How much do video editors make?

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video editing money

Video editing is an occupation that has seen good steady growth over the years, thanks to the time that we are living in. Every major company or individual is running after content creation, and because of that, they are on the lookout for video editors. 

Nowadays, anyone can become a video editor because of so many different types of video editing software that are present and how they are all targeted at different groups of people based on their experience level. Users have hundreds of video editing apps we have curated the best video editing apps for windows, MAC, Android, and iOS users.

Also read: Benefits of video editing

Even though it is an occupation that has been growing, there are still a lot of people who are skeptical about it because of the pay grade of editors. 

Different countries pay differently for video editors, and in this article, I will discuss how much you can earn roughly as a video editor if you are working in certain countries. 

Also read: How to choose the right Video Editing App

Skills Required

Before any company hires you to edit their videos, they will first look into the skills you have for editing videos. In video editing, there are numerous amounts of skills required, but these four are a must.

Visual Art

Visual art, as the name suggests, is all about how you share and tell the story visually. It is one thing to write down a story and shoot it, but through video editing, you are able to convey the story that you have written and shot. 

There are so many different ways an edit tells a story; each type of edit is different for different genres. You need to have control over how you are able to convey the story to this visual medium.

Because of this, the skill of visual art is the most important skill any video editor can have, as it allows users to create the type of video that is floating around in their heads.

Also read: Video editing tips and tricks that are really helpful

Media studies

Media studies is also an important skill that you should possess. It is the skill regarding the study of different types of content, history, or how different types of media are able to have an effect. 

You can learn a lot about video editing from knowing and studying different files of media and how they are able to tell the stories that they had for the videos. 

I know all these points sound a little too artsy, and I am the last person who thinks that all artsy stuff is great, but these points are genuinely important if you are serious about the world of editing. 

Graphic Designing 

Graphic designing will allow you to understand the various properties of different tools that you would need in coloring and editing your videos. 

Graphic designing is not just restricted to using Photoshop and creating different types of art material from scratch or editing photos that are clicked in RAW mode. 

You are able to do so much on video editing software these days when it comes to actually editing video footage, and it all contributes to making the overall look and quality of the video that much more better.

Photography

Photos and videos are codependent. In fact, any video that you see is basically an image being played twenty-four times a second to give the illusion of a video. 

The skills that you may use using during your photography sessions would come in very handy when you edit the videos because the same principle is applied to both the departments. 

You are there to convey some form of a story and edit those stories in a way, during post-production, that you are able to succeed in that goal.

Different pay for video editors in different countries 

Let’s now discuss the average pay that you can expect as a video editor if you are from these different countries. Keep in mind the pay varies from company to company and is based on the level of your job.

Salary of a video editor in India

If you are working as a video editor from India, then you can expect an average pay of INR 3,00,000/year ($3,631/year).

Salary of a video editor in Australia 

If you are living in Australia, and are working as a video editor from there, then you can expect an average pay of AUD 65,000/year ($43693.00/year).

Salary of a video editor in China

If you are working as a video editor from China, then you can expect an average pay range of YEN5816891/year ($24,070/year)

Salary of a video editor in North America

If you are working from the States, then you can expect an average pay range of about $68,449/year.

Salary of a video editor in South America

If you are working from South American countries like Argentina, then you can expect an average pay range of ARS 10,15,656/year ($5849/year)

Salary of a video editor in Africa

If you are working from Africa, then you can expect an average pay range of ZAR 2,51,220/year ($14,470/year)

Salary of a video editor in Mexico

If you are working from Mexico, then you can expect an average pay range of MX 1,41,036/year ($7131/year)

Salary of a video editor in Canada

If you are working from Canada, then you can expect an average pay range of CA 51,844/year ($37966.77/year)

Type of industry requiring video editors

There are many different events that do require video editors, and here are some of them.

Wedding events

Weddings are back in 2022, thanks to the ease of Covid restrictions. Many people get married, and almost all of them like to have this beautiful moment in their life be captured. 

A lot of wedding photography teams now have a videographer with them who shoots the entire wedding to edit the entire wedding in a 10-min long clip.

It is a great way to celebrate the wedding and re-live all the great moments and to edit all the shots; you need a video editor. 

Video editors come in very handy and are an important part of the team of wedding videographers. 

YouTube channels

Everyone wants to join the YouTube space because of how popular it has now become and also how profitable. 

