TV, Video and Film Camera Operator Schools, Salaries, and Job Data

Job Numbers and Growth

A count of all the TV, video and film camera operators in the US adds up to about 27,000 positions. The jobless rate for workers is rated as high. Approximately 7% of employees were not able to obtain work in 2008.

Area Job Conditions

TV, video and film camera operators are most common (per capita) in Elizabethtown (Kentucky), Hartford (Connecticut), and Reno (Nevada), and least common in Minneapolis (Minnesota), Santa Ana (California), and Houston (Texas).

Santa Ana (California), Albany (New York), and Washington (District of Columbia) offer the highest pay for this career, and Sioux Falls (South Dakota), Madison (Wisconsin), and Jackson (Mississippi) offer the lowest salaries.

Training and Education

A postsecondary vocational award is suggested for those who want to pursue this career. About 58% of TV, video and film camera operators have earned a degree. Those that started college, but did not earn a bachelor's degree, represent about 29% of workers. Employees with a high school education, but no college education, are about 13% of the total. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which if any could help you with this career.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

Government stats show that 19% of TV, video and film camera operators are working part-time. Workers who are self-employed total about 17%.

TV, Video and Film Camera Operators: An Introductory Video

TV, Video and Film Camera Operators Around the Country

In the list below, each metro area is rated for the relative popularity of TV, video and film camera operators compared to other locations (that is, jobs per population). Single or double up or down arrows indicate the relative popularity in that location. Within each state listing, metro areas are sorted by the actual number of jobs for TV, video and film camera operators.

Alabama

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Birmingham	$35,000	80

Arizona

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Phoenix	$51,000	300

California

Location	Median Pay	Workers
San Francisco	$58,000	360
Oakland	$65,000	140
Sacramento	$51,000	110
San Jose	$48,000	50
Santa Ana	$64,000	40
Santa Barbara	$51,000	30

Colorado

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Denver	$41,000	270

Connecticut

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Hartford		370

District of Columbia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Washington	$64,000	550

Florida

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Miami	$34,000	310
Tampa	$38,000	190
Orlando	$32,000	130
West Palm Beach	$32,000	50

Georgia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Atlanta	$50,000	440

Hawaii

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Honolulu	$39,000	110

Illinois

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Chicago	$44,000	360

Iowa

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Des Moines	$45,000	70

Kansas

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Wichita	$32,000	40

Kentucky

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Elizabethtown	$44,000	30

Louisiana

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
New Orleans	$34,000	120

Maine

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Portland	$30,000	50

Maryland

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Baltimore	$51,000	240
Bethesda	$51,000	220

Massachusetts

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Boston	$53,000	330

Michigan

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Grand Rapids	$27,000	50

Minnesota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Minneapolis	$41,000	60

Mississippi

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Jackson	$27,000	40

Missouri

Location	Median Pay	Workers
St Louis	$54,000	190
Kansas City	$33,000	180
Springfield	$35,000	30

Nevada

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Reno	$32,000	90
Las Vegas	$44,000	70

New Mexico

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Albuquerque	$60,000	60

New York

Location	Median Pay	Workers
New York	$47,000	1,790
Albany	$55,000	100
Nassau	$43,000	60
Buffalo		50
Syracuse	$38,000	40

North Carolina

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Charlotte	$35,000	100
Raleigh	$43,000	50
Durham	$46,000	40

Ohio

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Cleveland	$51,000	170
Cincinnati	$48,000	90
Columbus	$51,000	90
Dayton	$47,000	90
Youngstown	$34,000	40

Oklahoma

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Oklahoma City	$33,000	80
Tulsa	$34,000	70

Oregon

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Portland		140

Pennsylvania

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Pittsburgh	$38,000	140
Philadelphia	$43,000	100
Harrisburg	$40,000	80
Scranton	$28,000	50

Rhode Island

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Providence	$40,000	50

South Carolina

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Charleston	$27,000	110
Columbia	$32,000	50

South Dakota

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Sioux Falls	$22,000	30

Tennessee

Location	Median Pay	Workers
Nashville	$42,000	110
Memphis	$44,000	100
Knoxville	$31,000	40

Texas

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Houston	$28,000	60
San Antonio	$42,000	50

Utah

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Salt Lake City	$53,000	70

Virginia

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Richmond	$41,000	70

Washington

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Seattle	$58,000	270

Wisconsin

Location	Median Pay	Workers	Popularity
Madison	$32,000	50

Our TV, video and film camera operator career and school information is provided by CTI Career Search.