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Major · Communications Technologies

Production craft for the technician on the set, not in the chair

Photographic and Film/Video Technology trains you for the technical and operational side of camera, lighting, and post-production work — separate from the arts-track Photography (50.0605) and Cinematography (50.0602) majors. About 443 degrees are awarded each year across 78 colleges, and most graduates land on union crews, in broadcast trucks, on rental-house benches, or at corporate video shops where credits and certifications open more doors than the diploma.

Schools offering
78
Annual completions
443
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$39k

About this major

Photographic and Film/Video Technology/Technician (CIP 10.0201) sits inside the Communications Technologies cluster, distinct from the arts-track Photography (50.0605) and Cinematography & Film/Video Production (50.0602) CIPs. The framing is operational: this CIP prepares you to apply technical knowledge to camera and lighting equipment and to the production of finished still, video, and film products under the supervision of photographers, directors, and editors. Coursework runs heavier on equipment setup and maintenance, lighting and power supplies, studio and set roles (camera operator, grip, best boy), digital workflows, and laboratory and post-production procedures than on art-school composition or theory.

The scale is small and concentrated: 443 degrees a year across 78 colleges, with completions skewed toward community-college AAS programs (Washtenaw, Salt Lake, Mt San Antonio, Olympic, Randolph) and a thin layer of bachelor's programs at University of Wisconsin-Stout, St. John's University-New York, and others. MediaTech Institute-Dallas drives some volume on the for-profit side. The bachelor's earnings premium is real but moderate: $47,170 vs $33,952 at five years out — a $13,000 spread that compresses against the higher debt loads many bachelor's tracks carry.

The career landscape is structurally honest about what the credential does and doesn't do. The packet lists Audio and Video Technicians ($54,830 median, +3.3% growth) and Lighting Technicians ($60,560 median, -4.6% growth) as the two anchored BLS roles, both with typical entry of 'postsecondary nondegree award' — the labor market does not require the degree at all. What it requires is union eligibility (IATSE Local 600 ICG, Local 700 Editors, Local 695 Sound, Local 80 Grips), software certifications (Avid, DaVinci Resolve, Adobe), and verifiable credits. The realistic destination map extends to camera assistants and operators (~$63,650), film and video editors ($67,250 with strong +7% growth — the brightest line in the cluster), DITs running on-set workflow, sound mixers, broadcast engineers at sports networks, corporate-video shops, rental-house bench technicians, and live-event production crews.

The honest read on timing matters. The entry-level film and TV market is the tightest it's been in 15+ years, the combined consequence of the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, the post-2022 streamer cost-cutting cycle (Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO Max all reset their content spend), and AI tools compressing commodity production work. Generative video (Sora, Runway), AI color grading, automated transcription, and voice cloning are absorbing the lower tiers — basic talking-head edits, stock-style B-roll, scratch voiceover, templated social cuts. What stays durable is the in-person craft (camera ops, gaffers, grips, location sound), narrative editorial driven by storytelling judgment, high-end color and DI, complex VFX integration, and live broadcast where physical presence and latency matter. Atlanta and New Mexico tax-incentive cities, Vancouver, and the sports-broadcast lane are the most resilient destinations. Plan B career engineering — corporate video, live events, rental-house tech, virtual production — matters as much as the dream lane.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Audio and video technicians $55k +3.3% Postsecondary nondegree award
Lighting technicians $61k -4.6% Postsecondary nondegree award
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$39k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$34k

Bachelor's

$47k

Who this major is for

You may thrive here if you already shoot, edit, or run lighting and audio as a hobby and want structured training in workflow, gear, and the discipline of working sets and edit bays; if you can spend 12-hour days on your feet on a sound stage, take direction from a director of photography or editor, and stay focused on technical execution rather than your own creative vision; if you treat the BLS classification of 'postsecondary nondegree award' as a feature rather than a flaw, because it means your reel, your IATSE eligibility, and your Avid or DaVinci certifications will weigh more than the diploma; if Atlanta, New Mexico, LA, NY, Vancouver, or a sports-network city is somewhere you can realistically relocate to chase work; if you treat the $33,952–$47,170 five-year earnings range as a starting condition and have a clear plan for how to climb beyond it through union membership, specialization (DIT, virtual production, color, editorial), or pivot to broadcast or corporate video; and if you understand that the first two to three years post-graduation will likely involve stitching together freelance PA days, rental-house shifts, and assistant work before landing a stable lane.

Think twice if you're drawn primarily to film as a creative outlet rather than the technical and operational craft — that's a Cinematography (50.0602) or Film Studies discussion, not this CIP. Reconsider also if a for-profit program (MediaTech Institute and similar) is the only route you can afford, since for-profit chains in this space drive completion volume but vary widely on net price and outcomes. The Lighting Technicians line shows -4.6% projected growth and Photographers (-2%) is also declining, so the macro signals are mixed: editors (+7%) and audio/video tech (+3.3%) are the bright lines. The post-strike, post-streamer-cut entry market is genuinely tight, and AI is reshaping which tiers of production work survive — the commodity tier is shrinking faster than the craft tier. If your real interest is the storytelling and creative side rather than the equipment and workflow side, consider Cinematography or Film Studies; if it's the tech side of broadcast and AV systems, Radio and Television Broadcasting Technology (10.0202, 953 completions) and Recording Arts Technology (10.0203, 1,311 completions) cover adjacent ground.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Photographic and Film/Video Technology/Technician

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Washtenaw Community College Ann Arbor, MI 24 0 24
Salt Lake Community College Salt Lake City, UT 23 0 23
MediaTech Institute-Dallas Dallas, TX 20 0 20
Mt San Antonio College Walnut, CA 19 0 19
University of Wisconsin-Stout Menomonie, WI 0 18 18
St. John's University-New York Queens, NY 0 18 18
Olympic College Bremerton, WA 8 9 17
Randolph Community College Asheboro, NC 14 0 14
Hennepin Technical College Brooklyn Park, MN 13 0 13
Antelope Valley Community College District Lancaster, CA 13 0 13
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Recording Arts Technology/Technician

