How To Become A News Photojournalist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a news photojournalist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Paul Mitchell Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a news photojournalist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $27.95 an hour? That's $58,137 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -10% and produce -5,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a news photojournalist?

Paul Mitchell Ph.D.

Coordinator of Recruitment and Retention, University of Nevada - Reno

A couple of things: make sure that you have used your time wisely as an undergrad. Often, students expect to get great jobs out of college, but they're not equipped because their skillset is not up to par. So take advantage of internships, job opportunities. Also, be willing to interview multiple times. This will help those to be more comfortable during an interview.

ScoreNews PhotojournalistUS Average

Salary

4.5

Avg. Salary $58,137

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.3

Growth rate -10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.29%

Asian 9.13%

Black or African American 6.51%

Hispanic or Latino 12.95%

Unknown 4.41%

White 66.71%

Gender

female 10.90%

male 89.10%

Age - 38

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 - 38

Stress level

7.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.1

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.1

Work life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a news photojournalist

Explore news photojournalist education requirements

Most common news photojournalist degrees

Bachelor's

82.2 %

Associate

12.1 %

High School Diploma

4.7 %

Start to develop specific news photojournalist skills

Skills	Percentages
Edit Video	34.22%
Newsgathering	14.33%
News Coverage	12.71%
Assignment Desk	11.26%
Live Shots	4.23%

Complete relevant news photojournalist training and internships

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

Research news photojournalist duties and responsibilities

Operate AP NEWSCENTER/ENPS and manage CNN feed services.
Execute the editing of unformat news footage with the nonlinear Edius system.
Work with HD equipment and also fill-in studio camera operator and fill-in video editor for newscasts.
Serve as photojournalist, editor and researcher of general and investigative news.

Prepare your news photojournalist resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable news photojournalist resume templates

Build a professional news photojournalist 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 news photojournalist resume.