Executive Producer: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.
The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.
10% of executive producers earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $45,780
- Hourly
- $22.01
- Source
- BLS May 2025
25% of executive producers earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $62,670
- Hourly
- $30.13
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Half of executive producers earn more than this and half earn less.
- Annual
- $90,360
- Hourly
- $43.44
- Source
- BLS May 2025
75% of executive producers earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $134,800
- Hourly
- $64.81
- Source
- BLS May 2025
90% of executive producers earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $198,540
- Hourly
- $95.45
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Executive Producers produce or direct stage, television, radio, video, or film productions for entertainment, information, or instruction. The median pay is $90,360 a year ($43.44 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a bachelor's degree (57% of workers surveyed by O*NET).
- Median pay
- $90,360
- BLS May 2025
- Employed in the U.S.
- 143,120
- BLS May 2025
- Preparation
- Job Zone 4 of 5
- considerable preparation
- Most common education
- Bachelor's Degree
- 57% of workers
Data Government data groups this job as Producers and Directors (O*NET-SOC 27-2012.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.
Executive Producers at a glance
Producers and directors in the United States earned a median annual wage of $90,360 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
In its 2025–35 employment projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for producers and directors in the United States.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35
BLS projects employment of producers and directors in the United States to grow 4.0% from 2025 to 2035, with about 12,100 openings a year on average, including replacement openings.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35
BLS estimated that 143,120 people were employed as producers and directors in the United States in May 2025, not counting the self-employed.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
Every page for Executive Producers
What executive producers do day to day
Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).
- Plan details such as framing, composition, camera movement, sound, and actor movement for each shot or scene.
- Communicate to actors the approach, characterization, and movement needed for each scene in such a way that rehearsals and takes are minimized.
- Direct live broadcasts, films and recordings, or non-broadcast programming for public entertainment or education.
- Research production topics using the internet, video archives, and other informational sources.
- Review film, recordings, or rehearsals to ensure conformance to production and broadcast standards.
- Study and research scripts to determine how they should be directed.
- Supervise and coordinate the work of camera, lighting, design, and sound crew members.
- Confer with technical directors, managers, crew members, and writers to discuss details of production, such as photography, script, music, sets, and costumes.
Executive Producer compared with other careers
Data Side-by-side comparisons of Executive Producer with careers people weigh against it: pay, outlook, education, requirements and work environment, with no overall winner.
- Sound Engineer vs Executive Producer median pay: Executive Producer $90,360 · Sound Engineer $73,130 (BLS, May 2025)
Ranked by importance to the job
Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.
Knowledge areas: Communications and Media, English Language, Telecommunications, Computers and Electronics, Administration and Management, Customer and Personal Service.
Software executive producers use
Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.
- Adobe After EffectsVideo creation and editing softwareIn demand
- Adobe Creative Cloud softwareGraphics or photo imaging softwareIn demand
- Adobe PhotoshopGraphics or photo imaging softwareIn demand
- Adobe Premiere ProVideo creation and editing softwareIn demand
- Adobe IllustratorGraphics or photo imaging softwareHot technology
- Adobe InDesignDesktop publishing softwareHot technology
- AsanaCloud-based data access and sharing softwareHot technology
- Atlassian JIRAContent workflow softwareHot technology
- CanvaGraphics or photo imaging softwareHot technology
- Extensible markup language XMLEnterprise application integration softwareHot technology
- FacebookWeb page creation and editing softwareHot technology
- Google AnalyticsData mining softwareHot technology
Also called: Movie Producer, Artistic Director, Director, Multimedia Producer, News Producer, Producer.
How this page is built
Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.
- How a specific employer defines the job.
- Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
- Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.