Career
Costume attendants
Care for costumes and help performers into them.
$50,400
Median pay
+5.9%
Job growth, 2025–35
1,700
Openings a year
High school diploma or equivalent
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Create worksheets for dressing lists, show notes, or costume checks.
- Provide dressing assistance to cast members or assign cast dressers to assist specific cast members with costume changes.
- Arrange costumes in order of use to facilitate quick-change procedures for performances.
- Design or construct costumes or send them to tailors for construction, major repairs, or alterations.
- Examine costume fit on cast members and sketch or write notes for alterations.
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 information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Create worksheets for dressing lists, show notes, or costume checks.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Active Listening, Monitoring, Speaking, Coordination.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though short-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $50,400 a year and 1,700 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- TheatreSee the degree →
- Dramatic/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft, OtherCIP 50.0599
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Fashion Designers$80,960 · +0.1%
- Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers$41,640 · -8.8%
- Makeup Artists, Theatrical and Performance$97,150 · +6.1%
- Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers$62,750 · -15.0%
- Set and Exhibit Designers$75,240 · +1.4%
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.