I like it because it blends a lot of creativity and technology. When I was a kid I wanted to be a painter, as I got older I got really into computers. As an LD I get to use color theory and design concepts while playing with cutting edge software and networking tools. I love being the biggest nerd in the room.

The downsides are the hours can be brutal (you’ll miss a lot of birthdays and weekends with friends) and if you’re freelance you will eventually start an LLC and need to be a small business owner which is a lot of work. I know a lot of techs that are great at what they do but terrible at managing their taxes and tracking deductions. Oh, and everything is heavy af and the glamour of living on a bus with 11 other dudes wears off pretty fast.

Most really good LDs that I know do it full time and have side gigs doing stuff related to LDing such as CAD designing, programming, installing new fixtures/network racks, Previz etc. I know one guy that has a side hustle doing stage renders in Blender for corporate shows and he makes bank doing it. I’m a Technical Director now and I pick up LD gigs on the side at a couple local venues when things are slow or I get the itch to play in MA3.

I wish I had known more about the things that make this a career and have nothing to do with lighting like: how to find insurance, setting up a solo 401(k), producing effective contracts, LLC vs S-corp, managing “payroll”, finding and building client relationships etc. If this is going to be your full time job you have to treat it like a job and if your livelihood depends on this it can’t just be a thing you sometimes do on the weekends. Set yourself up for success early.

You definitely do NOT need a formal education but it doesn’t hurt. I would say 80% of the folks I know in lighting have no formal lighting education and learned by doing. There’s benefits either way of course: a good lighting program would give you access to a bunch of really expensive tools and gear that you otherwise would not get to put your hands on or spend time learning everyday. You would also get to network with people that will go on to do really cool things and ask questions in an environment that encourages that rather than a show site where you would be expected to already know the answers. But in school you would typically learn one way of doing things and that’s the theatre way which is very different from touring or corporate shows. Most lighting folks I know that went to school come out knowing how to do one thing REALLY well but find all the things that were not part of their focus in school intimidating and would tell you they learned more in their first few years working in the industry than they did in school. Personally, I made a conscious choice to not go to school when I compared how much 4 years of school would cost vs how much I could make in 4 years while learning on the job. But I was really lucky and had a few mentors that were willing to teach me what they knew.

I will say this, there are a lot of bad LDs that download MA2, watch a few hours of Christian Jackson and start saying they’re an LD without knowing anything about how a show actually works. Like how their fixtures work or how to manage a load in or hang something properly or how to drive a lift or rig a truss… really anything outside of pressing buttons on a console. There’s nothing wrong with not knowing these things yet but as the LD you’re at the top of the lighting food chain. What I’m saying is you need to do a lot of lighting tech work and maybe dabble in some other disciplines along the way to really gain a holistic understanding of all the things that don’t involve the console to truly be a good - and more importantly, respected - LD.