A career in art cannot take place immediately. Determination, hard work, and a plan are required to become a successful artist. Also, training to improve your talent, attract clients, and turning passion into good products can be particularly daunting. However, having someone to help you execute these are great to have. That is exactly what an art supervisor is.
The heart of the responsibility of an art supervisor is to oversee employees in the art and graphic design department. They are in charge of developing and fulfilling various projects. In simple terms, they ensure tasks meet established criteria and deadlines. Those are two responsibilities out of your plate so you can focus on your passion and art!
They usually report to the head of the department but can make everyday decisions within the department or group they supervise. Most art supervisors have a bachelor's degree. Some employers prefer candidates with three to five years of experience in any related area. Art supervisors earn an annual average of $85,364.
Art Supervisor Overview
Working as an Art Supervisor
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an art supervisor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $29.63 an hour? That's $61,621 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 900 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does an Art Supervisor Do
There are certain skills that many art supervisors have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed communication skills, creativity and leadership skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be an art supervisor, we found that a lot of resumes listed 27.5% of art supervisors included user interface, while 26.3% of resumes included concept development, and 15.8% of resumes included creative concepts. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the art supervisor job title. But what industry to start with? Most art supervisors actually find jobs in the hospitality and media industries.
How To Become an Art Supervisor
If you're interested in becoming an art supervisor, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 57.1% of art supervisors have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 17.4% of art supervisors have master's degrees. Even though most art supervisors have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become an art supervisor. When we researched the most common majors for an art supervisor, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or master's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on art supervisor resumes include high school diploma degrees or associate degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become an art supervisor. In fact, many art supervisor jobs require experience in a role such as art director. Meanwhile, many art supervisors also have previous career experience in roles such as senior art director or graphic designer.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the right jobs to get there.
Art Supervisor Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of group art supervisor you might progress to a role such as group art supervisor eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title group art supervisor.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for an Art Supervisor
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Urbana Park District Summer Arts Camp Supervisor Summer Arts Camp Supervisor | Urbana Park District Urbana Park District | 01/27/2021 01/27/2021 | $28,17501/27/2021 $28,175 |
City of Garland, Tx Cultural Arts Supervisor Cultural Arts Supervisor | City of Garland, Tx City of Garland, Tx | 11/14/2020 11/14/2020 | $52,97811/14/2020 $52,978 |
Virginia State Government 01158 Arts Supervisor 01158 Arts Supervisor | Virginia State Government Virginia State Government | 03/07/2020 03/07/2020 | $46,08703/07/2020 $46,087 |
Virginia State Government Art Supervisor Art Supervisor | Virginia State Government Virginia State Government | 01/25/2020 01/25/2020 | $46,08701/25/2020 $46,087 |
East Hartford Public Schools Art Supervisor Art Supervisor | East Hartford Public Schools East Hartford Public Schools | 01/17/2020 01/17/2020 | $117,57201/17/2020 $117,572 |
Calculate your salary
Use Zippia's Salary Calculator to see how your pay matches up.
Top Colleges for Art Supervisors
1. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
2. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
3. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
4. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
5. Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
6. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
7. University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX • Public
8. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Public
9. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
10. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Top Skills For an Art Supervisor
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 27.5% of art supervisors listed user interface on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and creativity are important as well.
- User Interface, 27.5%
- Concept Development, 26.3%
- Creative Concepts, 15.8%
- Art Direction, 15.6%
- Graphic Design, 3.8%
- Other Skills, 11.0% See All Art Supervisor Skills
Best States For an Art Supervisor
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as an art supervisor. The best states for people in this position are Alaska, Utah, Oregon, and New York. Art supervisors make the most in Alaska with an average salary of $113,478. Whereas in Utah and Oregon, they would average $79,497 and $78,779, respectively. While art supervisors would only make an average of $77,736 in New York, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. New York
$77,737
Avg. Salary
2. Alabama
$67,612
Avg. Salary
3. Oregon
$78,780
Avg. Salary