How to get into the film industry

There are many pathways into the film industry, depending on what you want to do within the industry, but all of them require you to craft your skills, prepare, and be motivated. It is possible to get into the film industry even without experience if you are willing to work hard and start at the bottom.

How To Become A Film Producer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a film producer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted Expert

Johnathan Paul

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a film producer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $24.13 an hour? That's $50,185 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 8% and produce 12,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a Film Producer?

Johnathan Paul

Adjunct Professor, University of North Texas

My number one piece of advice for soon-to-be or recent graduates is never to stop learning. I always strive to tell my students to be as diverse as possible. Don't just know one thing; in today's market, you need to know how to do several things. Diversify your tool palette. This will help you in the long run and may lead you to a career path you didn't realize existed.

ScoreFilm ProducerUS Average

Salary

3.9

Avg. Salary $50,185

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

9.2

Growth Rate 8%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 6.41%

Black or African American 7.98%

Hispanic or Latino 14.65%

Unknown 5.60%

White 65.20%

Gender

female 32.35%

male 67.65%

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

9.2

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

9.6

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

2.8

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a film producer

Explore film producer education requirements

Most common film producer degrees

Bachelor's

73.5 %

Master's

9.9 %

Associate

8.8 %

Start to develop specific film producer skills

Skills	Percentages
Animation	69.09%
Film Production	7.24%
Music Videos	6.36%
Feature Film	2.43%
Documentary Film	1.30%

Complete relevant film producer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New film producers 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 film producer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real film producer resumes.

Research film producer duties and responsibilities

Manage day-to-day completion activities including project planning and QA testing.
Work has been feature on the USOC website, NBC, ESPN, and PBS.
Help grow the Facebook page to nearly 100k likes.
Shoot, edit, & design DVD for wedding, sports, and educational videos.

Get film producer experience

Generally, it takes 6-12 months to become a film producer. The most common roles before becoming a film producer include internship, producer team lead and production assistant.

Prepare your film producer resume

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

Choose From 10+ Customizable Film Producer Resume templates

Build a professional Film Producer 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 Film Producer resume.

Apply for film producer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a film producer 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 film producers rate their job?