Producers and Directors

Median salary

$90,360

Average salary

$113,300

Employment

143,120

Projected growth

4.9% growth

Annual openings

12,800

Typical entry education

Bachelor's degree

What Producers and Directors Do

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.

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience: Less than 5 years
On-the-job training: None
Self-employed: 8.2%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

How Much Preparation Does This Take?

Job Zone 4 of 5

Job 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 4.7/5
English Languageimportance 3.9/5
Telecommunicationsimportance 3.7/5
Computers and Electronicsimportance 3.6/5
Administration and Managementimportance 3.4/5
Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 3.2/5
Fine Artsimportance 2.8/5
Engineering and Technologyimportance 2.7/5

Work Environment

What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.

E-Mail5.0/5
Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team4.9/5
Telephone Conversations4.8/5
Contact With Others4.8/5
Frequency of Decision Making4.7/5
Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.6/5

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.

General and Operations Managers97% skill match
Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers97% skill match
Administrative Services Managers96% skill match
Postmasters and Mail Superintendents96% skill match
Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling95% skill match
First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers95% skill match
Architectural and Engineering Managers95% skill match
Curators95% skill match

Transferable Skills

Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.

Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.9/5
Coordinationimportance 3.9/5
Time Managementimportance 3.6/5
Management of Personnel Resourcesimportance 3.6/5
Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.5/5
Systems Analysisimportance 3.5/5
Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.4/5
Negotiationimportance 3.3/5

Software & Technologies

Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.

Hot Technologies

In-Demand Technologies

Adobe Premiere Pro

Other Software Used

Work Style

Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.

Innovation
Leadership Orientation
Self-Confidence
Adaptability
Achievement Orientation
Social Orientation
Dependability

Career Interests

This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.

ArtisticHigh
EnterprisingHigh
ConventionalMedium
SocialMedium
InvestigativeLow
RealisticLow

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 producers and directors make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).

1Waterbury-Shelton, CT5.80× national avg
2Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA3.80× national avg
3New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ3.09× national avg
4Glens Falls, NY2.78× national avg
5San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA2.30× national avg

Possible Career Moves

A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.

General and Operations ManagersCareer Change
Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except GamblingCareer Change
Administrative Services ManagersCareer Change
Meeting, Convention, and Event PlannersCareer Change

See the full career path from Producers and Directors →

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.