Art Degree: Who says someone with a degree in art cannot earn a good living?
Young artists repeatedly express a wish to attend college to study the visual and fine arts but mistakenly believe that doing so may endanger their professional earnings. The reverse is true: enrolling in an art program in college can open up a wide range of opportunities and provide you with the skills you need to succeed in a variety of lucrative occupations.
But pursuing a career in the arts can offer you so much more than simply a great salary; it can open up the door to a line of work that you are enthusiastic about. However, just like everyone in any field, artists aspire to have successful careers that offer opportunity, fulfillment, and, most crucially, a steady income.
However, just like everyone in any field, artists aspire to have successful careers that offer opportunity, fulfillment, and, most crucially, a steady income.
The careers listed below are all fantastic options for aspiring professional artists. There are many of these occupations listed here that fall into the conventional categories of design, illustration, and teaching, but there are also several uncommon, distinctive, and extremely wealthy careers listed here.
Be aware that while many of these occupations can be obtained with simply an art degree, others may require further training or study beyond a basic degree.
Additionally, all salaries shown are median salaries. Depending on their level of experience, years in the industry, and other factors, the top-level artists in each of the fields below may earn up to twice the given wages or more.
Here are more than excellent occupations you may pursue with a degree in the arts, along with income data.
Art Degree: Careers & Salaries Revealed
Table of Contents
Animator
Animator produce several frames that, when shown quickly in succession, give the appearance of movement. In the media industries of television, video games, and movies, animators are in high demand.
In addition, a lot of independent animators, like FilmCow on YouTube, may showcase their animations online and gain a following they can monetize.
Salary: $55k/year (Payscale)
Appraiser
Someone who offers a qualified assessment of the worth and authenticity of a piece of art.
Salary: $60,000/year
Architect
Buildings are created with the help of architects. This includes participating in the building’s design. often requires a degree in architecture.
You can flourish in this field by working for an architecture firm or by opening your own business and winning extremely significant contracts.
Salary: $72,000/year (Glassdoor)
Art Agent
an agent of an artist whose main duty is to market their client’s artwork. The commission received by art agents is typically from 15% to 35%.
Commission-based pay of 15% to 35%, according to Wikipedia. The top artist agents earn more than $75,000 annually. Top 1% earn easily six figures.
Arts Administrator
A person who assists in managing an artistic organization’s daily operations. Administrative, clerical, and fundraising tasks are included in this work. Museums, galleries, and even big musical ensembles like the New York Philharmonic are some institutions that employ arts administrators.
Salary: $62,000/year (Paysa)
Art Handler
This person, who has received training to work with artwork, is also referred to as an art preparator. Although it may seem easy, it is not; because many works of art are priceless, expert handling is necessary to maintain the integrity of the piece.
Salary: $34,125/year
Art Restorer
A person who expertly restores art that has been damaged. Sculptures, paintings, pottery, priceless books, and other works of art can all be restored.
Salary: $42,000/year (ZipRecruiter)
Art Therapist
Arts therapists enable creative self-expression through visual media, which is a distinctive style of psychotherapy. Clients of an art therapist may experience a decrease in stress as well as an improvement in cognition and emotional well-being as a result.
Salary: $45,000/year (Payscale)
Assistant to Artist
Successful, accomplished artists require assistance with daily tasks. Artist assistants can aid an artist with everything from maintaining their workspace, getting supplies, and handling administrative tasks to assisting them in promoting their work on social media. Other responsibilities may include managing the artist’s schedule.
Excellent entry-level position for a recent college graduate.
Salary: $18.50/hour (Payscale)
Automotive Designer
Creating an automobile’s look. Almost all motorized vehicles, including as cars, buses, trucks, vans, and motorbikes, are included in this industry.
Salary: $78,000/year (Paysa)
Billboard Artist
An illustrator who creates billboard graphics for advertising purposes. One of the many crucially important jobs for commercial artists on this list.
Salary: $57,000/year (Paysa)
Brand Designer
An artist in charge of designing the graphics, logos, colors, brochures, and other marketing materials that make up a company’s external appearance. Consider the fonts, shapes, and colors used by Apple vs. Amazon or Rolex vs. Coca-Cola. Before the general public sees it, a brand designer has supervised all of this.
Salary: $81,000/year (ZipRecruiter)
CAD Drafter
Someone who creates buildings and things using computers. In many significant companies and agencies throughout the world, CAD drafters are in high demand. It necessitates expertise of both art and computer applications with a focus on commercial design.
Salary: $55,000/year (Study.com)
Calligrapher
Calligraphers use a broad tip tool, brush, stencil, or electronic pencil to create letters and unique characters. The salary range for calligraphers can vary greatly depending on how much work they commission as many calligraphers work for themselves.
$65,000 per year
Camera Operator
These days, videography and filmmaking are taught in many art degrees. Even with the popularity of selfie cameras, camera operators are still in high demand. Their work has appeared in movies, TV shows, and online publications.
Salary: $82,000 (Salary.com)
Caricaturist
an illustrator who specializes in caricatures, which are inflated portraits of people, most often seen in editorial cartoons. Caricaturists have provided a living for hundreds of artists.
Salary: Cartoonists, which is also included below, are what caricaturists would be known as if they worked for a large corporation. Independent caricaturists can, nevertheless, earn a sizable sum of money with effective marketing.
Cartoonist
Someone who draws cartoons, including television cartoons as well as editorial cartoons and even comic books.
Salary: $63,000/year (Salary.com)
Ceramicist (Ceramics Artist)
A person who crafts ceramics, like pottery. Before putting their creations on the market, ceramicists mold raw materials, heat them up in kilns, and then paint them.
Salary: $53,000/year
Cinematographer
A photographer who produces photos for television and big-budget movies. Through image-capture technology like cameras, they accomplish this.
Salary: $58,000/year (TheArtCareerProject)
College Administration
Administrators with a background in the visual arts are employed by many independent art schools, including RISD and Maryland College of Art. Major institutions also require arts coordinators to manage the administrative and logistical tasks of an arts department.
Salary: $92,000/year (PayScale)
Commercial Art Director
a person who is in charge of artistic direction across a variety of industries, such as theater, film, advertising, marketing, and more.
For everything from product development to advertising, the majority of large product companies require an in-house staff of designers and a director to oversee them. Working in a large-budget team where the company’s visual appeal is essential for business success can make art directing exceptionally lucrative.
Salary: $86,000 a year (Paysa); nevertheless, top art directors may earn significantly more, particularly if their efforts are crucial to the success of a high-profile production.
Commercial Artist
Artwork produced with the intention of aiding in the sale of a good or service; most frequently used in advertising. Consider logos, product designs, the colors chosen for an ad campaign, and more. Andy Warhol is arguably the most well-known commercial artist in history.
Salary: $61,000/year
Community Arts Worker
a person hired by a government or community to assist with determining how a town or other common place would look. Their duties may include involve hiring specialists to work on initiatives involving the arts, organizing public fundraisers, and producing art for the community.
Salary: $48,500/year (CareerAddict)
Concept artist
In movies, animation, video games, or other visual media, an illustration is utilized to develop an idea. Consider large-scale television projects where the aesthetic direction for animated characters must be extensive.
Salary: $64,000/year (Indeed)
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