Salary
Average Salary: $51,300
Expected Lifetime Earnings: $2,142,000
Like astronauts, Corgi tamers, and Flying Wallendas, your salary depends on location. If you can handle the competition, Hollywood is the most lucrative market; the average salary is around $54,000 per year (source). As with every aspect of the movie-making biz, though, your first few jobs probably won't be netting you anywhere near that.
The best way to merge onto the film editor freeway is as a post-production assistant. Hourly rates are about $11.00 to $14.00 in L.A. and about $8.00 to $10.00 in Chicago. Be warned, the only difference between you and a pizza delivery driver is the tips (source).
After graduation, you can find jobs on Craigslist. Most of these are with small films, music videos, or trailer houses. These folks will negotiate for the lowest fees possible. You can choose to work for free or "for the experience," but you'll only be sending the message that editors aren't worth paying, so keep your eyes on the prize and be sure to ask for what you're worth.
Once you've worked a minimum number of hours to qualify for union membership, you're set. Union scale for editors is around $2,500 a week, based on a fifty-six-hour, five-day week. If you work on a Saturday (or a sixth day), you get time-and-a-half, and the seventh day pays double. Working six- and seven-day work weeks are not uncommon.
Keep in mind that jobs are only as long as the project and that you will work long, long hours. About half of Hollywood editors belong to the union and it's easy to see why: The Motion Pictures Editors Guild provides excellent health benefits and pensions.
And then there's the best of the best. William "Billy" Goldenberg, who recently won an Oscar for Best Achievement in Editing, gets about $15,000 a week. Most features shoot for two months, but post-production lasts at least twice as long—about five months. That means Goldenberg made about $300,000 for Argo, the film that brought home the Oscar.
Not all editors want to work on feature films or television. Music videos for top musicians pay about $8,000 to $10,000 a project (source).
The gold rush of post-production work has been in reality shows. These shows became popular during the writers' strike, but the Editors Guild is putting pressure on these crews to unionize. Working on a daily or weekly show is hard work—but union or not, you have to pay your dues.