What does a PT (post) engineer get per hour?

[Boom Chic]

I am a one woman band, but it looks like things are really going to be picking up, and I'll need to hire a Pro Tools engineer for mixing, FX editing, VO recording, etc. My current facility rate is $150.00 per hour. What kind of price range am I looking at? I was thinking between $18 - $35 hr. depending on experience, talent, etc. Is this reasonable? Is this too low, too high?

I have a couple people who I have started training, one with Pro Tools experience (music) and the other with Logic experience (music too) but minimal (or no) Pro Tools experience. I don't want to insult them with too little salary, nor do I want to blow my budget!

Hiring someone is a totally new experience for me. It's always been just me. Looks like I'm going to be someones boss! [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

Thanks for any advice, suggestions, etc.

[The Chinese]

Karen-
You're not too far off. I regularly get people working in that rate area-Like you say, depends on Experience, talent etc. However, I will give a word of caution-You do get what you pay for, as long as you do your homework first. A lot of really good engineers will not work for less than 45-50/hr (Especially on a daily hire w no benefits...) but I say those guys have to prove themselves first. So make 'em cut/mix a reel before you hire 'em. If they are as good as they are asking for, then it's probably worth it to pay them.
My .02
-Todd A.

[Doc]

Karen,
It's a shame we're half a world away. I'm currently looking for a TDM studio in need of an experienced engineer. I cut my teeth on analog and currently use Pro Tools on a professional basis daily. To me, audio is a passion, not just a job.

[soundman2002]

Boom Chic - I pay about $35/hr for experienced engineers, but I normally get $125 for the studio. Honestly, the experienced engineers are worth more like $50 - $75/hr, but my clients are independents, on small-ish budgets, producing mostly for smaller cable networks. Like The Chinese said - you get what you pay for. If the project is important and you're not there to supervise the session, then I'd pay for more experience without question. On the other hand, ther are very talented youngsters out of school who are willing to work for $20-$25/hr. If they can be supervised at the important moments - like digitizing, and final mix laybacks, then I'd feel OK about using them for sessions.

[Boom Chic]

All good suggestions, thanks.

What about the people I'm training? One has Pro Tools experience with music engineering, but no TV/post experience.

The other, has music experience with Logic, but little to none on Pro Tools, and no TV/post experience.

What would be fair to pay these trainees?

When they're up to speed, I could pay them better, but since they 're learning, and I have to supervise/train them, what would be a fair hourly rate? I guess it's kind of like a paid internship.

Thanks.

[wolfhound]

Karen,

I think you're in the right area salary -wise. I'm an experienced (but young) music engineer for TV commercials, and I'm getting paid near the top-end of what you mentioned. (Maybe the logic guy should get a bit less?)

You could also offer them a day rate, then work 'em to the bone....like we seem to do here in New York [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[mazuroo]

Boom,

We are in the same boat, with audio and video. Right now, I am the entire audio and music division; our creative director is the entire video/compositing division.... woo hoo. We will be hiring people in the fall, so we have done a lot of reaserch on this topic.

There are 2 kinds of people you could hire:

Hiring a "Top Gun" who comes with impressive creditials and possibly a bunch of clients.

A smart "nobody" that you can mold and have control over

Both have issues, the "Top Gun" will need a whole lotta cash (over 60K a year; probably a bunch more) and will not take direction very well (usually). The newbie still needs to learn a lot and has no rep or clients

We have been leaning towards the newbie, someone we can mold and pay a little under 40K a year to start.

When we hire par-timers, we figure out what a full time position would pay, work that our into hours and then add a little bit to compensate for the fact that the work is part-time.

40K a year
4O hours a week for 50 weeks
20 dollars and hour
Figure on about 24-29 bucks an hour
Overtime is up to you.

We are in Seattle, whatever you take from that.

Hope that helps....later

I was on your site, Boom Chick; your space looks very hip.

-tm [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Mario C]

These all sound about right. Our "first call" engineer gets $45-50+ an hour. (He also gets benefits, but that's another story.) With this guy, all we have to do is say "so-and-so client is coming in for a project" and he takes care of everything. Recording, producing/directing (if needed), mixing, et al.

Other experienced engineers we call get around $35/hour, depending on the project. They may need a little more help getting around the studio (patches, gear, etc), but they can do the job.

Then there's me. Being relatively new to the field, I get around $20/hour. It sounds like, though, it's time for a raise. I'm beyond the "intern/assist" level, but still working hard to gain the experience. Any body want to talk to my boss for me? [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

Other relavant facts: we charge around $130/hour for audio, around $180/hour with picture, in SLC Utah.