How To Become A Media Production Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a media production specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Michael Neal Ph.D.

Media production specialists are responsible for producing audio and video content used in commercials, movies, online, or other realms. They ensure that all audio-visual needs are met regarding video recording, editing, and final delivery while creating various production requests such as demonstration videos, training content, course materials, etc. Media production specialists earn an average salary of $47,000 annually or $23 per hour.

Media production specialists are professionals who are passionate about ensuring the video quality. They have the willingness to adapt to change, meet tight deadlines, and have a positive attitude around an ever-changing environment. Part of their duties includes overseeing quality control of media equipment, ensuring proper studio set-up, lighting, audio configuration, and equipment maintenance. They also coach and direct those on-screen to allow for optimum audio/visual quality and clarity in instruction.

Media production specialists typically hold a bachelor's degree in video production, film analysis, or other related fields. They are expected to have some years of experience in a similar role. Some employers prefer candidates with the skills to use computer software and video equipment.

What general advice would you give to a media production specialist?

Michael Neal Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Director, Rhetoric & Composition, Florida State University

The advice can be tricky, especially since our graduates go into a number of fields. My hope for them is that they continue to build upon what they learned in our program and apply it to new situations and contexts outside of school. I often tell students that editing, writing, and media aren't skills you master and then apply universally across contexts. Instead, we encourage students to keep growing and stretching themselves, since they will most likely face new genres, audiences, and contexts that they didn't see in college. Therefore, we teach them to be flexible, to be close readers, and analyze each rhetorical situation to determine how to best communicate within that context. Good writing isn't one-size-fits-all. Instead, it's a complex, negotiated relationship between writers, texts, contexts, audiences, media, modalities, etc.

ScoreMedia Production SpecialistUS Average

Salary

4.2

Avg. Salary $53,243

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.3

Growth rate 8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.59%

Asian 5.29%

Black or African American 10.04%

Hispanic or Latino 11.93%

Unknown 5.09%

White 67.06%

Gender

female 29.93%

male 70.07%

Age - 40

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 - 40

Stress level

7.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.8

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a media production specialist

Explore media production specialist education requirements

Most common media production specialist degrees

Bachelor's

73.4 %

Associate

15.5 %

Master's

6.0 %

Start to develop specific media production specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Training Videos	12.26%
Video Production	11.20%
Graphic Design	10.61%
Photography	7.52%
Motion Graphics	6.53%

Complete relevant media production specialist training and internships

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

Research media production specialist duties and responsibilities

Upload all videos and manage YouTube content site including comments, statistics, etc.
Provide right-hand executive assistance to the editor-in-chief; manage all aspects of professional life.
Facilitate teleconferences in various rooms at the CDC's headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia by integrating audiovisual equipment with teleconferencing units.
Function as primary contact for journal editors and sponsoring societies to coordinate editorial and production activities.

Prepare your media production specialist resume

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

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