- Videographers earn wages in myriad settings. Not all jobs require formal education. Some videographers teach themselves how to use the equipment and studying shot set-up and lighting. In other cases, a short course at a community college or technical school may provide a satisfactory background. Bachelor's degree and master's degree programs in film are available at colleges and universities. A videographer's experience, clips "reel" and education will affect salary. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports only the salary for the industry, not breakdowns by education and experience.
- Aiming cameras to the farthest points of the country, approximately 17,540 videographers worked in 2009, according to the BLS. The median salary for videographers was $42,940, although videographers in the 90th percentile earned $82,600. On the low end of the range, videographers in the 10th percentile earned $20,910.
- Radio and television broadcasting employed the most videographers. Although its salary of $44,130 was slightly over the national median, the industry didn't make the BLS top-five highest-paying industries. The federal executive branch topped the list, paying videographers $63,940. Videographers employed by accounting, bookkeeping and payroll services also earned an above-median salary of $59,140, followed very closely by those employed at cable and subscription programming, earning $59,090. The computer systems design industry also paid a higher-than-average rate of $57,350.
- When the BLS shined a light on the best-paying areas of the country to work as a videographer in 2009, Oregon came out the brightest, with a salary of $73,890. New Mexico followed, paying its videographers $65,510. The District of Columbia, which was the country's highest per-capita employer of videographers, placed third in the top-paying list with a salary of $63,100. In California, videographers earned an above-average $62,960, while Washington state's videographers took home $57,980.
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