The Ultimate Creative Careers List

Students with creative spirits always hear the same thing — if they don’t switch to a business or science major, they’ll never make a living. Thankfully, that’s not true. Embrace your inner artist and build any future you want by checking out this creative careers list.

What Is a Creative Career?

You don’t need to paint or write to be a creative person. Creative careers are perfect for anyone who loves to use their imagination and treasures the arts. Your future may involve one of these jobs if you’ve always been the person in your friend group to pick color schemes, story plotlines, or imagery for a group project.

Which Degrees Are Best?

The variety of creative professions means you have an extensive list of degrees to consider. Depending on your university, you could earn a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) or Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) degree such as:

• Film
• Professional Writing
• Photography
• History of art
• Design

Think about what you enjoy doing to start narrowing down your educational options. You’ll find the right career track and set yourself up to do what you love.

What Job Has the Highest Salary in Arts?

Making enough income to pay the bills is likely one of your top priorities. If you’re undecided and hoping to choose a lucrative career, consider becoming a film director. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, first-time movie directors earn up to $74,420 per year, while experienced directors averaged $173,680 annually in 2019. You could make even more than that if your movies become blockbusters, too.

The Ultimate Creative Careers List

Ready to start daydreaming? Check out this creative careers list to weigh your options and figure out which career could make your professional life fulfilling.

1. Marketing Designer

Every company needs a marketing team to connect with current and prospective consumers and advertise its products. Marketing designers create the images and graphics for each advertising campaign. Your art could even become the iconic style for major brands, allowing you to climb a corporate marketing ladder or freelance.

2. Tattoo Artist

If you love drawing and feel passionate about body art, why not become a tattoo artist? You could shadow an artist during college or even do an internship that leads to full-time employment. These artists often open small businesses later in life, which might interest those with entrepreneurial spirits.

3. Multimedia Animator

Any brand that relies on visual media will need multimedia animators. Your drawings could end up on TV, in movies, or even in video games. All you need is an animation degree or experience in making your drawings come to life on the computer.

Decide which path you want to take by setting achievable goals for yourself, like working with your advisor to schedule courses for each semester. You’ll be on your way to a creative career and feel confident about your timeline to get there.

4. Makeup Artist

Your favorite movie and TV stars wouldn’t look the same without talented makeup artists behind the scenes. This is an excellent career for young people fixated on online makeup tutorials and enjoy experimenting with different looks. Many colleges offer specific degrees just for this career because these artists are in such demand from the film and television industry.

5. Graphic Designer

Thank a graphic designer whenever you see marketing materials, posters, or logos that you like. They convey information through their artistic ideas and choices in things such as colors and fonts. Your future might include developing layouts if you have a good eye for visual mediums and experience in web design or color theory.

6. Web Developer

Every website needs to look great and function properly. You might have a talent for making web applications or interfaces if you love coding and playing with website layouts. This role would relay strategies between a company’s design and IT teams, so you’ll also have to be comfortable with your communication skills to thrive as a web developer.

7. Museum Curator

Anyone who loves spending their free time wandering around museums and reading every bit of information on the artifacts could become a museum curator. People in that position find pieces to add to their museum’s permanent or seasonal collections.

Whether you want to find rare paintings or meet with experts on historical artifacts, you’ll have the creative lead on showcasing whatever you curate. Get started on this career path by finding a local mentor at a nearby museum to shadow what they do and learn how they got there.

8. Copywriter

Copywriting is another career that surprises creatives. You’ll use your natural writing talent to convey information to a company’s consumers through blog posts, web copy, or social media posts. Tell stories and paint pictures about services, products, and tips based on what each client needs for their content. You could find a forever home in niche subjects at marketing houses or by building a roster of clients as a freelancer.

9. Photographer

Everyone has a camera on their phones, but they still need photographers with a skilled eye. It’s a great career because you can test your skills in numerous fields. Take pictures for marketing teams or get a job with a small studio specializing in family portraits, wedding pictures, or food photography. You’ll build an extensive portfolio by engaging your creative spirit with a camera and potentially get enough notoriety to open a studio or business for yourself one day.

10. Fashion Designer

You don’t have to gamble on becoming a fashion designer for an haute couture brand to start a career in clothing and accessories. Designers are also necessary for everyday apparel, footwear, and childrenswear. The best way to prepare for a career in any of these categories is to earn a fashion-oriented degree. While taking classes, you should also find an internship or job with a textile company. You can eventually move to bigger cities around the country to work for brands or manufacturers in the fashion industry.

11. Pottery Designer or Artist

If your version of a relaxing afternoon is sitting by your potter’s wheel and working with clay, you may love a future as a pottery artist. Build your portfolio of photographed pieces and get a job as a ceramic arts studio assistant or clay instructor. From there, you can become a lead instructor, design pottery for major brands, or work for ceramic manufacturers. There’s also an option to become a general art teacher if you want to help kids find their love for pottery too.

12. Interior Designer

Do you love rearranging your bedroom and planning decor schemes based on colors, seasonal themes, or current trends? You might be a budding interior designer. These designers help people feel at home in their houses and workplaces, even across cities or states. They also create plans for renovation projects by designing cabinetry, window installations, or flooring. Given that the average interior designer makes $58,595 per year, you’ll earn a comfortable living making clients happy with whatever space they want to decorate.

13. Floral Arranger

Bouquets and other floral arrangements wouldn’t look the same if an artist wasn’t behind the scenes. You could have an eye for matching flowers of similar shades or arranging them with filler greenery in vases. Future clients could call you to create floral arches for their wedding ceremonies or create boutonnieres for their prom dates. Find a part-time job or internship at a local florist shop to see if your creative spirit feels at home there.

14. Cartoonist

Whether you draw funny cartoons, ironic political commentary, or doodle cartoon characters for short stories, there’s always a job open for cartoon artists. Think about what you’d want to draw and get an art degree with a focus in whatever that career will be. You might want to work for a TV show one day, sketch images for movies, or even join the teams behind your favorite comic book series.

15. Art Director

You thrive on leading team projects and having the final say on how presentations look. Creative leadership skills are perfect for the role of an art director. If you join teams that create successful projects for clients, your career could include jobs in the theater, film, TV, and advertising industries. Gain experience and get promoted to leadership roles to earn the title of Art Director and become an influencing voice beside producers and directors.

Consider Creative Careers List Options

Now that you’ve read a creative careers list that reveals a bit more about potential jobs you’ve considered, think about what you’d like to do. Your existing skill set should guide you toward new experiences and job opportunities to help you decide what career would make you happy and utilize your creative spirit.