# Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators

SOC 51-9151. Page: https://educationguide.com/careers/photographic-process-workers-and-processing-machine-operators

Perform work involved in developing and processing photographic images from film or digital media. May perform precision tasks such as editing photographic negatives and prints.

## Pay and outlook
- U.S. median wage $40,610 (middle half $35,170–$50,150; BLS May 2025)
- Ages 25-34: median $82,908; 75% hold a bachelor's or higher (Census ACS 2020-2024)
- Jobs 2025-35: -5.6%; ~0.6k openings a year; typical entry: High school diploma or equivalent

## Fields of degree of young workers (ages 25-34, bachelor's+)
- Computer Science: 21% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/computer-science)
- Computer And Information Systems: 10% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/computer-and-information-sciences)
- Film Video And Photographic Arts: 7% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/film-and-photography)
- Computer Engineering: 4% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/computer-engineering)
- Electrical Engineering: 4% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/electrical-engineering)
- Psychology: 4% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/psychology)
- Finance: 3% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/finance, https://educationguide.com/degrees/insurance)
- Communications: 3% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/communications, https://educationguide.com/degrees/communication-journalism-and-related-programs-other)
- Business Management And Administration: 3% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/business-administration)
- Commercial Art And Graphic Design: 3% (https://educationguide.com/degrees/graphic-interior-fashion-design)

## Median wage by state
- AL: $29,850
- AZ: $36,650
- CA: $47,320
- CT: $37,460
- DE: $42,220
- FL: $46,840
- GA: $34,790
- IA: $43,310
- IL: $37,940
- IN: $37,670
- KY: $37,430
- LA: $36,500
- MA: $38,400
- MD: $45,600
- MI: $38,610
- MO: $33,540
- NC: $35,580
- NJ: $43,300
- NY: $57,760
- OH: $29,770
- OR: $39,940
- PA: $37,340
- SC: $30,010
- TN: $29,050
- TX: $35,950
- UT: $39,510
- VA: $47,380
- WA: $46,280
- WI: $46,480

Method: https://educationguide.com/how-we-score#careers

Free to reuse with attribution: cite "EducationGuide.com" with a link to the page URL. Most figures are U.S. government data (public domain); loan default rates and athletics come from the Urban Institute Education Data Portal (ODC-By 1.0, attribution required) and founding years from Wikidata (CC0). O*NET data: CC BY 4.0, O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA).