随著演唱会规模与技术复杂度膨胀，「路工」已涵盖灯光、烟火、无人机、机器人、布景木工、餐饮协调、即时图像程式等高度分工。大型巡演像高科技建造工程：可能动用数十辆车、超过 100 名随团人员，并在各地加聘临时舞台工。文中援引高盛预测：全球音乐相关收入未来几年可能以 7.2% 年增率成长，推动更多演出与更高的现场制作需求。

薪资与生活型态并存的现实也被点出：入门年薪约 5 万到 6 万美元，之后可能大幅上升；但长期在路上的身心负荷、狭小车床空间、作息失序与成瘾风险不容忽视，园区甚至提供咨商与「Roadies in Recovery」等支持。新一代更像「几个月出勤、回基地休整」的轮调模式；个案提到 20 岁学生投入视效与灯光、25 岁助理以连续 20 小时工作日快速成长，显示职涯通道正在被更制度化地建立。

The story centers on Rock Lititz in rural Pennsylvania, a 150-acre live-entertainment campus that hosted its sixth recruitment day, drawing students from nearby colleges and as far as the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (about a seven-hour drive). CEO Andrea Shirk pitches live production as a growing, hard-to-offshore field with many roles that don’t require a four-year degree, even as an aging workforce creates looming shortages.

As concerts become a primary revenue engine, “roadies” now include specialized jobs—lighting, pyrotechnics, drones, robotics, scenic carpentry, craft services, and live-graphics programming. A major tour resembles a high-tech construction project that must assemble and strike quickly, often traveling with dozens of vehicles and 100+ crew, plus local stagehands. The piece cites a Goldman Sachs forecast of 7.2% annual growth for the sector in coming years, implying sustained demand for skilled labor.

Pay and lifestyle trade-offs are explicit: entry salaries start around $50,000–$60,000, with upside for those who advance, but the work can mean cramped bus bunks, irregular basic routines, and mental-health and addiction risks—hence resources like counseling and “Roadies in Recovery.” The newer norm is a deployment-style cycle (months on the road, then back “home base”). Profiles of a 20-year-old student building technical chops and a 25-year-old assistant enduring consecutive 20-hour days underscore how formal training pathways are replacing the old ad-hoc “back door of the pub” pipeline.