Also called: Executive Producer (TV), Head Writer
Runs a TV series end to end: the writers' room, the budget, casting decisions, and the final cut of every episode.
A showrunner might spend the morning in the writers' room breaking story for episode 7, take a lunch call with the network about notes, then rush to set to approve a scene and end the night in the edit bay. They're part writer, part CEO.
Highly variable. Showrunners on network or streaming series often earn $30k-$100k+ per episode; few people ever hold this job.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Most come up as TV staff writers for 8-15 years before running their own show.
Ways in: 4-year college, On-the-job training. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Screenwriting, English, Film Production.
Growing about average. No BLS category of its own; tied to the number of scripted series, which has shrunk since the 2022 streaming peak.
Low risk for 10 years. AI drafts outlines and notes, but running a writers' room, protecting the vision and managing people and budgets stays a human leadership job.
Classes: Creative writing, English literature, Theater, Speech and debate.
Official data: O*NET occupation 27-2012.
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.