About 1 out of 4 worked for portrait studios and commercial laboratories that specialize in processing the work of professional photographers for advertising and other industries. New employees gradually learn to use the machines and chemicals that develop and print film. Employers prefer applicants who are high school graduates or those who have some experience or knowledge in the field. As preparation for precision work, proficiency in mathematics, art, chemistry, and computer science, as well as photography courses that include instruction in film processing are valuable. Such courses are available through high schools, vocational-technical institutes, private trade schools, and colleges and universities.
Some workers attend periodic training seminars to maintain a high level of skill.
Manual dexterity, good hand-eye coordination, and good vision, including normal color perception, are important qualifications for precision photographic process workers. They must be comfortable with computers and able to adapt to technological advances. Photographic process machine workers can advance from jobs as machine operators to supervisory positions in laboratories, or to management positions within retail stores. Job Outlook Employment of photographic process workers is expected to increase more slowly than the average for all occupations through the year 2006. Most openings will result from replacement needs, which tend to be higher for machine operators than for precision process workers.