain the gear. The CIP definition spans business economics and basic management alongside the technical core, so most programs mix lab time on consoles, transmitters, and network gear with classroom work on production workflow and media operations. Bachelor’s tracks add more management, project coordination, and broadcast engineering theory; associate’s tracks lean almost entirely toward installation, operation, and field service.
Do I need a bachelor’s, or is an associate’s enough for Communications Technology?
The packet shows associate’s completers earning a five-year median of $32,732 and bachelor’s completers earning $41,439 — about a $8,700 gap. The BLS lists the major destination occupations at typical entry of associate’s degree (Broadcast technicians) or postsecondary nondegree award (Sound engineering technicians, audio/video technicians), so the four-year credential is not legally required for the field. The honest read is that an associate’s plus stackable certifications (SBE for broadcast, BICSI for cabling, CompTIA Network+ for IP transport) often returns more per dollar than a bachelor’s in this CIP.
What kinds of jobs do Communications Technology graduates end up in?
The packet lists four direct destinations: Film and video editors ($70,980 median, 4% growth), Media and communication workers, all other ($71,770, 2.7%), Broadcast technicians ($53,920, -2.8% decline), and Sound engineering technicians ($66,430, -1.7% decline). The five-year earnings median for the major sits at $37,569, well below those mid-career wage points — meaning entry-level pay is materially lower while you build credits, and the higher career-median wages reflect 8-15 years of experience. In practice, graduates spread across TV and radio station engineering, AV systems integration, live event and houses-of-worship AV, post-production, podcast and streaming infrastructure, and the lower tiers of broadcast operations.
How healthy is the job market — and what is shrinking?
Two of the four packet careers show negative projected growth: Broadcast technicians at -2.8% and Sound engineering technicians at -1.7%, both reflecting consolidation in legacy broadcast and the spread of AI-assisted mixing, mastering, and automated camera and switching tools. Film and video editors and the broader media-worker category still grow modestly (4% and 2.7%). The healthier adjacent lanes — fiber and IP buildout (BEAD, 5G densification), data-center structured cabling, smart-building AV integration — sit just outside this CIP’s core but are reachable from the same training plus BICSI or CCNA certifications.
Where are the strongest Communications Technology programs concentrated?
Completions are dominated by Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL, which graduates 185 bachelor’s a year — about 40% of all national completions and a for-profit chain whose tuition and outcomes warrant careful comparison. Pellissippi State Community College (Knoxville, 81 associate’s) is the largest public producer, followed by East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania (32 bachelor’s), Ozarks Technical Community College (27), and a mix of Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Delaware Technical Community College, University of Cincinnati-Blue Ash, Montgomery College, and Belmont University. The pattern: one for-profit producing the bulk, then community colleges and small regional bachelor’s programs.
What if I like the technical side but not the broadcast/media path?
The same signal-chain training transfers cleanly to higher-paying technician fields with stronger projected growth, mostly via certification rather than another degree. Telecommunications line installers and repairers, structured-cabling techs, public-safety radio specialists, and smart-building integrators all draw on similar core skills. Inside the CIP-15 engineering technology family, related majors like Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology (3,682 completions) and Construction Engineering Technology (3,657 completions) offer broader and better-paid technical careers if you want a four-year degree to do real engineering work rather than media operations.