You can put out as many videos as you like, and once you reach the monetisation mark, you can earn a lot out of YouTube as well. 

If you are starting out as a YouTuber and are looking to find the best video editing softwares, then I have written a separate article in that category.

Once you start earning money through YouTube, you can hire someone to edit your videos for you, and that’s where video editors come in handy.

Movies

Movies have started the definition and the occupation of a video editor. There were times one individual had to cut each frame and attach it to make a movie, but nowadays, they can all do it on a computer. 

Movies are an important art form and require a village to make the right movie, but one of the most important members of the village is the video editor. 

The video editor is the person who brings everyone’s hard work into one place and makes it a movie. There is no movie without a video editor, and this is usually the end goal of most video editors. 

TV and Web series 

Nowadays, web series have started to become quite popular, and many studios are pouring a huge amount of money into separate web series and TV shows. 

Those web series and TV shows also require someone to edit all the clips and shots for them to release to the audience.

The job of a video editor on web series and TV series is almost the same as for editing movies.

Commercial videos 

Advertisements practically run the entire internet and many different businesses as well. There are ads everywhere, and they all vary from content to content and in budget.

What’s the same about all the ads and commercial videos is their video editors. Video editors are always required for anything that has to do with clips and joining those clips to form an end product.

Commercial videos are also pretty well funded these days, and you are able to make good money as a video editor working on such films as well. 

Also read: How to add music to video

FAQs

Let’s now discuss some of the frequently asked regarding this topic.

How to increase your pay as a video editor?

First of all, if you are already earning as a video editor, that’s a great feat on its own! So, congratulations on that. The process of increasing your pay as a video editor is the same as in all other fields of work.

You have to prove that you are capable of a higher pay grade through your work. Your work is the staple of how good you are in this particular field and what all you are able to do.

Once you show it to the people that have hired you, that you deserve more than what you are getting, there is no way you won’t be able to increase your pay.

If that doesn’t work, simply join some other firm that is willing to pay you more than your current one.

Do video editors make good money?

It all depends on the country that you are working from; each country has different levels of economics, and each video editor from that country gets paid differently.

You can get paid sufficiently in one country, but when you convert that money, then it might seem to be less for the other country.

That being said, the higher your job position becomes as a video editor, the better your pay will be as a video editor. 

How much money can you make as a video editor?

You can make plenty of money as a video editor; it all depends on the level you are at right now. If you are someone who has just started in the world of video editing, then chances are you are earning less. 

As you grow more in this field and become better and better in this craft, you will be able to earn a lot more than your current fee. 

I have listed eight countries above, and the average pay you can expect as a video editor in those countries ranges from $3K/year – $96K/year.

Is video editing a good career?

Video editing is a good career if you like to edit videos. It is a genuinely fun career, but at the same time, you are handling a lot of different tasks at the same time, and things can get pretty complicated. 

You need to know how to edit videos properly; only then will you find yourself a good job. 

Otherwise, you might find the job to be a little monotonous because you are mostly sitting and staring at a screen and editing videos. 

That’s why I mentioned that you have to be genuinely interested in this field to find it any good.

Do video editors make a lot of money?

Video editors make sufficient amount of money based on the country they are living in. Even if you are a top-end video editor, your pay wouldn’t be close to a top-end actor/director working in your field of work.

That’s an unfair comparison, but it is sort of the truth as it is all in the same field, but I have seen that, in the end, money is not the only solution. 

Money is not everything, but it is not nothing as well. You have to earn money to have a good lifestyle, and video editors have pretty good lifestyles thanks to the work they do.

Conclusion

Well, there you have it. An article dedicated to how much you can expect to earn if you are working from these right countries and from some other counties in general.

Video editing is a craft that is quite difficult, and not a lot of editors get enough attention for the work that they do. Their work is quite important and should be respected in terms of money and recognition.

You can have a fairly good lifestyle once you make it as a top-end video editor but always do the craft because you are interested in it rather than for the money. 

As always, these have been my thoughts on this topic. What about you? Do you agree with it? Whatever your thoughts are, do let us know about them in the comments down below!

Sanjit Mansingh

Sanjit Mansingh

Sanjit Mansingh is a Journalism and Mass Communication graduate. While studying in this field he quickly realized what he wants to do in his life: Filmmaking. His interest in writing scripts is what made him give a try in the world of content writing. Sanjit's an avid Movie Geek and is an award winning Director as well.

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