Film Career · Production Support
Set Medic
Production Support · Varies by craft and market
- Union
- Varies
- Day rate
- ~$200–$700/day
- Experience
- 3–7 yrs
What does a Set Medic do?
The set medic is a working craft position in the production support department on film and television productions.
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 Set Medic 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 like hands-on work and getting the details right
- You are a dependable team player who makes the department run
Career progression
The role advances the way most production support careers do: repeat hires from the same department heads, growing responsibility within the craft, and a reputation that travels between productions faster than any resume.
How do you become a Set Medic?
The working route in is through the production support department's junior positions: assist the people holding this chair, learn the standards the department runs on, and take the small versions of the job wherever they are offered.
Covered by a union? The joining a film union guide explains how each one takes members.