Salary
Average Salary: $57,000
Expected Lifetime Earnings: $2,379,636
The average roadie makes close to $60,000 per year, and road managers and tour coordinators (wranglers of the roadies) earn more like $125,000 per year (source).
Of course, this all varies with experience. If you're a roadie for an unknown, new band, you might have to work for nothing more than a post-concert meal and a couch to crash on for the night.
On the other hand, if you've been on the road with big time, established bands—bands like Van Halen, Nine Inch Nails, Lyle Lovett, and Reba McEntire—you could earn more like $200,000 per year. Such is the case with Mr. Tom Weber, who worked with all those bands and then some over his forty-year career.
While you may not be making a whole bunch at first, at least you'll have your expenses covered while you're on the road. If it's a year-long tour, that might mean you won't have to foot the bill for food and rent for that period of time, which leaves you more of your paycheck left over to play with when the tour ends.
There's no school for roadies. There are courses you can take for some aspects of the job, like sound engineering and lighting, but learning the ropes as a roadie is the ultimate crash course, on-the-job training. Every unassuming roadie performs some vital, high-skill tasks, so the key is to climb about the tour bus and prove your worth. You'll have to show them you can hack it first, but you can bet you'll be well-paid if you prove useful.