9 Creative Careers For Young Professionals

creative careers

Originally Published May 2017. Updated September 2019.

If you consider yourself more right-brained than left, and you’re looking for a rewarding role, you’ve come to the right place. These nine creative careers will put your artistic, visual, hands-on or writing-oriented talents to great use.

List of Creative Careers For Young Professionals

1. Video Editor

Average Salary: $50,000 (Glassdoor)

A video editor at a corporate company creates branded, educational content. A specialization in video editing is a great launching point both into film production and marketing. No matter which direction into creative careers you hope to eventually take, there are several opportunities at large companies in different industries.

2. Fashion Designer

Average Salary: $62,000 (Glassdoor)

If you have a passion for fashion as well as a creative mind, becoming a fashion designer makes for a sensible career option. Fashion designers bring life to sketches and have the unique chance to see their drawings and ideas come to fruition and perhaps appear in magazines.

3. Architect

Average Salary: $77,000 (Glassdoor)

Similar to fashion design, architecture allows you to actually bring your sketches to life through building design.  world of architecture. Your floor plans and blueprints also bring life to the surrounding neighborhood, once the buildings spring up!

4. Digital Marketer / Social Media Marketer

Average Salary: $60,000 (Glassdoor)

Digital marketers and social media marketers help promote businesses online through services such as SEO, blog writing, web development, social media curation, graphic design, email marketing, and Google AdWords. If you’re creative with words as well as images, this is an excellent creative career that pays well. Digital marketing is always changing, however, so don’t forget to keep your digital marketing resume always up-to-date.

5. Graphic Designer

Average Salary: $48,000 (Glassdoor)

Graphic designers create graphics for packaging, displays, logos, or digital and also print media. This is one of the top creative careers, because it encompasses a wide range of roles. From simple advertising (online, billboards, printed, etc.) to album cover creation for musicians, this field is lucrative and mentally stimulating.

6. Interior Designer

Average Salary: $51,000 (Glassdoor)

Many Americans crave TV shows like Love It or List It, House Hunters and Flip or Flop. Crafting a brand-new interior from something formerly outdated or dilapidated offers both meaningful and exciting work. While selecting the best color schemes and patterns that fit the house, as well as allocating proper funds to make it a great space, this role is a true go-getter for younger creatives.

7. Copywriter

Average Salary: $60,000 (Glassdoor)

Copywriters craft advertising copy to promote products within publications as well as broadcast media. If you don’t feel as though you possess visual or hands-on creative talents, as with the previous jobs listed, writing is a great avenue. Whether you work in-house with a corporation, or for an agency representing various organizations, copywriting offers plenty of flexibility in your career. This is a great career option for an English degree, which is one of the most popular Bachelor’s!

8. Set & Exhibit Designer

Average Salary: $56,000 (Glassdoor)

Whether for Hollywood movies or for a local art museum, designing movie, theater, and TV sets proves exciting and fresh for young creatives. Looking for the top creative careers? This allows you to put your eye for aesthetics to good use in a booming industry. If you have construction experience, hands-on artistic qualifications, and a visionary mind, then consider becoming a set and exhibit designer.

9. Video Game Designer

Average Salary: $73,000 (Glassdoor)

This is one of the top creative careers that pays well for young professionals. You’ll create the essential features of video games — including role-play mechanics, storylines, and character biographies. You’ll also guide and collaborate with production staff to ultimately execute development. If you have online graphics/animation experience and a deep knowledge of video games, this might be the career for you. Whether it means video games, PC games, mobile games, or others, this is a field that doesn’t seem to be dying out anytime soon.

What other creative careers for young professionals would you mention in this list?

Find other creative careers at Arizona’s best employers on BestCompaniesAZ!

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