RecordJob

Where a camera operator can go next

5 destinations recorded, ranked by how much of the target role a camera operator already meets. The closer to the top of Table 1, the less there is to learn.

Camera operators setup and operate digital film cameras to shoot domestic motion pictures or television programs. They work together with the video and motion picture director, the director of photography, or the private client. Camera operators give advice on how to shoot scenes to actors, the video and motion picture director and other camera operators.

Also known as videographer, towercam operator, remote head operator, cameraman, camerawoman, video camera operator, camera equipment operator, steadicam operator, camera crane operator, railcam operator.

Technicians and associate professionals 45 skills on file 5 career moves 0 above 60% overlap Closest: stand-in, 56%

Fig. 2 · Career map 5 nearest · ESCO v1.2.1

70% and above · short step
50 to 70% · real move
Below 50% · substantial retraining

The 5 nearest destinations from camera operator, each one a link to that move’s record. Distance from the centre is how much retraining the move takes; the figure on each is how much of that role a camera operator already covers. All 5 are listed in the tables below.

Table 1

Table 1 · Within reach

Table 2

Table 2 · A bigger jump

Possible, but expect real retraining rather than a sideways step.

Table 3

Table 3 · What the job itself asks for

A camera operator needs 23 required skills and areas of knowledge. These 10 are the ones fewest other jobs share, so they say the most about the work.

Required skill Area

set up audiovisual peripheral equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
determine visual concepts communication, collaboration and creativity
create moving images communication, collaboration and creativity
select camera apertures working with machinery and specialised equipment
cinematography arts and humanities
analyse the scenography communication, collaboration and creativity
set up cameras working with machinery and specialised equipment
study media sources information skills
work with the director of photography communication, collaboration and creativity
audiovisual equipment arts and humanities

Table 4

Table 4 · Jobs that lead here

The reverse view: occupations whose skills already cover much of what a camera operator does. The figure is how much of this job each one brings.

Index

Look up another occupation

Camera operator is filed under Technicians and associate professionals, ISCO major group 3. The full index lists all ten groups.

Note

How these figures were compiled

Overlap is how much of the target role is already part of a camera operator’s work. It is directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. Every entry above opens the full comparison for that move: what carries over, what is missing, and where to start. The full method.