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

What is a media producer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Johnathan Paul

Media Producers are involved in creating audio and video content used for commercials, movies, online channels, and other mediums. They work in an agency, a news publication, or the likes. Their duties include producing animations and narrations, editing and arranging videos, and developing program material.

They work with the production crew, directors, sound engineers, videographers, and producers. They interact with production and project stakeholders to create engaging audio/visual content that meets user needs and production objectives. However, their duties can change depending on the employer.

To become a media producer, you need an associate's or a bachelor's degree program in media arts, communications, film/television production, or any related field. You must possess communication and creativity skills. You must be conversant with software programs like Final Cut Pro, AVID, After Effects, and Photoshop, among others. Media producers are paid about $61,244 annually. Their salary falls between $39,000 and $96,000.

What general advice would you give to a Media 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.

ScoreMedia ProducerUS Average

Salary

4.5

Avg. Salary $57,433

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 6.36%

Black or African American 7.88%

Hispanic or Latino 14.49%

Unknown 5.58%

White 65.52%

Gender

female 32.94%

male 67.06%

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 media producer

Explore media producer education requirements

Most common media producer degrees

Bachelor's

79.1 %

Associate

9.9 %

Master's

7.3 %

Start to develop specific media producer skills

Skills	Percentages
Instagram	10.95%
Training Videos	9.05%
Twitter	7.91%
Video Production	5.59%
Video Content	5.44%

Complete relevant media producer training and internships

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

Research media producer duties and responsibilities

Manage and track media clips regarding the U.S. Senate race.
Participate in brainstorming sessions, proofread and edit marketing materials, manage magazine inventory.
Organize media management system for archival footage, photography, and animations.
Create PowerPoint presentations incorporating charts, scans, photographs and graphics.

Prepare your media producer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your media 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 media 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 Media Producer Resume templates

Build a professional Media 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 Media Producer resume.

Apply for media producer jobs

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

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Media Producer reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2019

Pros

The opportunity to listen to a variety of opinions added to the intrigues.