projectionist
Projectionists operate and maintain projection equipment in cinema theatres. They inspect the movie films before loading them into the projector. Projectionist make sure that everything runs smoothly during the projection of the movie. They also are responsible for the proper storage of movie films.
projectionist projectionists operate and maintain projection equipment in cinema theatres. They inspect the movie films before loading them into the projector. Projectionist make sure that everything runs smoothly during the projection of the movie. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include projection equipment, health and safety regulations, load film reels, check film reels, use a telecine.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £32,643 a year for Photographers, audio-visual and broadcasting equipment operators (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 3417). ONS rates this estimate reasonably precise. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Technicians and associate professionals” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only projectionist, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 3. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- Computers and Electronics
- Customer and Personal Service
- Mechanical
- English Language
- Administration and Management
- Communications and Media
- Public Safety and Security
- Engineering and Technology
What you'd actually do
- Monitor operations to ensure that standards for sound and image projection quality are met.
- Start projectors and open shutters to project images onto screens.
- Open and close facilities according to rules and schedules.
- Operate equipment to show films in a number of theaters simultaneously.
- Perform regular maintenance tasks, such as rotating or replacing xenon bulbs, cleaning projectors and lenses, lubricating machinery, and keeping electrical contacts clean and tight.
- Set up and adjust picture projectors and screens to achieve proper size, illumination, and focus of images, and proper volume and tone of sound.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does projectionist do?
Projectionists operate and maintain projection equipment in cinema theatres. They inspect the movie films before loading them into the projector. Projectionist make sure that everything runs smoothly during the projection of the movie. They also are responsible for the proper storage of movie films.
What skills does projectionist need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include projection equipment, health and safety regulations, load film reels, check film reels, use a telecine, adjust projector. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace projectionist?
Our AI-durability model gives projectionist a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.