Film and Video Editors
Edit moving images on film, video, or other media. May work with a producer or director to organize images for final production. May edit or synchronize soundtracks with images.
Also called: Editor · Film Editor · News Editor · News Video Editor · News Videotape Editor · Non-Linear Editor
Median pay (national)
$70,980
$39,170–$145,900 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
28,860
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+4%
~3,600 openings/yr
Typical entry
Bachelor's degree
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for film and video editors shows an unusually wide range: the top 10% earn $145,900 versus $39,170 at the bottom 10% — 3.7x. The median of $70,980 leaves roughly 106% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change +4% from 2024 to 2034 — faster than the 3% all-occupation average. Even so, BLS projects about 3,600 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 49 states with released data, New York pays the most for this role (median $102,450, +44% vs the national median), while Puerto Rico sits lowest at $37,490 — a 173% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list. On the tools side, O*NET flags Adobe After Effects, Adobe Creative Cloud software, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign as in-demand technologies for this role.
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Top skills employers ask for
Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
- Active Learning
- Writing
- Monitoring
- Learning Strategies
- Mathematics
- Science
What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- Organize and string together raw footage into a continuous whole according to scripts or the instructions of directors and producers.
- Review footage sequence by sequence to become familiar with it before assembling it into a final product.
- Set up and operate computer editing systems, electronic titling systems, video switching equipment, and digital video effects units to produce a final product.
- Review assembled films or edited videotapes on screens or monitors to determine if corrections are necessary.
- Program computerized graphic effects.
- Supervise and coordinate activities of workers engaged in film editing, assembling, and recording activities.
- Select and combine the most effective shots of each scene to form a logical and smoothly running story.
- Trim film segments to specified lengths and reassemble segments in sequences that present stories with maximum effect.
- Cut shot sequences to different angles at specific points in scenes, making each individual cut as fluid and seamless as possible.
- Verify key numbers and time codes on materials.
Tools & technology
- Adobe After Effects
- Adobe Creative Cloud software
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe InDesign
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Premiere Pro
- Apple Final Cut Pro
- DaVinci Resolve
- TikTok
- Video editing software
- AJAX
- Cascading style sheets CSS
- Extensible markup language XML
- Hypertext markup language HTML
- JavaScript
- Adobe Director
Knowledge areas
- Communications and Media
- English Language
- Computers and Electronics
- Telecommunications
- Fine Arts
- Production and Processing
- Customer and Personal Service
- Engineering and Technology