1,311 completions/yr

Film/Video and Photographic Arts, Other

1,269 completions/yr

Radio and Television Broadcasting Technology/Technician

953 completions/yr

Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians, Other

465 completions/yr

Voice Writing Technology/Technician

4 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do Photo and Film/Video Technology majors actually study day-to-day?
Coursework centers on the operational side of production: camera systems (cine, ENG, broadcast, mirrorless), lens optics, lighting setup and power distribution, grip and electric work, audio capture for picture, file-based workflows and codecs, and post-production through Adobe Premiere, DaVinci Resolve, and Avid Media Composer. Programs typically include lab time on grip trucks or sound stages, color grading and DI fundamentals, location sound technique, and the production paperwork (call sheets, camera reports, sound logs) that working sets actually run on. The split between still photography and motion varies by school — the more technical 10.02xx CIP framing leans toward motion, equipment, and post-production over fine-art photographic composition.
Do I need a bachelor's, or is an associate's enough?
The earnings gap favors the bachelor's: associate's completers report median five-year earnings of $33,952; bachelor's completers report $47,170, a roughly $13,000 spread. But the BLS lists both Audio and Video Technicians and Lighting Technicians at typical entry of 'postsecondary nondegree award' — meaning the labor market does not legally require a degree. What it does require is union eligibility (IATSE Local 600 ICG for camera, Local 700 for editors, Local 695 for sound), software certifications (Avid, DaVinci, Adobe), and verifiable credits. Many graduates of two-year programs work the same jobs as bachelor's grads — the bachelor's route makes more sense if you want a corporate-video, in-house broadcast, or sports-network track where HR filters by degree.
What kinds of jobs do graduates actually land?
The packet anchors two BLS roles: Audio and Video Technicians ($54,830 median, +3.3% growth) and Lighting Technicians ($60,560 median, -4.6% growth). The realistic destination map runs wider: camera assistants and operators on film and TV crews (SOC 27-4031, ~$63,650), film and video editors (SOC 27-4032, ~$67,250 with strong +7% growth), sound mixers and boom operators (SOC 27-4014), camera-rental house technicians at Otto Nemenz, Panavision, ARRI Rental, and Keslow, DITs (Digital Imaging Technicians) running on-set color and data workflow, broadcast engineers at sports networks (ESPN, NBC Sports, regional sports networks), corporate-video specialists in-house at Fortune 500s, wedding and event videographers, and live-event production crews. Editors are the strongest growth lane in the cluster.
How is AI changing entry-level film, video, and photo work?
Generative tools (Sora, Runway, Adobe Firefly) and AI workflow tools (automated transcription, AI color grading, voice cloning via ElevenLabs, automated rotoscoping) are absorbing the commodity tier of production work — stock-style B-roll, basic talking-head edits, simple color passes, voiceover scratch, and templated social cuts. What is durable: in-person production craft (camera operators, gaffers, grips, location sound, and live event ops), narrative editorial that depends on storytelling judgment, color science and DI on high-end pipelines, complex VFX integration, and live broadcast where latency and physical presence matter. The Lighting Technicians line shows -4.6% projected growth in the packet — a directional signal that some tiers are shrinking. Plan around the durable lanes, not the commodity ones.
How tight is the film and TV job market right now?
Honest read: the entry-level film and TV market is the tightest it's been in 15+ years. The 2023 WGA/SAG-AFTRA strikes paused production, the streamer cost-cutting cycle that started in 2022 cut greenlight volume, and post-strike production has been slow to fully recover. Atlanta and New Mexico (tax-incentive states), Vancouver, and the sports-broadcast lane (ESPN/Disney, NBC Sports, regional sports networks, Fox Sports) are the most resilient destinations. Live-event production, corporate video at Fortune 500s, and rental-house bench-tech roles offer steadier W-2 work than chasing scripted features. Plan B career engineering matters here — most graduates spend their first two to three years stitching together freelance days, PA work, and rental-house shifts before landing a stable lane.
Where are the strongest programs concentrated?
Completions cluster at community colleges (Washtenaw CC at 24, Salt Lake CC at 23, Mt San Antonio at 19, Olympic College at 17, Randolph CC at 14) and a handful of bachelor's programs (University of Wisconsin-Stout and St. John's University-New York at 18 each). MediaTech Institute-Dallas (20) is a for-profit chain — verify cost and outcomes carefully. The CC-heavy distribution makes this an obvious 2+2 transfer pathway: an AAS at a CC near a media market, then a bachelor's at a state school or transfer to a film-program university if you want the broader degree. None of the 'top' programs sit inside the major LA/NY/Atlanta production hubs, so location strategy matters: relocating to a production city for assistant work after the credential often counts more than the program's name.
What pivot lanes hold up if scripted production stays slow?
The same training opens several adjacent doors. Virtual production on LED-wall stages (Mandalorian-style) is the highest-growth specialty — Vcam and motion-capture operators are scarce and well-paid. DIT (Digital Imaging Technician) is a workflow specialty most tech-leaning grads can move into within a year. Camera-rental house tech work (Otto Nemenz, Panavision, ARRI Rental, Keslow) is steady W-2 with deep gear exposure. Live-streaming production for esports, corporate webinars, and live concert tours (IATSE Local 80 grips, Local 695 sound, Local 600 ICG) is structurally different from scripted and held up through the strike period. Broadcast engineering at sports networks, news, and regional affiliates is the most stable W-2 lane in the cluster.