How To Become A Camera Assistant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a camera assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a camera assistant. For example, did you know that they make an average of $37.43 an hour? That's $77,863 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 12% and produce 9,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreCamera AssistantUS Average

Salary

6.1

Avg. Salary $77,863

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.4

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.38%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 4.82%

Hispanic or Latino 16.51%

Unknown 2.91%

White 68.38%

Gender

female 24.69%

male 75.31%

Age - 45

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 45

Stress level

4.4

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.2

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.1

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a camera assistant

Explore camera assistant education requirements

Most common camera assistant degrees

Bachelor's

73.8 %

Associate

14.5 %

Master's

4.8 %

Start to develop specific camera assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
Photography	15.34%
Music Videos	14.60%
Production Equipment	13.95%
Camera Equipment	10.66%
DP	7.10%

Complete relevant camera assistant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New camera assistants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a camera assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real camera assistant resumes.

Research camera assistant duties and responsibilities

Maintain camera accessories including lens, batteries, tripods and dollies.
Work within the camera department on various independent projects which include feature films, shortfilms, music videos and documentaries.
Develop knowledge of DSLR photography and advance picture editing.
Act as second camera for b-roll.

Prepare your camera assistant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your camera assistant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a camera assistant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable camera assistant resume templates

Build a professional camera assistant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your camera assistant resume.