How To Become A Special Effects Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a special effects specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a special effects specialist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $29.42 an hour? That's $61,198 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 5% and produce 3,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreSpecial Effects SpecialistUS Average

Salary

4.8

Avg. Salary $61,198

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.3

Growth rate 5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.81%

Asian 7.50%

Black or African American 4.28%

Hispanic or Latino 13.92%

Unknown 5.83%

White 67.66%

Gender

female 57.55%

male 42.45%

Age - 39

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 - 39

Stress level

6.3

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.2

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a special effects specialist

Explore special effects specialist education requirements

Most common special effects specialist degrees

Bachelor's

50.9 %

Associate

18.9 %

Master's

13.6 %

Start to develop specific special effects specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Data Entry	42.56%
Product Knowledge	26.54%
Quality Customer Service	8.57%
IEP	7.79%
Bank Policy	3.04%

Complete relevant special effects specialist training and internships

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

Research special effects specialist duties and responsibilities

Recruit, manage and motivate volunteers in public education, professional education, service and rehabilitation and tobacco control programs.
Detail experience involving foreclosure procedures and legal issues.
Collaborate with multi-disciplinary departments in architecture, facilities, creative and show set design.
Collaborate with team to provide intensive services such as food, shelter, and employment to educationally or economically disadvantage veterans.

Prepare your special effects specialist resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable special effects specialist resume templates

Build a professional special effects specialist 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 special effects specialist resume.