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

What is a film editor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average film editor salary is $51,688. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an photography major. It usually takes 4-6 years of experience to become a film editor. Film editors with a Avid Certified Operator: Avid VENUE certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 12% and produce 9,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreFilm EditorUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $51,688

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.5

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.25%

Asian 7.13%

Black or African American 6.67%

Hispanic or Latino 18.07%

Unknown 5.24%

White 62.64%

Gender

female 26.50%

male 73.50%

Age - 36

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 - 36

Stress level

5.5

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.4

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a film editor

Explore film editor education requirements

Most common film editor degrees

Bachelor's

67.9 %

Associate

12.4 %

Master's

9.3 %

Start to develop specific film editor skills

Skills	Percentages
Music Videos	22.72%
Film Production	10.11%
Adobe Premiere	7.15%
Adobe Photoshop	4.78%
Photography	3.93%

Complete relevant film editor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New film editors 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 editor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real film editor resumes.

Research film editor duties and responsibilities

Manage multiple YouTube accounts, and prepare media for online release.
Communicate with transportation managers, administrators, equipment operators and others for fulfillment of copy to achieve editorial goals.
Produce numerous YouTube videos and trailers.
Work with foreign language to be translate to English subtitles in documentaries.

Prepare your film editor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your film editor 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 editor 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 editor resume templates

Build a professional film editor 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 editor resume.