5 Careers For Creative People That Actually Pay

What’s your reaction when you hear the word “cubicle”? A long, loud yawn? Do you become a little claustrophobic at the mere thought of hours of tedious work within its confines? Maybe you feel the itch to create something–to do something different and exciting.

If you’re the type of person who is driven to stretch the confines of your imagination and test your creative chops, it just makes sense to choose a career that allows you to make the most of those talents. There’s a common saying that proclaims, “Do what you love, and you’ll never be bored!” There’s certainly a lot of value in that statement, but of course, you’ll need to know where to start. There are lots of options when it comes to careers for creative people and inventive types. It’s estimated that over your lifetime, you’ll end up working a whopping average of 106, 757 hours, so it just makes sense to find something that fits your creative personality well and ultimately fulfills you. But will it pay? There’s no need to fear the label of “starving artist” if you know where to look. Allowing yourself to take a more holistic approach to your job search–as one expert suggests–will ultimately allow you to find something that will keep you interested and satisfied. Here are a few great career ideas for creative people–why not try one on and see how it suits you?

Graphic Designer

Are you a margin-doodler who tends to judge a book by its cover? If you’ve got an eye for the way typography and visual design come together to make beautiful logos and creative content, you could find a lot of satisfaction as a graphic designer! Graphic design is a subset of visual and communication design and a career in this field sometimes requires the wearing of a number of hats. The fledgling graphic designer should expect to become familiar with a number of design skills, including:

The tools of the graphic designer are varied, from something as simple as a pencil to a number of graphic design programs and software. You should begin with learning about the very basics of graphic design, and move when you are ready to information that will familiarize you with software like Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator.

Median Salary: $44,150

Video Game Developer

Video games are big business nowadays, with the US video game market raking in $65 Billion dollars in 2011. With that number poised to continue to grow, there are a number of options for the individual hoping to break into this exciting industry. There are tons of options regarding careers for creative people within the industry with potential career pathways that include:

In a varied field like Video Game Development, you certainly won’t lack options! Of course, you’ve got to start somewhere, and there’s no time like the present to check out a course on the fundamentals of video game design, or go a little more into depth with expert-led video game art sessions and basic programming.

Median Salary (Design Track): $67,379

Professional Photographer

You might be the type of person who can’t help but document the world around you. Perhaps your friends wouldn’t recognize you without a camera in your hands, or maybe you can’t help but notice a particular interesting potential shot or breathtaking scene in nature. If that sounds familiar, photography could be the perfect career for you! There are a wide range of options for the potential photographer, and you’re sure to find a field that you can become comfortable with and ultimately thrive in with pathways that include:

If you love working with people and capturing cherished lifetime milestones, becoming a wedding or portrait photographer is an excellent way to break into your dream job.  If your dream is to work the busy pits of fashion week, snapping the latest shots of designer haute couture, try a course in glamour and fashion photography. If you aren’t quite sure where to start, enrolling in a basics of photography course is a great start, and you can branch out from there.

Median Salary: $54,016

Writer

If anyone has ever told you that you “have a way with words” or encouraged you to write a book, you may find that a career in writing is right for you. Writers are constantly imagining better ways to use the written word to convey ideas or stories, and in today’s writing market, there are more and more careers for creative people who love the idea of putting their ideas down on paper. If you are an aspiring artist, you are sure to  find a number of viable careers as a writer including:

Creative types hoping to break into writing will find that there are a larger number of ways to break into the field than ever before. When you’re just getting started, you will want to revisit a course that explores the fundamentals of writing in order to add skills to your “writer’s toolkit”. From there, the sky is the limit and you can focus your educational exploration in more specific fields with experts in technical writing or learn along expert copywriters. If you have a great fiction story waiting to be told, you can hone your novel writing chops with a course that is sure to get you on your way.

Median Salary: $55,940

Social Media Marketer

Careers for creative people don’t always come in the form of creating a single finished product. People who love being the first to know a breaking piece of news and who are at home using Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest to channel that knowledge will find a comfortable home in the emerging field of social media marketing. Many companies use social media as a tool to drive engagement with their product or service, and there is a lot of demand for people who can get the job done right. There are multiple pathways into this field including:

If you already know the ins and outs of how social media channels work, you’re well on your way. With a lot of competition in this field, it’s a great idea to take a course on the basics of social media marketing to help your resume stand out from the rest. You can also learn about developing a social media policy to best benefit the company you hope to work for.

Median Salary: $51,000

Having a job doesn’t mean you have to have a J-O-B, and there are lots of careers for creative people if you are hoping to “think outside of the cube”. If you’re just entering the job market, it’s always a good idea to learn whatever you can about breaking in, using a course like this one on how to get your first job. If you’re just looking to make a change so that you can start loving what you do, it makes sense to explore how to make career changes later on in life. Keeping a positive attitude will do wonders in your career search and help you land that dream job in your chosen creative field.