Career
Art directors
Lead the visual style of magazines, ads, films and products.
$114,850
Median pay
+4.2%
Job growth, 2025–35
12,200
Openings a year
Bachelor's degree
Typical education
4 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Work with creative directors to develop design solutions.
- Present final layouts to clients for approval.
- Manage own accounts and projects, working within budget and scheduling requirements.
- Confer with creative, art, copywriting, or production department heads to discuss client requirements and presentation concepts and to coordinate creative activities.
- Confer with clients to determine objectives, budget, background information, and presentation approaches, styles, and techniques.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on creation & expression, then persuasion & leadership?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Work with creative directors to develop design solutions.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Active Listening, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Judgment and Decision Making.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
4 years of education after high school (bachelor's degree), for a median of $114,850 a year and 12,200 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Fine and Studio ArtsSee the degree →
- Design and Applied ArtsSee the degree →
- Digital ArtsCIP 50.0102
- Graphic DesignCIP 50.0409
- Intermedia/MultimediaCIP 50.0706
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Graphic Designers$62,960 · -1.7%
- Special Effects Artists and Animators$102,030 · -0.3%
- Producers and Directors$90,360 · +4.0%
- Project Management Specialists$102,320 · +6.7%
- Writers and Authors$76,910 · -0.3%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.