Compositor vs composer

The differences between compositors and composers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a compositor, becoming a composer takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a composer has an average salary of $53,019, which is higher than the $45,101 average annual salary of a compositor.

The top three skills for a compositor include VFX, visual effects and animation. The most important skills for a composer are video games, adobe photoshop, and adobe premiere.

Compositor vs composer overview

	Compositor	Composer
Yearly salary	$45,101	$53,019
Hourly rate	$21.68	$25.49
Growth rate	-	5%
Number of jobs	154	29
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	48	44
Years of experience	4	2

Compositor vs composer salary

Compositors and composers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Compositor	Composer
Average salary	$45,101	$53,019
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $85,000	Between $25,000 And $108,000
Highest paying City	Pittsfield, MA	-
Highest paying state	New Jersey	-
Best paying company	Dassault Systèmes	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between compositor and composer education

There are a few differences between a compositor and a composer in terms of educational background:

	Compositor	Composer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Animation	Music
Most common college	-	Stanford University

Compositor vs composer demographics

Here are the differences between compositors' and composers' demographics:

	Compositor	Composer
Average age	48	44
Gender ratio	Male, 62.7% Female, 37.3%	Male, 79.8% Female, 20.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 3.5% Hispanic or Latino, 19.2% Asian, 7.3% White, 60.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 5.3% White, 74.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	5%	30%

Differences between compositor and composer duties and responsibilities

Compositor example responsibilities.

Work closely with lighting and fx leads to help achieve an efficient workflow.
Work include matte extractions, tracking, color correction, paint fixesand integrating cg elements.
Direct a small VFX team, create consistent, realistic 3D environments/effects; integrate live-action (film) into the CGI.
Apply FX stage makeup efficiently and quickly for several characters using stage blood, liquid latex, and other FX materials.
Install signs, and apply graphics to cars, vans, trucks, semi-trucks, boats, and windows.
Hand cut stencils and hand letter signs.

Composer example responsibilities.

Supervise, manage and book DJ's.
Produce: NYC, Houston, TX, tour TX.
Work with multiple DAW software.
Record and master young talent demo CDs.
Build and maintain a high-performance PC studio workstation.
Experience in ADR recording, mixing and editing.

Compositor vs composer skills

Common compositor skills

VFX, 19%
Visual Effects, 13%
Animation, 11%
CG, 11%
Maya, 7%
Mocha, 6%

Common composer skills

Video Games, 12%
Adobe Photoshop, 11%
Adobe Premiere, 10%
Sound Design, 9%
Avid Media Composer, 6%
Pro Tools, 5%