Career
Set and exhibit designers
Design sets for stage and screen, and exhibits for museums.
$75,240
Median pay
+1.4%
Job growth, 2025–35
2,200
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
- Develop set designs, based on evaluation of scripts, budgets, research information, and available locations.
- Prepare rough drafts and scale working drawings of sets, including floor plans, scenery, and properties to be constructed.
- Prepare preliminary renderings of proposed exhibits, including detailed construction, layout, and material specifications, and diagrams relating to aspects such as special effects or lighting.
- Read scripts to determine location, set, and design requirements.
- Submit plans for approval, and adapt plans to serve intended purposes, or to conform to budget or fabrication restrictions.
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?
“Develop set designs, based on evaluation of scripts, budgets, research information, and available locations.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, Operations Analysis.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
4 years of education after high school (bachelor's degree), for a median of $75,240 a year and 2,200 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Design and Applied ArtsSee the degree →
- TheatreSee the degree →
- Design and Visual Communications, GeneralCIP 50.0401
- IllustrationCIP 50.0410
- Technical Theatre/Theatre Design and TechnologyCIP 50.0502
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Graphic Designers$62,960 · -1.7%
- Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators$55,490 · -2.9%
- Art Directors$114,850 · +4.2%
- Craft Artists$46,080 · +2.0%
- Commercial and Industrial Designers$83,910 · +2.4%
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.
Not sure this fits who you are? Start with Vocational Finder →
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.