Annual Salary, Salary Range, and Highest Paying States and Industries
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Camera Operators
Camera Operators operate television, video, or film camera to record images or scenes for television, video, or film productions.
Table of contents
- Average salary
- Starting salary
- Salary rank
- Salary range
- Highest paying states
- Highest paying industries
Average salary
Starting salary
Entry-level Television, Video and Motion Picture Camera Operators with little to no experience can expect to make anywhere between $29,140 to $39,550 per year or $14 to $19 per hour. Similar to any other job, their salary will increase as they gain experience.
Salary rank
We wanted to make it easy for our readers to compare the salary of Television, Video and Motion Picture Camera Operators to all the other careers out there. So we created Salary Rank. We compared the salary of all careers then we gave them a rank of A, B, C, or D depending on where their average salary sit in comparison to other careers.
Salary range
| Level | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Highest (Top 10%) | $59 | $123,220 |
| Senior (Top 25%) | $39 | $81,580 |
| Middle (Mid 50%) | $28 | $57,200 |
| Junior (Bottom 25%) | $19 | $39,550 |
| No experience (Bottom 10%) | $14 | $29,140 |
Highest paying states
| State | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| NY | $53 | $109,310 |
| CA | $39 | $80,240 |
| NJ | $35 | $72,620 |
| DC | $34 | $70,440 |
| MD | $32 | $66,270 |
| OR | $30 | $62,260 |
| WA | $30 | $61,500 |
| HI | $29 | $60,300 |
| VA | $29 | $59,810 |
| RI | $28 | $58,000 |
Another simple way to increase your salary as a Television, Video and Motion Picture Camera Operator is to move to a higher paying state. However moving to a higher paying state like NY doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the expenses at NY might be much higher than where you are currently living at right now.
According to BLS, the highest paid Camera Operators are in the states of NY, CA, NJ, DC and MD.
Highest paying industries
| Salary by industry | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| Performing Arts Companies | $160820 | $77.32 |
| Motion Picture and Video Industries | $80920 | $38.90 |
| Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers | $78090 | $37.54 |
| Federal Executive Branch | $76660 | $36.86 |
| Scientific Research and Development Services | $71370 | $34.31 |
| Rental and Leasing Services | $68210 | $32.79 |
| Cable and Other Subscription Programming | $67310 | $32.36 |
| Individual and Family Services | $66070 | $31.76 |
| Other Information Services | $65220 | $31.35 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | $62780 | $30.18 |
| Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services | $62400 | $30.00 |
| Radio and Television Broadcasting | $62280 | $29.94 |
| Employment Services | $61880 | $29.75 |
| Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses | $61200 | $29.42 |
| Religious Organizations | $61060 | $29.35 |
| Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events | $58890 | $28.31 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | $58410 | $28.08 |
| Credit Intermediation and Related Activities | $58130 | $27.95 |
| Spectator Sports | $56560 | $27.19 |
| Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations | $56080 | $26.96 |
| Computer Systems Design and Related Services | $54150 | $26.04 |
| State Government | $53790 | $25.86 |
| Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services | $53590 | $25.76 |
| Professional and Commercial Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers | $53380 | $25.67 |
| Business Support Services | $53180 | $25.57 |
| Telecommunications | $52130 | $25.06 |
| Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools | $51660 | $24.83 |
| Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services | $51510 | $24.76 |
| Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers | $51500 | $24.76 |
| Other Schools and Instruction | $49980 | $24.03 |
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