What do they do?
Produce or direct stage, television, radio, video, or film productions for entertainment, information, or instruction. Responsible for creative decisions, such as interpretation of script, choice of actors or guests, set design, sound, special effects, and choreography.
Also known as:
Animation Director, Artistic Director, Content Producer, Digital Producer, Director, Executive Producer, Line Producer, Multimedia Producer, News Producer, Newscast Producer, Producer, Production Director, Production Manager, Radio Producer, Stage Director, Stage Manager, Television News Producer (TV News Producer), Television Producer (TV Producer), Theater Director, TV Director (Television Director)
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Ranks #63 in job growth rate130Job Openings
Ranks #33 in net job growth
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- Bachelor's degree (58%)
- Master's degree (16%)
- Some college, no degree (12%)
- High school diploma equivalent (6%)
- Associate's degree (5%)
- Doctorate or Professional Degree (2%)
- Less than high school diploma (1%)
Most Popular Majors that prepare Producers and Directors
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#1
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Degrees Granted
8,361
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Female Students
5,500
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Male Students
2,861
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Median Starting Salary
$37,200
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#2
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Degrees Granted
5,257
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Female Students
2,314
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Male Students
2,943
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Median Starting Salary
$39,600
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#3
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Degrees Granted
4,232
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Female Students
1,991
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Male Students
2,241
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Median Starting Salary
$38,000
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#4
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Degrees Granted
1,076
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Female Students
721
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Male Students
355
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Median Starting Salary
$37,200
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#5
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Degrees Granted
209
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Female Students
123
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Male Students
86
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Median Starting Salary
$37,200
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People in this career often have these skills:
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
People in this career often know a lot about:
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
People in this career often have talent in:
- Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
- Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
- Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
- Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
- Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
- Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
- Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
- Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
- Visualization - The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
- Far Vision - The ability to see details at a distance.
- Flexibility of Closure - The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
People in this career often do these activities:
- Determine technical requirements of productions or projects.
- Coordinate artistic activities.
- Direct productions or performances.
- Conduct research to inform art, designs, or other work.
- Manage content of broadcasts or presentations.
- Study scripts to determine project requirements.
- Coordinate activities of production personnel.
- Collaborate with others to determine technical details of productions.
- Develop proposals for current or prospective customers.
- Manage operations of artistic or entertainment departments or organizations.
- Collaborate with others to prepare or perform artistic productions.
- Edit written materials.
- Write material for artistic or entertainment purposes.
- Select materials or props.
- Discuss production content and progress with others.
- Edit audio or video recordings.
- Write informational material.
- Compile technical information or documentation.
- Determine presentation subjects or content.
- Coordinate logistics for productions or events.
- Negotiate for services.
- Obtain copyrights or other legal permissions.
- Develop promotional strategies or plans.
- Direct fundraising or financing activities.
This page includes data from:
Career data: O*NET 28.3 Database
by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (“USDOL/ETA”). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA
Occupation statistics: USDOL U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics
Videos: CareerOneStop, USDOL/ETA and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development
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