Video designers carry a project from a written idea all the way to a finished, published video — writing the story, planning shots, filming, cutting everything together, adding effects, and getting it in front of an audience. Almost every entry-level video job is really an editing job first: directing and shooting come later, but a clean, well-paced edit is what gets you hired.
Entry-Level Requirements
Portfolio
A demo reel — 60 to 90 seconds, your best work first — plus 2–3 full finished pieces that show range: a narrative piece, a promo/social cut, and something documentary-style.
Tools
Adobe Premiere Pro is the industry standard for editing. Basic After Effects (titles, simple motion graphics) is a strong plus on top of it.
Degree?
Not required for most entry editing roles. A reel that proves you can cut a clean, watchable story matters far more than a diploma — this is one of the most portfolio-driven fields on this page.
Common entry titles
Income Potential
| Entry-Level (10th percentile) | National Median | Experienced (90th percentile) |
|---|---|---|
| $38,990 / yr | $66,600 / yr | $154,480 / yr |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Film and Video Editors (SOC 27-4032), May 2023 — the most recent complete national data available. These are national figures across every region and employer, not a promise; BLS doesn't track years of experience directly, so "entry-level" and "experienced" here stand in for the lowest and highest 10% of earners nationally. A lot of real video work is freelance or gig-based — Book Seven, The Career Path, covers what that actually looks like financially.
Your Portfolio Plan
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Grade 9 — Learn to run a real project
Managing a Design Project teaches the timeline and file-organization discipline every production, big or small, actually runs on.
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Grade 10 — Your first cut
Intro to Motion: Animated GIFs in Photoshop is your first hands-on experience thinking in frames and timing before you ever touch a timeline editor.
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Grade 11–12 — Real footage, real edit
Production Skills: Video Capture & Editing Basics and Preparing Files for Print, Web & Video Export get you from raw footage to a properly exported, deliverable file.
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Ongoing — Package it like a professional
Building Your Digital Design Portfolio and Writing a Process Narrative for Your Portfolio turn your finished pieces into a reel with real context around it.
4+ Projects to Build Your Portfolio
Storyboard a 60-Second Story
Hand-draw a full storyboard, shot by shot, for a 60-second video idea — before ever picking up a camera.
Proves you can plan a shoot on paper, which is exactly what saves a real production from wasted shooting days.
First Cut: Animated Loop
Build a short, clean, looping animation in Photoshop's Timeline panel that proves you can think in frames, pacing, and timing.
Timing is the single hardest thing to teach in editing — this project builds the instinct for it before real footage is even involved.
Shoot & Edit a Real Short
Capture and edit a real short piece — an event recap, a PSA, an interview — start to finish, with properly organized project files.
This is the anchor piece of your reel — the one full, real production that proves you can carry a project alone.
Export for Three Platforms
Take one finished video and correctly export three versions: a vertical social cut, a landscape web cut, and a print-quality thumbnail.
Knowing the right export settings for the right platform is an invisible skill that separates a hobbyist edit from a professional deliverable.
Assemble a Demo Reel
No dedicated lesson covers this yet — cut your best 60–90 seconds from everything above into one reel. Lead with your strongest 5 seconds; most reels get judged before they finish.
The single most important asset for landing any entry-level editing job — more than a resume, more than a cover letter.