Film Career · Production Support
First Assistant Accountant
Production Support · Varies by craft and market
- Union
- Varies
- Day rate
- ~$200–$700/day
- Experience
- 5–12 yrs
What does a First Assistant Accountant do?
The first assistant accountant is a senior craft chair in the production support department, trusted with the work that has the least room for error.
Union coverage for the position varies: varies by craft and market. Like every production support role, the job is hired production by production, and repeat work comes from department heads who trust the name on the call sheet.
What does a First Assistant Accountant make?
- Pay for these support roles is by the day and varies widely by craft and market, typically roughly $200-$700 a day, or roughly $40K-$130K a year with steady work.
Film work is gig based, so crew are paid a day or weekly rate rather than a salary. These are realistic 2024-2025 ranges grounded in union rate cards and industry data; actual pay swings with budget tier, market, overtime, and reputation.
Sources & how we estimate pay
Union scale is the floor; the ranges above also reflect market day rates above scale. They are grounded in the following 2024–2025 sources:
Union rate cards & wage schedules
Official guild scale — the floor each craft is paid from.
- IATSE — 2024 Basic Agreement wage scales (PDF) ↗
- IATSE Local 600 (International Cinematographers Guild) — camera rate cards ↗
- DGA — minimum salary rate cards (director, unit production manager, assistant directors) ↗
- WGA — schedule of minimums (writers) ↗
- SAG-AFTRA — theatrical & background rate sheets (cast, stunts, background) ↗
- Teamsters Local 399 — basic feature wage rates, 2024–27 (transportation, locations, wranglers) (PDF) ↗
You’ll like and be good at this job if:
Hard skills
- You have a practical craft the production needs
Soft skills
- You combine craft mastery with responsibility for the outcome
- You are trusted with the work that has the least room for error
The ladder
Related chairs in this craft family, ordered from entry toward leadership:
- 1Assistant Accountant
- 2Second Assistant Accountant
- 3First Assistant Accountant (this role)
Career progression
Within this craft family the recognized progression runs from assistant accountant toward first assistant accountant, with each step earned through set time and the trust of the chairs above. Where this role sits on that ladder is less important than how the production support department works: people move up when the department already believes they can do the next job.
A typical path, from entry to the top of the craft. Times are rough and vary by market, luck, and how steadily the work comes.
~$40K–$130K/yr
~$40K–$130K/yr
- First Assistant Accountantyou are here
~$40K–$130K/yr
How do you become a First Assistant Accountant?
Nobody is hired into this chair from outside: it is a promotion earned inside the production support department, from the people who watched you hold the junior versions of the job. The route in starts at the department's entry positions and runs through years of trusted work.
Covered by a union? The joining a film union guide explains how each one takes members.