💡 Why it matters: Businesses, musicians, event organisers and creators all need video, and most cannot edit it themselves. Skilled editors can work for local clients and also sell their skills to clients abroad.
🌍 Around the world
- Nigeria: Skilled editors in Nigeria can work for local clients and also sell their skills to clients abroad.
- United States: Jobs for film and video editors and camera operators are projected to grow 3% from 2025 to 2035, about as fast as average (US Bureau of Labor Statistics).
💰 What it can pay
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Starting out
- ₦800k – ₦2.5M
- Mid-career
- ₦2.5M – ₦7M
- Senior
- ₦7M – ₦15M
≈ ₦208k – ₦583k a month mid-career. Indicative estimate by Incusim.
🇺🇸 United States
Closest US category: Film and video editors and camera operators. Median pay. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025
🇨🇦 Canada
Closest Job Bank occupation: Editor, videotape. 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
- Cut and arrange video clips
- Add music, captions and effects
- Fix colour and sound
- Match the style the client wants
- Export videos for TikTok, YouTube or TV
⚡ Skills you'll need
- Attention to detail
- Storytelling
- Editing software
- Patience
- Meeting deadlines
Get ready at school
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Learn CapCut, Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve from free tutorials
- Apprentice with a video production company or church media team
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- Creative industries or post-production apprenticeship
- Start as a runner or assistant editor
- Build a showreel and freelance
🇺🇸 United States
- Intern or assistant editor at a studio
- Build a showreel and freelance
🇨🇦 Canada
- Assistant editor or intern at a production company
- Build a showreel and freelance
🗺️ Your path to this career
- 1Edit your own phone videos for practice
- 2Learn a professional editing tool
- 3Edit for friends, events or a church media team
- 4Build a showreel of your best 60 seconds
- 5Freelance or join a production company
⏰ A day in the life
A wedding video arrives with three hours of footage. You pick the best moments, sync them to music, fix the colours, and send a short highlight reel to the couple before evening.