Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film
US occupation · SOC 27-4031
Job titles people report: Camera Operator, Cameraman, Master Control Operator (MCO), News Videographer, Production Technician, Studio Camera Operator, Television News Photographer, Videographer
Pay and outlook
- Median annual wage, May 2025
- $74,990
- Half earn more, half earn less
- Middle half earn
- $50,920 – $106,660
- 25th to 75th percentile
- People employed, May 2025
- 21,550
- Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
- Projected change, 2025–35
- +1.3%
- Growing slower than all jobs (0% to under 3.5%)
- Openings a year (projected)
- 2,500
- New jobs plus replacing people who leave
- Typical education to enter
- Bachelor's degree
- BLS
- All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
- Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
- Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.
What the work involves
Operate television, video, or film camera to record images or scenes for television, video, or film productions.
Main tasks
- Compose and frame each shot, applying the technical aspects of light, lenses, film, filters, and camera settings to achieve the effects sought by directors.
- Operate television or motion picture cameras to record scenes for television broadcasts, advertising, or motion pictures.
- Adjust positions and controls of cameras, printers, and related equipment to change focus, exposure, and lighting.
- Confer with directors, sound and lighting technicians, electricians, and other crew members to discuss assignments and determine filming sequences, desired effects, camera movements, and lighting requirements.
- Operate zoom lenses, changing images according to specifications and rehearsal instructions.
- Observe sets or locations for potential problems and to determine filming and lighting requirements.
- Set up and perform live shots for broadcast.
- Use cameras in any of several different camera mounts, such as stationary, track-mounted, or crane-mounted.
Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.
Getting in
- Typical education to enter (BLS)
- Bachelor's degree
- O*NET Job Zone 3
- Medium preparation
- Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Interests it suits
The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.
- Artistic: creating, designing and self-expression
- Realistic: hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
- Conventional: organising information, records and procedures
Fields of study that lead here
From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 4 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.
Visual & Performing Arts
- Cinematography and Film/Video Production
- Documentary Production
Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Visual & Performing Arts at the Major step.
Where many students take visual & performing arts
- Savannah College of Art and DesignSavannah, GA · 42% of degrees · 15,243 undergraduates
- Southern New Hampshire UniversityManchester, NH · 4% of degrees · 163,164 undergraduates
- University of Central FloridaOrlando, FL · 8% of degrees · 59,146 undergraduates
- New York UniversityNew York, NY · 16% of degrees · 28,663 undergraduates
- The New SchoolNew York, NY · 68% of degrees · 6,563 undergraduates
- Berklee College of MusicBoston, MA · 57% of degrees · 7,468 undergraduates
Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.
Other fields
Our college matcher doesn't offer this field as a major, so we can't suggest colleges for it here.
Communications Technologies/Technicians and Support Services
- Radio and Television Broadcasting Technology/Technician
- Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians, Other
Related careers
Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.
- Electro-Mechanical and Mechatronics Technologists and Technicians
$73,900 median · +2.6% projected
- Broadcast Technicians
$59,570 median · -3.1% projected
- Audio and Video Technicians
$58,100 median · +3.9% projected
- Avionics Technicians
$82,280 median · +9.4% projected
- Camera and Photographic Equipment Repairers
$52,720 median · -15.5% projected
- Lighting Technicians
$68,060 median · -4.8% projected
Sources
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0
Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk