Get an Art Job that Pays

Being an artist doesn't mean you have to be poor. You can find a job that uses your creative talents and pays you more than a living wage. Joining the ranks of commercial artists might mean making some sacrifices, like keeping normal business hours, but that's a small price to pay to earn a steady income doing creative work.

What fields pay creative people well?

Art Jobs in Advertising

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, art directors employed in advertising agencies garnered median annual earnings of $67,340. That beats the annual earnings of many freelance artists, some of whom don't break $20,000.

Creative Work in Advertising

Artists in advertising agencies create graphic art, shoot commercials, write scripts, draw storyboards, and create animated figures. They develop and execute advertising material and campaigns for companies, nonprofit organizations, and government entities.

Multimedia Production

Another field that compensates artists for their skills is multimedia production. Multimedia production companies create visual communication tools for educational, advertising, and training purposes.

As an artist working for a multimedia production company, you might be involved in creating DVDs, CD-ROMs, videos, and web-based material that employs graphic art, Flash animation, video, and other forms of media. Creative professionals working in multimedia production tend to have technical skills in addition to artistic talents. They may specialize in areas such as computer animation, graphic design, or video production.

Salaries in multimedia production vary according to the position. Video operators employed in 2002 earned salaries from $30,000 to more than $65,000. Salaries of graphic designers and computer animators were comparable during the same period to those of video operators.

Getting an Art Education

It's clear that you don't have to dismiss an art education as a one-way ticket to a life of deprivation. Multimedia production and advertising are two areas in which your creative talents will be valued in terms of your salary.

A variety of art degrees are available to provide students with the education and skills to work in multimedia and advertising agencies. Art institutes, colleges, universities, and community colleges offer programs in multimedia studies, video production, computer animation, and photography.

Decide on a degree that suits you and get started on an education that can lead to an exciting job working as a paid artist.

Sources

The United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics