CCollegeMatcher

Producers and Directors

US occupation · SOC 27-2012

Job titles people report: Artistic Director, Director, Executive Producer, Multimedia Producer, News Producer, Producer, Production Director, Radio Producer, Television News Producer (TV News Producer), Television Producer (TV Producer)

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025
$90,360
Half earn more, half earn less
Middle half earn
$62,670 – $134,800
25th to 75th percentile
People employed, May 2025
143,120
Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
Projected change, 2025–35
+4%
At or above the all-jobs rate (3.5% to under 7%)
Openings a year (projected)
12,100
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

Produce or direct stage, television, radio, video, or film productions for entertainment, information, or instruction. Responsible for creative decisions, such as interpretation of script, choice of actors or guests, set design, sound, special effects, and choreography.

Main tasks

  • Plan details such as framing, composition, camera movement, sound, and actor movement for each shot or scene.
  • Communicate to actors the approach, characterization, and movement needed for each scene in such a way that rehearsals and takes are minimized.
  • Direct live broadcasts, films and recordings, or non-broadcast programming for public entertainment or education.
  • Research production topics using the internet, video archives, and other informational sources.
  • Review film, recordings, or rehearsals to ensure conformance to production and broadcast standards.
  • Study and research scripts to determine how they should be directed.
  • Supervise and coordinate the work of camera, lighting, design, and sound crew members.
  • Confer with technical directors, managers, crew members, and writers to discuss details of production, such as photography, script, music, sets, and costumes.

More specific O*NET® occupations under this one: Media Programming Directors, Media Technical Directors/Managers, Talent Directors.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)
Bachelor's degree
Work experience in a related job: less than 5 years
O*NET Job Zone 4
Considerable preparation
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

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
  • Enterprising: leading, persuading and making business decisions
  • Conventional: organising information, records and procedures

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 10 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.

Communications & Media

  • Radio and Television

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Communications & Media at the Major step.

Where many students take communications & media

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.

Visual & Performing Arts

  • Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General
  • Directing and Theatrical Production
  • Musical Theatre
  • Theatre and Dance
  • Dramatic/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft, Other
  • Film/Cinema/Media Studies
  • Cinematography and Film/Video Production
  • Documentary Production
1 more programmes
  • Theatre/Theatre Arts Management

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Visual & Performing Arts at the Major step.

Where many students take visual & performing arts

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.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

← All careers

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