💡 Why it matters: Film and series are made all over the world, and streaming platforms keep buying stories from new places. Directors are paid per project, so income can swing a lot from year to year.
🌍 Around the world
- Nigeria: Nollywood is one of the biggest film industries in the world, and streaming platforms keep buying African stories.
- United States: Jobs for producers and directors are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, as fast as average (US Bureau of Labor Statistics).
💰 What it can pay
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Starting out
- ₦800k – ₦3M
- Mid-career
- ₦3M – ₦12M
- Senior
- ₦12M – ₦50M
≈ ₦250k – ₦1M a month mid-career. Indicative estimate by Incusim.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Indicative mid-career range (our estimate, not yet checked against an official source). Incusim estimate
🇺🇸 United States
Closest US category: Producers and directors. Median pay; low and high are the 10th and 90th percentiles. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025
🇨🇦 Canada
Hourly wage low/median/high x 2,080 hours. Job Bank (Government of Canada), 2023-2024
Yearly pay before tax. UK, US and Canada figures come from the official sources named on each card. Nigeria has no official salary survey, so those are our indicative estimates. Real pay depends on the employer, the place, your skills and experience.
🛠️ What you actually do
- Decide how a story will look and feel on screen
- Guide actors through their scenes
- Lead the camera, sound and costume teams
- Work with producers on budget and schedule
- Review footage and approve the final edit
⚡ Skills you'll need
- Leadership
- Storytelling
- Communication
- Creativity
- Staying calm under pressure
Get ready at school
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Start on set as a production assistant and work your way up
- Make short films with friends and enter film festivals
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- Start as a production runner and work up
- Screen industry trainee schemes and apprenticeships
🇺🇸 United States
- Work as a production assistant on sets
- Make short films and enter film festivals
🇨🇦 Canada
- Start as a production assistant or assistant director
- Make short films and apply to film festivals and funding programs
🗺️ Your path to this career
- 1Watch lots of films and study how they are made
- 2Make short films with a phone
- 3Study film or join a film school or short course
- 4Work on sets as an assistant director
- 5Direct short films, music videos, then features
⏰ A day in the life
On set at 6am, you check the day's scenes with the crew, rehearse with the lead actor, then shoot until sunset. At night you watch the day's footage and plan tomorrow.