The 10 Best Jobs For Artists

Artists are often under-appreciated professionals, as the average consumer usually doesn’t realize how much of their daily life is affected by artists. However, everything from the graphics on their phones to the clothes on their bodies has been touched by an artist somewhere along the way.

If you’re considering pursuing art as a career path, there are several job options available to you.

For many artists, the ideal job would be making art independently and getting paid for it. This is a viable career, but it usually takes a lot of time and effort to get to where you can make a living off of it.

As a result, many artists decide to get a job to pay the bills and work on their personal art on the side, and others choose to put all of their efforts into one of these art-based careers.

10 of the Best Jobs for Artists

Multimedia Artist/Animator

Average Annual Salary: $69,000

Movies, TV shows, video games, and even informational videos need artists to create animated characters, digital scenery, and graphics.

If you love the cinema or virtual worlds, many organizations will be happy to put your artistic ability to work.

This career requires strong skills in specific computer programs, so you may need to take a few classes in this area, but once you get into it, this field can be exciting and lucrative.

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Art Director

Average Annual Salary: $74,000

Companies hire art directors to manage the visual appearance of their packaging, magazines, newspapers, and even movies and TV shows. Art directors are the ones who create the overall look of the project and oversee other designers’ and artists’ work, ensuring that it’s cohesive and true to the aesthetic they’ve created.

To be a successful art director, you’ll, of course, need to have strong artistic and design skills, but you’ll also need to have solid leadership, project management, and organization skills.

Art directors need to communicate their vision to their teams and then set creative standards and hold their teams to them to make that vision a reality. As a result, this career is a great fit for artists who don’t want to sit by themselves all day and love helping teams of people be successful.

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Graphic Designer

Average Annual Salary: $45,000

Graphic design is one of the most common careers people think of when they think of artists. Almost every company needs a graphic designer to create logos, websites, and printed materials at some point, which means job opportunities abound in this field.

To be a successful graphic designer, you’ll need to be adept at using graphic design software and artistic principles.

Many graphic designers work as freelancers or contractors, which allows them to set their workloads. This comes with a less consistent paycheck but more freedom to work on your other artistic endeavors as well.

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Curator

Average Annual Salary: $49,000

Museums need art curators to take care of and update their collections, and often artists make excellent art curators.

Professionals in this role need to know what makes art valuable, what types of art will be popular with patrons, and how to maintain the pieces the museum owns.

To be successful in this role, you’ll likely need to take some management or business classes, as well as any required to be able to care for the collection.

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Interior Designer

Average Annual Salary: $54,000

Homeowners and businesses often need the expertise of interior designers to put the finishing touches on their houses, restaurants, hotels, and office buildings. Artists are often well-equipped for this role since they understand the principles of good design and can use those to create beautiful interiors.

Interior designers can work for firms or individual clients to help make their visions a reality. They can also focus more on residential or commercial spaces, as these generally require very different design approaches or specialize in a specific area, such as kitchens.

Interior designers need to combine both form and function, so if you enjoy making things work well while making them beautiful, this could be a great career option for you.

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Fashion Designer

Average Annual Salary: $52,000

You don’t have to work for a designer brand to get into the world of fashion design. Apparel companies and retailers of all price ranges and sizes need designers to create their clothing products, and theater, dance, and movie studios need costumes for their shows.

To become a fashion designer, you’ll likely need an undergraduate or postgraduate degree to learn the technical aspects of it all.

This is a unique field where you can create art that is a part of someone’s everyday life.

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Gallery Manager

Average Annual Salary: $43,000

Gallery managers are in charge of planning and maintaining art exhibits in the gallery they work for. They need to have solid communication skills to handle all of the planning and coordination that goes into creating an exhibit.

While you won’t necessarily get to create art in this role, you’ll be able to interact with other people’s artwork and help museum visitors experience it for themselves in the most impactful way possible.

Many galleries like to hire gallery managers with an educational background in art management or something similar, so keep this in mind as you consider this career path.

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Art Teacher

Average Annual Salary: $49,000

Art teachers can work in K-12 settings, but they can also work at colleges, universities, or community centers.

Depending on your passion, you can teach young kids how to have an appreciation for art, help teenagers and young adults hone their skills, or instruct adults in a new way to express themselves.

Art therapy classes are also growing, so consider looking into this career if you want to help people use art to heal.

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Artist/Illustrator

Average Annual Salary: $63,000

If you love drawing and painting to tell stories, a job as an illustrator might be a great fit for you. A significant number of illustrators draw pictures for children’s books, graphic novels, or book covers, but others create images for fashion design companies, magazines, medical manuals, advertising, and technical design.

With so many options, you can choose what you’d be best at or enjoy most. Generally, illustrators work from home or in a studio and have deadline-oriented schedules. This can allow flexibility in exchange for a few late nights and stressful days leading up to a deadline, depending on where you work.

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Printmaker

Average Annual Salary: $79,000

Printmakers use printing presses as their main medium and do etching, block-printing, woodcuts, silk-screening, and lithography. Their job is usually to create a design and then figure out how to transfer it to another surface. This could be fabric, paper, or even glass or ceramic.

Printmakers can do various jobs, ranging from creating prints of fine art to making professional-grade t-shirts. Many printmakers work as freelancers, and a significant number teach in high schools, colleges, and universities.

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What to Look for In a Job As an Artist

The ability to use your skills. This may sound obvious, but it’s important to keep in mind. There is likely a facet of art that you’re particularly good at, and if you graduated with an art degree, you likely had to choose a concentration such as painting or illustration.

These are the skills and passions you should look for an opportunity to use. That’s not to say you shouldn’t take a job that stretches and hones your other skills, but think about what you enjoy about art and look for a position that allows you to do that.

In addition, think about your non-artistic skills. Are you good at public speaking? Administration? Problem-solving? Keep your eye out for a job that will allow you to use those abilities as well.
An environment you’d enjoy. You and your work environment must be a good match no matter what industry you work in. If you don’t like chaos and noise, for example, taking a role as an elementary art instructor may not be your best choice.

Think about where you do your best work and find a job that fits that. Do you need peace and quiet? Flexibility to work on your personal projects? Like-minded coworkers? Think through these things and ask lots of questions when you go in for an interview.
The ability to gain experience you’d like to have. If you have a career goal in mind, look for a job that will launch you in that direction. For example, if you know you’d like to make a living creating art for homes and buildings someday, getting a job in an art gallery or as an interior designer would be a great experience.

In these roles, you’d be able to see many examples of good art, understand what buyers look for, and get a better understanding of how these processes work.

Think about what skills you’d like to add to your portfolio as well. For example, if you know your digital design skills need honing, consider looking for a job where you’d get to use those. Or, if you want to learn about the business side of museums, try to find a job that would give you good exposure to that area.

Never miss an opportunity that’s right for you.

Author

Abby McCain

Abby is a writer who is passionate about the power of story. Whether it’s communicating complicated topics in a clear way or helping readers connect with another person or place from the comfort of their couch. Abby attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she earned a degree in writing with concentrations in journalism and business.

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