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Opinion on Promo Editor Salary
I want your guys’s opinion on my salary.
I started with a contractor 5 years ago fresh to the AVID fresh to LA. However, I was an IT major and 4 year graduate of a big business school. I was technically apt to begin with and was already a FLASH programmer.
Anyways 3 years in I was already past my PA and Runner days and was editing all of the regional promos for FOX SPORTS for the entire country. I am a creative editor as well as the finisher. The contractor basically makes me do both since I’m the only editor there. Since FOX Sports doesn’t have much creative staff on the lot, a group of us sit in a backyard with all of the high leve broadcast equipment and 4 AVIDS that any high end facility would have. I cut almost every team vs team spot that airs in every region of FOX SPORTS across the country, I also edit topical promos, as well as higher end commercials for sponsors.
What do you think my salary should be? Right now I am still down at the 300/day but thats cause I’m still at the same place after 5 years. However I’m the kind of editor that can finish and edit and produce. Something rare these days. I’m the same guy that will edit 19 promos, color correct them and finish them, and lay them to HD tape, day after day. At the same time I’m the guy performing pulldowns on footage, dealing with technical UNITY issues and any other video conversion tasks.
Anyways let me know your opinions! Do you think I’m worth 500/day? I can run circles around any sports promo editor that I’ve had come into our facility for a temporary amount of time when the load was higher as a lot of them are only editors, they can’t finish or produce, and some of them don’t have assistant editor experience that I have.
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8 Replies
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Well, FOX would tell you to ask the eight guys and two gals who are willing to take your job for a little less, reels and resumes on file. From their (Fox) standpoint, capable editors are a commodity buy these days, with a shortage of job openings and a glut of talent. Particularly in sports.
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I would like to see that you are getting 85,000.00 to 125,000.00 per year as a full time job with a 401K and health insurance. At the company I work at for my full time job. Software and Electrical engineers make that kind of salary. Just out of school they start at 65,000.00 to 75,000.00 with a bachalors. I thuoght that video editors for TV and film would get payed the same or more.
Paul
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Kevin, I’m sorry to say that I tend to agree (almost always) with Mark. Tread lightly given today’s situation and the abundance of new as well as seasoned people in the marketplace. Perhaps you should ask for a modest raise, however…
The truth of the matter is traditionally the best way to advance one’s career is by changing jobs every few years. Kind of zig/zag to the top. But if you want to stay where you are you should be asking for a review and moderate raise every year. Point out your skill sets, perhaps even to the point of suggesting that your employer do a “shootout” with you and another editor/colorist working on the same or similar projects for a few hours, or better still, a full day. That will help prove that they are getting more so they should be paying more.
Above all else, be humble, non-threatening and approach everything from the standpoint of how having you around benefits them. The days of getting a raise because “I need to support a family” are long gone. Nobody cares, especially the bean counters who may have the ultimate say.
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Have you asked for a day rate increase? If so, what did they say? If no…trust me….their not gonna just go ahead and raise it without you bringing the issue up.
If you DO ask for a rate increase, a jump from 300 to 500/day most likely isn’t gonna happen. Not to say that you can’t earn that rate elsewhere. The suggestion by Nick for a yearly increase is a good one.
It sounds like you are confident in your job skills, but it also sounds like this is the only post facility you have ever worked at (that’s my assumption based on your post…I could be wrong). You may find that you need to start freelancing at other facilities in order to move up the day rate ladder. But remember…most places hire editors to edit and producers to produce. The places that hire “preditors” don’t necessarily pay more because of the extra skills, they are just trying to get more bang for their buck.
Bryan Keith
http://www.happylandstudio.com -
Hey Bryan
I did just ask for a raise to 400 but they won’t even take me to that. But the problem is they are raking in hundreds of thousands since so many big projects are coming in and I’m the only one stop shop editor working 12-14 hours a day and I launched most of those projects thats why so much of the great work is still expanding.I’ve only gotten a couple days off a year for the past couple years (most of that being hindered by support calls during all the days off) so I was going to try and maybe spend a year taking 5-6 weeks off maybe as a way for them to return the help I gave?
Wasn’t sure what else to do. I am making just as much as an assistant made 5 years ago, but I work more hours than assistants and do the entire range of work for the one of the biggest networks in the industry.
Any other ideas? There aren’t that many full time jobs out there I could switch to, plus I need some great vacations somehow before I switch.
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How did it go finally?
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Scratching my head to wonder why a brand-spanking-new COW member would use their inaugural post to ask a question in a dead four-year-old thread……….
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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It’s called Google my friend. The internet itself enables our community to transcend space. Google enables it to transcend time.
Searches are based on relevance, and thanks to our long history of relevant replies — predating Google! — the majority of Creative COW’s NEW traffic comes from OLD posts.
This is the primary reason behind making the forum index view default to placing threads with the newest posts on top. A thread is “current” when someone is “currently” posting on it.
Note that this is the default behavior of every forum on any topic these days, and that’s the reason why.
Your guide through space and time,
Tim Wilson
Editor-in-Chief
Creative COW
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