Film Career · Director
Second Director
Director · Directors Guild of America
- Union
- Directors Guild of America
- Day rate
- ~$22K–$24K/wk
- Experience
- 8–25+ yrs
What does a Second Director do?
The second director supports the senior members of the director department, handling the preparation and follow-through that keep the department moving.
On union productions the position falls under Directors Guild of America, which sets the rates, hours, and conditions the role works within. Like every director role, the job is hired production by production, and repeat work comes from department heads who trust the name on the call sheet.
What does a Second Director make?
- This is an entry or assistant chair, toward the lower end of its department's range.
- Directing pay ranges enormously: DGA scale is roughly $22K-$24K a week on features and $45K-$70K an episode in TV, but established directors negotiate multiples plus backend.
- Roughly $150K to $5M+ a year across the range.
Film work is gig based, so crew are paid a day or weekly rate rather than a salary. These are realistic 2024-2025 ranges grounded in union rate cards and industry data; actual pay swings with budget tier, market, overtime, and reputation.
Sources & how we estimate pay
Union scale is the floor; the ranges above also reflect market day rates above scale. They are grounded in the following 2024–2025 sources:
Union rate cards & wage schedules
Official guild scale — the floor each craft is paid from.
- IATSE — 2024 Basic Agreement wage scales (PDF) ↗
- IATSE Local 600 (International Cinematographers Guild) — camera rate cards ↗
- DGA — minimum salary rate cards (director, unit production manager, assistant directors) ↗
- WGA — schedule of minimums (writers) ↗
- SAG-AFTRA — theatrical & background rate sheets (cast, stunts, background) ↗
- Teamsters Local 399 — basic feature wage rates, 2024–27 (transportation, locations, wranglers) (PDF) ↗
Government wage data
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the closest federal occupation.
You’ll like and be good at this job if:
Hard skills
- You can translate a script into staging, shots, and performance
Soft skills
- You are reliable, eager to learn, and happy to start at the bottom
- You have the energy for long days and a good attitude under pressure
The ladder
Related chairs in this craft family, ordered from entry toward leadership:
Career progression
Within this craft family the recognized progression runs from assistant director toward supervising director, with each step earned through set time and the trust of the chairs above. Where this role sits on that ladder is less important than how the director department works: people move up when the department already believes they can do the next job.
A typical path, from entry to the top of the craft. Times are rough and vary by market, luck, and how steadily the work comes.
~$90K–$275K+/yr
- Second Directoryou are here
~$150K–$5M+/yr
~$90K–$275K+/yr
~$150K–$5M+/yr
~$150K–$5M+/yr
~$150K–$5M+/yr
~$90K–$275K+/yr
~$150K–$5M+/yr
~$150K–$5M+/yr
~$150K–$5M+/yr
~$90K–$275K+/yr
~$150K–$5M+/yr
~$150K–$5M+/yr
~$150K–$5M+/yr
How do you become a Second Director?
This is a chair you can target directly: productions staff it from applicants with related skills and from people already working nearby on the crew. Get onto sets in any capacity, tell the department what you want, and be ready when a slot opens.
On covered productions, rates, hours, and conditions for the role are set by Directors Guild of America contracts.
Covered by a union? The joining a film union guide explains how each one takes members.