This is not bogus and I really need some answers. Okay.. my husband is a talented fcp and avid editor working in atlanta for a biggie. we believe he is underpaid. i am interested in hearing salaries(not freelance) on a senior editor in the area... please help me figure this out.. iv'e been looking everywhere. he doesn't want to ask anyone because they are all his co-workers...
thanks much i really appreciate any insight. and if your wondering why the wife is writing.. i'm the numbers person and he is the artist of the family :)

I depends on what he is editing - news, TV, film? What is he doing?

The rate can be anywhere from $30 - $80 per hour.

He should not get less than 500 a day. FCP "Editors" or people that buy FCP and learn how to use it and then call themselves editors have been driving the price down for years. The price for an experienced, good editor is never less than $500. Ideally you should charge $650 and let them drive you to $500. That is for standard, promo, or reality type work with NO PRODUCING. If you are acting as a "preditor" then you should def ask for $650. and for commercials, minimum $850 a day.

I get about $200 a day to cut promo's. Most for the Discovery networks.

I've never seen a job for more then that unless it's doing big budget commercials or reality TV. I just don't think they exist anymore.

Final Cut Pro is too easy to get your hands on now days. And every fresh out of college film student applies for every type of job there is calling themselves and editor.

I did however get paid 400 a day once to cut an infocommercial. It was only a 2 day gig though.

The $200.00 to $400 a day dude is really being taken advantage of. If you think the pay does not match your talents don't take the job. It's up to you to make the deal. No one should be editing for less than $50.OO per hour. If we all stay firm we can all make a decent living at this. You are freelancers with no benefits and retirement.

For those of you starting out, keep this all in mind because when you are ready to have a family one day you will be in the poor house. It's not who can operate the machine(fcp/avid), its the man or woman behind the machine that makes the difference. I have MSWORD software but
I can not write a novel. Wake-up... Otherwise it will be more profitable to put on a MCDonalds apron in the next 5 years.

Best to all.

I have MSWORD software but
I can not write a novel.
^this.
excellent point.
i work in atlanta, as a freelancer cutting commercials and online content, EPK/ whatever i can get my hands on.
i also moonlight as an A2 for sporting events whenever i get a chance.
i charge firm 500.00 per day, thats cutting on my gear, unsupervised.
if a client wants to sit in, i charge 800.00 for the day, especially if they want to stay all day!
FCP has done for video studios what protools did for recording studios. leveled the field, but it also introduced a bunch of no talent hacks that think now theyve bought the fancy computer, which button do i press for success?
1. buy mac
2.buy FCP
3.????????
4.SUCCESS!!!

While it's true us newbies may not have our chops yet, we have to start somewhere. If we want to be an editor, we have to call ourselves an editor and get ourselves out there. Yes, it's a mixed blessing that FCP and similar software and equipment are so easy to come by nowadays, and not just because it can unjustly level the playing field. It's also made it too easy for people to go it alone instead of learning their craft from an older hand. In the pre-digital age, an editor needed an assistant more than he/she does now, so the mentor/apprentice relationship came built into the job. These days us new fish are largely swimming on our own right out of the gate, so it's only natural we're taking jobs bigger than our skills and charging the wrong rates. If you're a veteran, try speaking some sage advice instead of ordering the whippersnappers off your lawn. I know I'd listen.

as an employer...400 or 2000 a week is a solid salary unless the skills are online /color correct then about 2200-2300 a week...for assistant editor about half...

Salaried is going to be a little different because of the benefits. 401K, insurance, taxes,etc. We freelancers usually get double what the salaried guys get. It also depends on where you live and your market. I'm trying to take business away from the big guys in my market--so I'm getting 500.00-700.00 per day with equipment. The studio in town with complete digital equipment get about 1500.00 per day.

I guess I'm one of those newbe's I'm reading about. I'm coming back to a biz that was analog when I did it. You guys might not know what editing was like back then. I used to edit by splicing 1/4" audio tape with a razor and edit on 3/4 inch reels and in those days if a machine chewed up your tape, you were out of luck. It took me a little while to get used to this new tech, and man it is so much easier than the old days of audio and video editing. Back then I used to slide the tape by hand over the heads to hear when to make the cut, now I use a mouse. I have found that the new tech is just an upgrade of the old tech, I still do the same thing just faster and easier now. Not bad for an old school editor.

lol, nice post.
when i started out, the computers were beige.
very beige, and quite large.
they were noisy, well, that hasn't changed...
the monitors we used weighed 900 pounds,occupied the entire desk, plus they needed an isolated ground and over 9000 volts of electricity.
if your computer had more than 32MB of RAM, you were at your credit limit, or on a trust fund budget..
if you had a 1GB external SCSI drive, you were a one-man storage backup company, and a force to be reckoned with.
these days my computer looks cooler than my car, my monitor weighs less than my car, and i just sold a 2GB chip of RAM on ebay for 40 bucks!
gotta love it!
best regards video peeps!