Average Salary?

[Evan Schafer]

The bottom line really comes down to many different factors but, this should give you a great idea of how much you should expect to make for the area you are trying to find employment in.

https://www.bls.gov/bls/blswage.htm

[Jt]

Thanks for the link… I tried it out, and it was fun clicking on things; but I’m not entirely sure I was clicking on the correct occupations, what with it being a somewhat rare occupation compared to others that were listed specifically.

Any other links/numbers would be really great!

[Walter Biscardi]

Too many factors to have an average.

Location? Corporate? Post House? Network? Affiliate? Independent company? Equipment? Software knowledge? Resume? Benefits?

There is no average I can think of, especially when you add benefits to the mix. Some places offer higher salaries with fewer benefits. Others lower salaries with higher benefits.

If you’re freelancing, you know how much you would earn at 40 hours per week. If you’re applying for a job you need to weigh how much you would make vs. how much your salary might drop but you might get added benefits.

I know I started at CNN for $15,000/year back in 1990 and I think even today it’s about $27,000/year to start. I pay freelance editors $40 – $75/hour depending on their skill level, the type of project and the length of the project.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com

“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters

[Chris Poisson]

To expand on what Walter says, which is entirely correct, average salaries can only be stated by location, and even then there’s a range. For instance, freelancers here in Phoenix get about the same RANGE as Walter pays in Atlanta, about $40-$75 per hour. The rates in NYC and LA are much higher, but then, so are the demands of skill levels, speed etc.

Anywhere though, your reel is what does the talking.

Have a wonderful day.

[John Calhoun]

Here’s a site (based in Minnesota, but includes national) that gives averages, medians and percentiles. Of course, what has been previously said still applies.

Editors:
https://iseek.org/sv/13025.jsp?id=100081
https://iseek.org/sv/46001.jsp?id=274032

Other AV careers:
https://iseek.org/sv/12000.jsp?code=03

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[Keith Koby]

Everything posted already is absolutely true. Even in NY, the freelance wage is all over the map depending on skills and demand.

Here’s the best way to figure out how much you personally should be making as a salaried full time editor:

Take YOUR average freelance wage and figure out how much you make per year based on that figure at 40 hrs per week. Subtract 25% to give you the salary you would make at a place with great benefits. Subtract 15% for a salary at a place with mediocre benefits.

Benefits are very important – consider medical, dental, how much paid vacation you’ll get, if the company has an education re-imbursment policy (so you can go take those shake classes you’ve been dieing to take), free trips to NAB, etc.

Hope this helps,
Keith

[Steven Gonzales]

I love the job description at the iseek site:

“Film and video editors use editing equipment to remove uninteresting parts of a film or video. They reassemble the best parts so that the film is entertaining and interesting.”

Sounds kind of like picking the bad looking fruit off a conveyor belt!

[Jt]

I was thinking the same thing… what a horrible description. That’s hilarious.

Thanks for the link, though! Great stuff, and very helpful. I’m curious how many of those editors are folks who work on lower end stuff, or in local news stations, as opposed to higher end documentary/film, and commcerial editing at post houses (and by commercials, I mean higher-end regional, to national).