Film and Video Editors
What Film and Video Editors Do
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.
See full salary breakdown & percentiles →
Career Outlook
National employment outlook, 2024–2034.
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- None
- Self-employed
- 29.3%
Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.
How Much Preparation Does This Take?
Job Zone 4 of 5Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
- Experience
- A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations.
- Education
- Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
- Job training
- Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Source: O*NET Job Zones.
Key Knowledge Areas
Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.
- Communications and Mediaimportance 4.9/5
- English Languageimportance 4.6/5
- Computers and Electronicsimportance 4.5/5
- Telecommunicationsimportance 4.1/5
- Fine Artsimportance 4.0/5
- Production and Processingimportance 3.7/5
- Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 3.4/5
- Engineering and Technologyimportance 3.3/5
Work Environment
What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.
- E-Mail5.0/5
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled5.0/5
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.9/5
- Time Pressure4.7/5
- Spend Time Sitting4.6/5
- Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team4.5/5
Careers With Similar Skills
Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.
- Medical Dosimetrists95% skill match
- Nurse Practitioners95% skill match
- Musicians and Singers95% skill match
- Exercise Physiologists95% skill match
- Food Scientists and Technologists95% skill match
- Athletic Trainers94% skill match
- Speech-Language Pathologists94% skill match
- General Internal Medicine Physicians93% skill match
Transferable Skills
Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.
- Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.3/5
- Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.1/5
- Time Managementimportance 3.1/5
- Coordinationimportance 3.0/5
- Social Perceptivenessimportance 2.9/5
- Persuasionimportance 2.8/5
- Systems Analysisimportance 2.8/5
- Systems Evaluationimportance 2.6/5
Software & Technologies
Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.
Hot Technologies
In-Demand Technologies
- Adobe Premiere Pro
- Apple Final Cut Pro
- DaVinci Resolve
- Video editing software
Other Software Used
- Adobe Director
- Apple DVD Studio Pro
- Apple QuickTime
- Apple Xsan
- Autodesk Maya
- Autodesk Smoke
- Avid Digidesign Pro Tools
- Avid Technology audio visual editing software
Work Style
Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.
- Attention to Detail
- Innovation
- Dependability
- Achievement Orientation
- Adaptability
- Intellectual Curiosity
- Perseverance
Career Interests
This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.
- ArtisticHigh
- ConventionalMedium
- RealisticMedium
- EnterprisingMedium
- SocialLow
- InvestigativeLow
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 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.
Where This Career Is Most Concentrated
Metro areas where film and video editors make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).
- 1Waterbury-Shelton, CT8.18× national avg
- 2Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA5.82× national avg
- 3Burlington-South Burlington, VT2.77× national avg
- 4Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT2.66× national avg
- 5New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ2.20× national avg
Possible Career Moves
A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.
- Nurse PractitionersCareer Change
- Cartographers and PhotogrammetristsCareer Change
- Medical DosimetristsCareer Change
- Food Scientists and TechnologistsCareer Change
Related Education Programs
Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.
Documentary Production
- Full Sail University (Winter Park, FL)grads earn ~$33,579
- New York University (New York, NY)grads earn ~$58,720
- Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, GA)grads earn ~$41,651
- Emerson College (Boston, MA)grads earn ~$49,951
- Miami Dade College (Miami, FL)
Radio and Television
- New York University (New York, NY)grads earn ~$77,109
- California State University-Northridge (Northridge, CA)grads earn ~$49,359
- Northwestern University (Evanston, IL)grads earn ~$116,019
- Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, GA)grads earn ~$64,076
- University of Mississippi (University, MS)grads earn ~$69,082
Journalism
- University of Missouri-Columbia (Columbia, MO)grads earn ~$69,016
- Columbia University in the City of New York (New York, NY)grads earn ~$78,880
- University of North Texas (Denton, TX)grads earn ~$57,461
- University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus (Norman, OK)grads earn ~$54,031
- University of Wisconsin-Madison (Madison, WI)grads earn ~$75,967