Salary
Average Salary: $119,000
Expected Lifetime Earnings: $4,968,012
It varies.
Yeah, you hear that a lot, but it's true. Are you scoring your first flick, a student film your buddy wrote in grad school, or are you John Williams, working on the next big thing? Whatever it is you're doing, your annual salary varies on what you're working on, and how often you work.
If you're composing for TV, you'll be banking somewhere between $1k-$5k an episode (source). It may not sound like a lot, but when you think about all of the shows on TV and how a show on a major network runs around 22 episodes a season, you can see how it all adds up.
That said, the big money's in film. Again though, it's going to depend on what kind of film you're working on and just how good you are. The salary for a film score composer can range from $2k-$500k per film (source). The current average salary for a film score composer in Los Angeles (which is most likely where you'll have to be) is $119k. Not bad, but keep in mind how hard it is to even break into this world. But when you are first starting out, plan on getting paid peanuts, if anything at all. Before any kind of break, you'll likely be spending your time scoring student films for the credits and the experience.