Also called: News Photographer, Press Photographer
Takes photos that tell news stories, from local events to wars and natural disasters.
A photojournalist might cover a city council protest in the morning and a high school championship at night, filing photos from a laptop in the car. Some travel to conflict zones. Speed, ethics, and storytelling matter.
Estimate. Staff jobs are scarce; many are freelancers paid per assignment.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in photojournalism or journalism.
Ways in: 4-year college. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Photojournalism, Journalism, Photography.
Shrinking (about -4% over 10 years). News staff jobs continue to decline.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. Newsroom cuts, not AI, are the bigger squeeze; you still have to be there, and authentic news images gain value as fakes spread.
Classes: Journalism or school paper, Photography, Government or history.
Official data: O*NET occupation 27-4021.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.