Film Career · Above the Line
Producer
Above the Line · Not unionized; PGA is a professional association
- Union
- Non-union
- Day rate
- ~$90K–$300K/yr
- Experience
- 6–13 yrs
What does a Producer do?
The producer develops the project, assembles financing, hires the key creative team, and carries the film from idea through delivery. The Producers Guild is a professional association rather than a labor union, so producer deals are individually negotiated.
What does a Producer make?
- No union floor; project fees run about $50K-$250K on indie features and $250K-$1M+ on studio films.
- Roughly $90K-$300K a year working, $500K-$2M+ established.
- Pay is negotiated per project and hugely variable.
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) ↗
Government wage data
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the closest federal occupation.
On the job
- Develop material and shepherd scripts to greenlight
- Assemble financing, cast, and the key creative team
- Oversee production and post at the decision-making level
- Deliver the film and manage its path to audiences
You’ll like and be good at this job if:
Hard skills
- You can develop, finance, and run a project end to end
- You can build schedules, budgets, and teams
Soft skills
- You are a strong communicator and negotiator
- You thrive on responsibility and relationships
Career progression
Producers emerge from every corner: assistants and coordinators who rose through production, executives who crossed from studios and agencies, and creators who produced their own work into existence. The consistent thread is finished projects with your fingerprints on the decisions.
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.
- Production Assistant· 0-2 yrs
~$35K–$55K/yr
- Production Coordinator· 2-4 yrs
~$40K–$130K/yr
- Line Producer· 4-7 yrs
~$150K–$350K/yr
- Produceryou are here· 5-10 yrs
~$90K–$300K/yr
- Executive Producer· top
~$150K–$500K/yr
How do you become a Producer?
Produce something whole, however small, and be able to say exactly what you did. Assistant and coordinator jobs inside production companies teach development and packaging from the inside; independent film hands out real producing responsibility to whoever will carry it.
Covered by a union? The joining a film union guide explains how each one takes members.