39 arts careers to consider

It can be overwhelming to figure out how to apply your art-related major to real life. But all creative minds need to be able to think out of the box. Here are a few ideas to help you find that career path.

Architects
Architects combine art and engineering to create structures with both strength and beauty. In addition to being employed by businesses or architectural firms, architects can have careers in city and environmental planning. This usually requires a five-year degree in addition to working at a firm.

Art directors
Using and developing design concepts, art directors review materials that appear in printed or digital media. With their finely trained eyes and variety of computer graphics software, they decide on what and how it is best to visually present the information in an organized and appealing way. They decide which photographs or artwork to use and oversee layout, design and production.

Art historians
Art historians study form, periods or regions of art and work as art critics, museum curators, art restorers and teachers.

Camera operators
They work with film directors to shoot film footage, videos and television shows. They are responsible for taking videos from different angles to create different moods. They work with lighting directors and are also responsible for putting together sequences and eventually full-length videos.

Cartoonists
Cartoonists’ drawings come in a variety of genres: political figures, advertisements, social commentaries or comical cartoons. Some cartoonists create an idea or story, write captions and make political statements. Some are employed by magazines or newspapers. Most cartoonists have comic, critical or dramatic talents that accompany their drawing skills.

Choreographer
While creating new and original dance routines, some dancers become choreographers. They become teachers, dance or notation directors or researchers. They may also become administrators for dance companies, theatre groups, private studios, educational institutions, arts organizations or community agencies.

Commercial artists
Commercial artists make products, services or ideas more appealing to the public through multi-media designs. They do artwork by hand or through oil, acrylics, silk screen or clay. They may also use computers. They emphasize utility over beauty.

Composers
Composers are trained musicians who are required to write music for a variety of groups. Most composers study at a university with a mentor, who helps them learn the type of composition they are interested in.

Conductors
These are professional musicians who lead orchestras, symphonies, choruses or operas. Trained at music schools, they are required to learn about all instruments in the groups they lead. Most receive a bachelor’s degree, earn their master’s and become fluent in every instrument.

Dancers
Engaged in an art used to interpret an idea or story through physical motion, or to express rhythm and sound, dancers perform in shows or perform folk, ethnic, jazz and other types of dances. They also dance to complement opera, musical comedy and television performances. Many dancers combine stage work and teaching.

Dramatists
Able to adapt themes from historical, fictional, or narrative sources, playwrights write dialogue and action for plays on stage, screen, radio or television. They combine elements of action, conflict, purpose and resolution to depict events from real or imaginary life. They also meet with directors and producers to make sure it meets their demands. They frequently go into publishing, public relations, advertising, radio or television.

Fashion designers
Fashion designers create clothing and accessories and plan the production and marketing of their creations. They may specialize in a certain type of clothing, such as children’s wear. High-fashion designers are often self-employed and design for individual clients. Those who make the fashions create new styles, colours and designs with various materials. Some designers cater to specialty stores. Others work for manufacturers to adapt fashions for the mass market.

Film editors
In conjunction with film directors, film editors choose the best takes of a scene and edit them into a movie. The ability to adapt to computers and a variety of technologies is very important.

Film/theatre directors
They work to create a final product, whether a play or video. They have the training to direct scenes, coach actors, manage money, schedule and write or consult on scripts, depending on the size of the staff and budget. They must also be well versed in lighting, filming techniques and camera angles in order to produce a finished product. A four-year degree is required.

Forensic photographer
Forensic photographers are usually employed by law enforcement agencies to take pictures at crime scenes to capture evidence.

Graphic artists
Graphic artists study the theory and execution of commercial designs. They work for advertising and design firms, magazines and as free-lancers. They design print products such as business cards, advertisements and product packaging, as well as CD-ROMs and Web sites.

Illustrators
Illustrators create pictures for books, magazines and other publications. They also create characters for commercial products, such as textiles, wrapping paper, stationary, calendars and greeting cards. Increasingly, it is necessary for them to prepare art directly on the computer. This often requires a four-year degree.

Interior designers
Interior designers either own and operate their own studios, work in design firms or for retail stores, architectural firms or large institutions. They plan and design the interior of homes, hotels, hospitals, ships, office buildings and other commercial structures to make them both attractive and functional.

Journalists
Journalists report and write for a variety of media, such as newspapers, magazines and television agencies. They can be employed by a particular organization or they can be free-lance writers who are paid per article they sell.

Library technicians
Library technicians help librarians acquire, organize and prepare materials to help users. They can conduct literature searches, compile bibliographies and prepare abstracts.

Lighting specialists
On big photo shoots, there will be an on-scene lighting specialist to help the camera operators handle different exposures, filters and lighting umbrellas. Lighting specialists are usually employed for commercial photography.

Medical and scientific illustrators
Knowledge of the biological sciences is necessary in order for medical illustrators so they can draw things such as human anatomy, surgery procedures, animals and plants. They are published in medical and scientific publications as well as audio-visual presentations for teaching purposes. They also may work for lawyers to produce exhibits for court cases. Besides having art skills, it is also helpful to take science classes, such as biology.

Multi-media artists and animators
Multi-media artists and animators work closely with computers and data-processing services. Advertising companies and the movie/television industry usually employ them. They combine film and drawing to produce animated images and special effects. They also complete storyboards for commercials and advertising agencies.

Musicians (instrumental)
Musicians usually play their instruments in an orchestra, band, rock group or jazz combo and are able to perform alone or with a group before live audiences or on the radio. They usually specialize in certain types of music such as rock, classical, gospel, blues or jazz.

Music teachers
They must be able to teach all aspects of music to many students. They can be affiliated with a school or they can be independent, but most should be familiar with one or more instruments, although there is also a degree of specialized music theory that accompanies it. They are required to have a four-year teaching degree that specializes in music education.

Music therapists
Music can be used to restore, maintain and improve emotional, physiological and spiritual health and well-being. You must be musically inclined. If you’re considering a school in the U.S., look for American Music Therapy Association (AMTA)-approved programs. A four-year degree is required to practice.

Painting restorers
Restoration workers study art history to strip away damaged or faded images and restore art to its original form. They apply solvents and cleaning agents to reconstruct and retouch images. They also apply preservatives to further protect the image. This detailed work takes time and precision and is reserved for experts in the field with upper-level degrees.

Periodical editors
A periodical editor is in charge of assigning stories, managing journalists and making editorial decisions for magazines, journals and newspapers.

Photojournalist
A photojournalist travels to various sites to tell the news through photos. They work in conjunction with or without reporters. They are schooled in photography and lighting and must have the ability to capture photos in any extreme of weather, lighting or situation. Photojournalists work for newspapers, magazines and other agencies.

Portrait photographer
Portrait photographers take posed photos for personal needs, such as weddings, graduations or school photos. They work creatively with different styles of expression.

Printmakers
Printmakers create printed images with ink and designs that are cut, carved or etched out of stone, metal or wood. The process can be done with a printing press, ink and paper or by digitally printing an image with a computer.

Radio/TV presenter
Broadcasters introduce recorded music on the radio, present news, weather, sports and commercials, interview guests and report community news. They are trained in control-board operation, reporting and writing. Many begin their careers as disc jockeys or reporters.

Recording engineers
They work in recording studios and are trained to use a variety of recording equipment and to work with various artists to create particular sounds. Some recording engineers can work on-site to create recordings live on location.

Sculptors
Sculptors have the ability to create three-dimensional works with materials such as glass, wire and clay. They combine materials to create mixed-media installations. The ability to incorporate light, sound and motion into art is useful.

Set designer
If you were a set designer, you would work with producers and directors to design and plan a performance’s background. Within a budget, you would produce the desired space. You would work on the set of a theatre production, a television show or a film. Most set designers pay attention to small details and can mimic any environment needing to be portrayed. A set designer must be able to create a set in any atmosphere, whether it’s a sound stage, a theatre or an open lot.

Sketch artist
Pencils, charcoal and pastels are the tools of sketch artists. They must be able to create drawings based on a list of physical descriptions in order to be employed in news or courtroom settings or by law-enforcement agencies to identify suspects.

Speech-language pathologists
Speech-language pathologists identify, assess and treat people with speech and language disorders resulting from, for example, hearing loss, brain injury, stroke, emotional problems or foreign dialect. They work with people who can’t make certain sounds clearly, people who stutter and others with problems understanding and producing language. To practice in speech pathology, you must have an upper-level degree and hundreds of hours of clinical experience.

Technical writers
Technical writers organize, interpret, write and edit scientific and technical material for product developers, scientists, engineers and consumers, to name a few. They adapt to their audiences by writing in clear, easy-to-read manners for consumer publications and in highly specialized language for experts. They may also design and develop training materials.

Wildlife photography
Capture animals in their natural habitats as a wildlife photographer. The ability to capture photos with the subject in motion, or while in motion yourself, is an important skill.

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