The world is home to countless creative people, each with a unique set of skills. Creativity can take many forms, bringing new ideas to the surface and inspiring change. If you consider yourself a creative person with technical skills, this article is useful to you.
With so many employment prospects available in the creative sector, ranging from jobs that require design skills to those that call for artistic abilities, you have to make sure you choose the one that’s right for you. In this article, you’ll learn about some of the best jobs for creative people.
What Is a Creative Person?
Creative people use their skills to produce work that’s unique and useful, and that serves a purpose or solves a real-world problem. Creative people are usually open-minded, proactive, and independent, and sometimes take risks to improve their work. These traits mean they’re always ready to explore new ideas and try new things.
What Jobs Are Available to Creative People?
Depending on your area of specialization and creative skills, there are plenty of work options for creative people. Jobs in art, design, technology, media, and communication all require creativity. Some creative occupations include graphic designer, mobile app designer, photographer, video game developer, or fashion designer.
As a creative person, you should utilize the skills that come naturally to you. For example, if you have an eye for aesthetic appeal and artistic skills, you might want to work as an art director, creative director, or multimedia artist. With the right skills, you may not even need a degree to land creative jobs.
Companies That Hire Creative People
- Pinterest: Pinterest is a social media platform that allows users to share and upload pinned photographs or videos, often related to style, home decor, and cooking. It’s a great place to work if you’re a creative person.
- Shutterstock: Shutterstock manages a library of more than 350 million royalty-free stock images as well as stock videos and music, plus vector graphics and illustrations.
- TED: TED, which stands for technology, entertainment, and design, originated as an annual conference but has since evolved to fulfill its mission of spreading ideas worth having. TED focuses on creativity when hiring since that’s what the company is all about.
- Flickr: Flickr is a photo and video hosting and sharing platform where users can store their photos and share their best shots.
- Tesla: Tesla is one of the world’s leading electric vehicle and clean energy firms. It hires people with creative abilities who can come up with new ideas that will help the company develop new technology.
10 Highest-Paying Jobs for Creative People
| Job Title | Average Salary | Top 10% Salary |
| User Experience Director | $139,316 | $210,000 |
| Creative Director | $90,436 | $156,000 |
| Interactive Art Director | $79,508 | $156,000 |
| Art Director | $70,104 | $104,000 |
| Video Game Designer | $66,585 | $122,000 |
| Marketing Manager | $67,298 | $101,000 |
| Fashion Designer | $66,124 | $102,000 |
| Writer | $51,235 | $104,000 |
| Makeup Artist | $47,917 | $92,500 |
| Music Teacher | $44,193 | $71,000 |
The tech industry has wildly expanded to include many creative positions. Below are the detailed descriptions of some of the best jobs for creative people, both in and out of tech.
User Experience Director
User experience directors make sure that a software program, app, or website is easy for users to access and navigate. They direct other user experience designers to develop a product based on market trends and consumer input. This is a good job for creative people because you’ll use your technical knowledge to find inventive solutions that make your product easy to use.
Game Designer
A game designer creates video games. This involves developing a broad range of elements, including characters, locations, rules, and storylines for new games. They then create the prototype and develop the product with a team of developers.
Creative Director
Creative directors are also known as design directors. They can work at advertising and marketing firms, film studios, or a magazine. They plan company commercials, oversee brand campaigns, and uphold brand standards. To succeed in this job, you’ll have to come up with a lot of unique concepts that will make your final product stand out to the viewer or consumer.
Interactive Art Director
An interactive art director works below an art director, using their creative muscles on a daily basis to create a concept that promotes a product or service for their marketing firm or publishing house. They must have strong communication skills, as they’ll need to assign specific tasks to team members like graphic designers, web developers, and social media managers.
Art Director
Art directors are in control of a marketing or media campaign’s overall design concept, and they lead a creative team. They’re also in charge of the look and feel of publications, product packaging, or film and television projects, depending on their employer. In this role they have to come up with a creative idea, then lead their team in that vision.
Marketing Manager
A marketing manager leads an ad campaign from start to finish, leveraging corporate resources and encouraging cooperation among their team. They develop successful digital marketing plans and examine customer insights and market data. You need creativity for this job because the only way a consumer will pay attention to your campaign is if it’s unique and entertaining.
Fashion Designer
A fashion designer creates apparel, footwear, or accessories by selecting fabrics, colors, and prints that are trendy. To succeed, fashion designers need to come up with their own ideas that build on what’s already popular in the market. They must conceptualize a piece, make visual designs, and then stitch together a garment from the ground up.
Writer
Writers and authors work in a wide variety of fields, from TV and movies to fiction novels. They must create entire worlds using only their imagination. A writer can choose to write scripts, novels, biographies, poems, or whatever interests you. Once they’ve created a script or book, writers will then work with editors and publishers to finalize the content before it’s published.
Makeup Artist
A makeup artist uses cosmetics to improve or change a person’s appearance. The more creative you are, the more you can get paid in this job. It includes a wide range of employment options, ranging from independent makeup artists and beauty consultants to special effects makeup artists.
Music Teacher
Music teachers teach their students how to play instruments, read music, and understand music theory. They also train their students for auditions and live performances. This is a creative job because music itself is an art, and you need to find ways to keep your students engaged.
Tips for Finding Success as a Creative Person
If you’re a creative person, pursuing a creative career path is not difficult. However, the plethora of opportunities doesn’t make finding a creative career easy. Below are some tips that will help you find and land your dream creative job.
- Maximize creativity. Creativity allows you to see the world in new ways, find links between seemingly unrelated objects, and come up with novel solutions. If you follow your creative passion, you can make your ideas a reality.
- Be flexible. It’s important to stay open-minded while still maintaining a strong sense of identity and purpose when it comes to your career goals. If a job opportunity comes along that isn’t exactly what you expected, it still might be worth a shot.
- Make plans. In order to be successful, you should create a step-by-step plan that will bring you closer to accomplishing your goal. Keep in mind that for many of the roles above, you will need to get a college degree.
- Be a problem-solver. If a roadblock stops you at some point in your plan, don’t give up. Use your creativity to find a solution.
- Take risks. Life is intrinsically risky. Taking risks creatively will give you an edge over others when it comes to landing a job with a high median salary.
Jobs for Creative People Outlook
Due to the link between creativity and technology, being imaginative is an in-demand skill. This means creative thinkers will have an advantage over other applicants in many industries. It’s no longer enough to be highly skilled. Companies are now looking for employees who are forward-thinking.
For example, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) expects web developers and digital designer jobs to increase by 13% between 2020 and 2030, which is much faster than the average. Similarly, advertising, promotions, and marketing manager roles will grow by about 10% by 2030.
Best Jobs for Creative People FAQ
There are a lot of jobs available for artists without a degree. Since the creative field is often related to technology, you can get started by attending a coding bootcamp rather than earning a formal degree. Other traditional careers that don’t require higher education are floral design, photography, and culinary art.
Due to their creativity, artists can get jobs in many areas, depending on what their interests are. Possible jobs include gallery manager, motion designer, interior designer, art director, or fashion designer.
The highest-paying creative jobs are UX design director, interactive art director, and creative director.
The best design careers are technical design, motion design, and industrial design. If you’re interested in this field, you should choose the one that interests you and that matches your skills.
About us: Career Karma is a platform designed to help job seekers find, research, and connect with job training programs to advance their careers. Learn about the CK publication.
