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Producer or director: what the job actually is

Leading the making of a film, show, recording or performance, usually as a freelancer who is only as busy as the next project.

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Producer or director: quick facts

Producer or director salary in Ontario: the median pay is $39.90 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024). Its three-year outlook in Ontario is limited. The job usually needs a university degree.

Median pay in Ontario
$39.90 an hour
Pay range (low to high)
$18.27 to $56.65 an hour
Job outlook, 2025-2027
Limited
People working in it in Ontario
15,450
Usually needs
Usually a university degree

Source: Job Bank wages (updated 19 November 2025) and job prospects (updated 10 December 2025), NOC 51120. Pay varies by region and experience.

The work

What this job actually is

  • Job Bank's group is Producers, directors, choreographers and related occupations. It covers film and television producers and directors, film editors, directors of photography, choreographers and record producers. This page speaks about the group as a whole.
  • Producers organise the money, people and schedule that get something made. Directors decide what it looks, sounds and feels like. In small productions one person does both.
  • A project is a team that forms, works hard and breaks up. Between projects there is development, pitching and waiting.
  • Job Bank's Ontario outlook for this group is Limited, and a large share are self-employed. Honest read: there is real work, but it is uneven and you create much of it yourself.
  • The skills are practical. Scheduling, budgeting, working with a crew, and giving direction to people who are better than you at their own jobs.

A Tuesday

What a normal day looks like

Not a good day or a bad one. The ordinary version, which is what you would actually be living.

  1. 7:30 — Call sheet check: who is where, at what time, and what has changed since last night.
  2. 8:30 — On set or in the studio. The first hour is solving logistics: a missing prop, a late actor, a location that has a leaf blower.
  3. 10:00 — Rehearse the first scene or session. You tell people what you want, then change your mind when you see something better.
  4. 12:30 — Lunch for everybody except you, because the afternoon schedule is slipping.
  5. 13:30 — Shoot or record. Retakes. The light changes, and somebody asks whether the budget allows another hour.
  6. 16:00 — Review the day's footage or tracks with the editor or engineer and decide what you actually have.
  7. 18:00 — Wrap. Thank the crew and make sure tomorrow's plan is written down.
  8. 19:30 — Paperwork: invoices, permissions, the application for the next project's funding.
  9. 21:00 — Phone calls to the people who might pay for the next one.

Honestly

Who loves this, and who should not do it

The second list is the useful one. Nearly every careers page leaves it out, which is why nearly every careers page reads like an advert.

You may like this if
  • You like organising people around something you can see in your head.
  • You can make decisions quickly when a whole crew is waiting for an answer.
  • You enjoy being in charge and also taking the blame when it goes wrong.
  • You are comfortable with uneven work and with building projects yourself.
  • You are happy to start small and make things on whatever equipment you can get.
You may hate this if
  • You need a steady paycheque. A lot of this work is freelance, and Job Bank reports a Limited Ontario outlook.
  • You dislike long, irregular hours. Productions run early, late and on weekends.
  • You hate asking for money. Producing is mostly pitching, budgeting and persuading.
  • You do not like being responsible for a team's mistakes, schedules and safety.
  • You want to do one creative job yourself. Directing and producing mean making sure other people do theirs.

The route in

How you actually get there in Ontario

  1. Study the craft, or learn on the job

    Job Bank's Ontario page says producers, directors and film editors usually have a university degree or college diploma in the performing arts, broadcasting, journalism, business administration, theatre production or film studies, plus technical or production experience. Directors of photography usually have a degree or diploma in film studies or cinematography. Choreographers usually have a degree or diploma in dance or a period of study at a dance school. Record producers usually have a degree or diploma in music or the recording arts.

  2. Experience carries as much weight as school

    Job Bank says technical or production experience in motion pictures, broadcasting, theatre or recording is expected alongside the education. Most people start in an entry role on a crew and move up.

  3. No licence

    Job Bank says professional licensing is not compulsory and that this occupation is unregulated. Demonstrated creative ability is required across the group, which in practice means a portfolio or a reel of finished work.

  4. Make short things and finish them

    A short film, a recorded performance or a staged show that you finished is your credential. Many people make their first with a phone and borrowed friends.

Where this comes from: Job Bank — Requirements for producers, directors, choreographers and related occupations in Ontario · Job Bank — Ontario wage report for producers, directors, choreographers and related occupations · ontariocolleges.ca — program search

The money

Producer or director salary in Ontario

Job Bank's own figures, quoted rather than summarised, with the period they describe — so you can tell how old they are and go and check them.

$18.27
Low (hourly)
$39.90
Median (hourly)
$56.65
High (hourly)

Ontario, NOC 51120. Reference period 2023-2024, last updated by Job Bank on 19 November 2025. Wages vary a lot by region inside Ontario and by how long you have been doing it — the low figure is roughly where you start, not what the job is worth.

Source: Job Bank — Producer or director wages in Ontario

Where it is heading

The outlook for the next three years

Job Bank publishes a three-year outlook for every job in every province. It is the closest thing to an honest forecast, and it moves, so read it as a weather report rather than a verdict.

Ontario, 2025-2027

Limited2 out of 5 stars

  • Employment growth will lead to a few new positions.
  • A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
  • There are several unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

What that rating means: how many openings Job Bank expects in Ontario for this kind of work against how many people are likely to be looking — not whether it is a good job. A “limited” rating means more competition for each opening; it does not close the door, and it can change before you are ready to walk through it.

15,450
people work in this job in Ontario
36%
are women (48% across all jobs)
45%
are self-employed (15% across all jobs)

Source: Job Bank — Producers, directors, choreographers and related occupations job prospects in Ontario (NOC 51120). Outlook updated by Job Bank on 10 December 2025; read by us on 5 October 2026.

Before you leave school

Things you can do now

  • Take drama, dance, media or music classes if your school has them, and ask to work on the school show behind the scenes as well as in front.
  • Make a short video or recording with friends from start to finish, including a written plan and a schedule.
  • Ask about co-op at a local studio, radio station, theatre or video company.
  • Watch the credits of a film you like and look up what each role does. Producer and director are only two of many.

Test it

Do this before you decide anything

Reading about a job tells you almost nothing. This is designed to be done alone, this week, for free.

Plan, shoot and finish a one-minute video with a plan

About 120 minutes
  1. Write one paragraph on what the one-minute video is about and a shot list of no more than five shots.
  2. Make a simple schedule for yourself and one friend: where, when and who does what. Keep it to one location.
  3. Shoot it with a phone, and edit it using a free editing app. Do not add anything not on your plan.
  4. Show it to one person and ask what they understood. Write down the answer without arguing.

What it tells you. If you liked organising the plan and kept steering the friend and the edit toward what you saw in your head, you may have a producing or directing temperament, and the next step is a longer project and a look at film or media programmes. If the planning felt like a chore and you only wanted to act, film or edit, that tells you which role you prefer, and several of the others on this site may suit you more.

Better than any article

Questions for somebody who does this job

Most people say yes to a teenager who asks good questions. These are the ones that get real answers rather than encouragement.

  1. “How did you get your first paid job on a production?”
  2. “How do you find work between projects, and how long are the gaps?”
  3. “What does a producer do that a director does not?”
  4. “Did your education matter, or did your first projects?”
  5. “How do you raise money for something nobody has seen yet?”

Could you own one of these?

The part other career sites never mention

Yes, and for many people it is the normal arrangement. Job Bank counts a large share of this group as self-employed. You can set up a production company or work freelance. Be aware that your income is tied to winning projects, and that the Limited Ontario outlook Job Bank reports means competition for them.

Business 101 is free and teaches that part

Quick answers

Questions people ask about this job

How much does a producer or director make in Ontario?

The median pay for a producer or director in Ontario is $39.90 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024, updated 19 November 2025). The range Job Bank publishes runs from $18.27 to $56.65 an hour. Pay varies by region, employer and experience.

What is the job outlook for a producer or director in Ontario?

Job Bank rates the employment outlook for this work in Ontario as limited for 2025-2027 (updated 10 December 2025). Employment growth will lead to a few new positions. A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements. There are several unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation. A lower rating means more competition for each opening, not that no one is hiring.

What do you need to become a producer or director in Ontario?

Job Bank says this work usually needs a university degree. The usual route in Ontario, in order: Study the craft, or learn on the job; Experience carries as much weight as school; No licence.

How many people work as a producer or director in Ontario, and how many are women?

Job Bank counts about 15,450 people working in this job in Ontario. 36% of them are women, compared with 48% across all jobs. That describes who does the work today, not who can.

Where people come from

Which programs lead here?

In the 2021 Census, this job is one of the 12 most common for graduates of these programs. Each page shows what else they do, and which of those jobs have openings.

What can you do with your degree?

Not sure this is the right list to be reading

Start from yourself, not from the job.

Future Finder is free, takes about ten minutes, needs no account and stores nothing. It will tell you which kinds of work you lean toward, and which of these pages are worth your time.

Try Future Finder — freeAll jobs

Parent of a teenager weighing this up? Career coaching for teens gets them talking to people who do the work, anywhere in Ontario.

If this appeals, look at these too

photographer audio engineer graphic designer journalist event planner business owner

Read next

Careers that match your strengths The Ontario pathway, 12 to 39 All careers guides

Wages and training requirements change. Every figure on this page is linked to the body that publishes it, and the review date above says when we last checked. If you find something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.