How To Become An Assistant Film Editor: What It Is and Career Path

What is an assistant film editor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an assistant film editor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $24.37 an hour? That's $50,693 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 12% and produce 9,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreAssistant Film EditorUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $50,693

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

5.5

Growth Rate 12%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.25%

Asian 7.02%

Black or African American 6.55%

Hispanic or Latino 17.71%

Unknown 5.23%

White 63.24%

Gender

female 34.68%

male 65.32%

Age - 36

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 - 36

Stress Level

5.5

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

9.0

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

4.4

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an assistant film editor

Explore assistant film editor education requirements

Most common assistant film editor degrees

Bachelor's

82.2 %

Associate

7.9 %

Master's

5.9 %

Start to develop specific assistant film editor skills

Skills	Percentages
Avid Media Composer	21.84%
Adobe Premiere	18.33%
Feature Film	17.03%
Digitizing	15.64%
Sound Effects	13.80%

Complete relevant assistant film editor training and internships

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

Research assistant film editor duties and responsibilities

Manage international man-made fiber market research/publishing company and supervise editorial content and sales of industry statistical journal.
Digitize, log, and organize all media content for original series, sports, documentaries and comedy programming.
Review submitted manuscripts, brainstorm & implement promotional strategies, track community involvement, and plan literary events with the editor-in-chief.
Review submitted manuscripts, brainstorm & implement promotional strategies, track community involvement, and plan literary events with the editor-in-chief.

Prepare your assistant film editor resume

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

Choose From 10+ Customizable Assistant Film Editor Resume templates

Build a professional Assistant Film Editor 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 Assistant Film Editor resume.

Apply for assistant film editor jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an assistant film editor job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do assistant film editors rate their job?