How to get into filmmaking

There are many pathways into filmmaking, depending on your exact goals, but all of them require you to craft your skills, make connections, and be motivated. It is possible to get into filmmaking even without experience if you are willing to work hard and start at the bottom.

How To Become A Film Crew Member: What It Is and Career Path

What is a film crew member 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 film crew member. For example, did you know that they make an average of $12.09 an hour? That's $25,152 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 14% and produce 775,300 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreFilm Crew MemberUS Average

Salary

2.0

Avg. Salary $25,152

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.0

Growth rate 14%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.85%

Asian 6.49%

Black or African American 9.64%

Hispanic or Latino 18.63%

Unknown 6.92%

White 57.47%

Gender

female 55.06%

male 44.94%

Age - 21

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 - 21

Stress level

7.0

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.9

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

9.7

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a film crew member

Explore film crew member education requirements

Most common film crew member degrees

Bachelor's

36.9 %

High School Diploma

33.5 %

Associate

18.6 %

Start to develop specific film crew member skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	10.68%
Food Orders	7.67%
POS	6.93%
Concession Stand	6.22%
Excellent Guest	6.13%

Complete relevant film crew member training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New film crew members 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 film crew member based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real film crew member resumes.

Research film crew member duties and responsibilities

Manage food preparation, maintain cleanliness and punctuality while effectively support customers in daily transactions with suggestive selling methods.
Operate a cash register and used POS systems.
Operate POS system to itemize and complete customer's purchases.
Operate large-volume cooking equipment such as grills and fryers and communicate clearly and positively with co-workers and management.

Prepare your film crew member resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your film crew member 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 film crew member resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable film crew member resume templates

Build a professional film crew member 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 film crew member resume.

Apply for film crew member jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a film crew member job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do film crew members rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Film crew member reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2020

Pros

I was never in a floor staff but I have worked as a general laborer where me and my other co-workers where responsible for clean up after ourselfs and other employees for everyone's safety