SOC 51-9151.00

    Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators

    Perform work involved in developing and processing photographic images from film or digital media.

    Median pay
    $40,610
    Growth
    -5.6%
    Decline
    Openings a year
    600
    Typical education
    High school diploma

    Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition

    Source: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

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    Annual pay range

    Lowest 10% earn less than
    $30,090
    Median
    $40,610
    Highest 10% earn more than
    $68,800
    National wages for all workers in this occupation. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

    4,800 people work in this occupation.

    What photographic process workers and processing machine operators do

    Job Zone 2: Some preparation

    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.

    Usually a high school diploma; some on-the-job training or experience.

    Interest profile

    Realistic (R) · strongest
    75 / 100
    Investigative (I)
    19 / 100
    Artistic (A)
    32 / 100
    Social (S)
    2 / 100
    Enterprising (E)
    2 / 100
    Conventional (C)
    70 / 100
    How strongly each interest area describes the work, from O*NET (scores rescaled to 0–100). The interest code lists the strongest areas in order.

    Interest code RCA. Compare it with yours

    What you'd do

    Working with Computers
    85
    Controlling Machines and Processes
    81
    Getting Information
    80
    Performing for or Working Directly with the Public
    74
    Making Decisions and Solving Problems
    73
    Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
    72
    Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
    69
    Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
    67
    Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
    67
    Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment
    65
    Work activities rated by importance for this occupation, O*NET (0–100).

    Skills and strengths

    Skills

    • Operations Monitoring
    • Active Listening
    • Quality Control Analysis
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Service Orientation
    • Speaking
    • Complex Problem Solving
    • Critical Thinking
    • Monitoring
    • Operation and Control

    Knowledge

    • Customer and Personal Service
    • Computers and Electronics
    • Production and Processing
    • English Language
    • Mechanical
    • Chemistry
    • Sales and Marketing
    • Education and Training
    • Mathematics
    • Law and Government

    Abilities

    • Near Vision
    • Oral Comprehension
    • Visual Color Discrimination
    • Oral Expression
    • Written Comprehension
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
    • Control Precision
    • Deductive Reasoning
    • Flexibility of Closure
    • Information Ordering

    Work styles

    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Cautiousness
    • Adaptability
    • Perseverance
    • Achievement Orientation
    • Integrity
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Cooperation
    • Self-Control

    Also called

    Air Brush Artist · Airbrush Artist · Art Tracer · Automatic Developer · Automatic Mounter · Automatic Print Developer · Black and White Printer Operator · Color Laboratory Technician · Color Printer Operator · Computer-Controlled Color Photograph Printer Operator

    CareerOneStop

    Certifications, licenses and pay by state

    What photographic process workers and processing machine operators may need beyond a degree, where a license is required, and what the work pays in each state.

    Certifications

    Core certifications employers recognise for this work.

    Search all certifications on CareerOneStop

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 9, 2026.

    Your plan

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    Courses, majors, colleges, scholarships and a timeline for this career, built from your profile.

    Related careers

    Careers with similar work, interests or skills.

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    Sources and attribution

    Every figure on this page comes from these public datasets. Missing values are shown as not reported, never estimated.

    O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 9, 2026.

    Page data updated November 5, 2026.