Education · 1 of 5
The path
There is no license and no required degree. There is a reel, and there are the people who have seen it.
- 1
High school diploma
Grade 12
Start cutting now. Phone footage, a friend's band, a school game. Nobody will ask what year you started.
- 2
Learn one program properly
6 to 12 months of real practice
Adobe Premiere Pro, Avid Media Composer or DaVinci Resolve. Scripted television runs on Avid, almost everything else on the other two.
- 3
Degree, or not
0 to 4 years
In the O*NET (Occupational Information Network) survey, 65% of people in the job said a bachelor's degree is required and 16% said a high school diploma is enough. A program buys you equipment, deadlines and a network, not a credential anyone checks.
- 4
Get in the building
1 to 2 years
Post-production assistant, media manager, loader. Low pay, long hours, and the only reliable way anyone learns you exist.
- 5
Assistant editor, then editor
2 to 5 years
You start cutting scenes when the editor trusts you, then take your own projects.