1. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,695
Enrollment
6,596
What is an Artistic Director?
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an artistic director. For example, did you know that they make an average of $34.98 an hour? That's $72,755 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 Artistic Director Do
There are certain skills that many artistic directors 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 creativity, communication skills and leadership skills.
How To Become an Artistic Director
If you're interested in becoming an artistic director, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 68.2% of artistic directors have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 18.4% of artistic directors have master's degrees. Even though most artistic directors have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Artistic Director Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, an artistic director can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as executive director, progress to a title such as chief executive officer and then eventually end up with the title chief executive officer.
Average Salary for an Artistic Director
Artistic Directors in America make an average salary of $72,755 per year or $35 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $143,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $36,000 per year.
Average Artistic Director Salary
$72,755Â Yearly$34.98 hourly
What Am I Worth?
Roles and Types of Artistic Director
There are several types of artistic director, including:
Director
Role:
Directors report to board members regarding what's going on with the company as a whole. Then together, they work to develop new marketing and business strategies to help the company grow and expand.
Typically, directors have the ultimate, hands-down decision making capability, which is a lot of responsibility for one person, especially considering the type of decisions you'll be making. Any top-level decisions will come to you. You may also be responsible for approving a final budget and making sure company policies are being followed.
Some directors have long work hours, it depends on your employer and industry. Some directors will work longer than the typical 40-hour work week and many have erratic schedules that are determined by meetings, which are usually held after normal business hours.
Typically, directors have the ultimate, hands-down decision making capability, which is a lot of responsibility for one person, especially considering the type of decisions you'll be making. Any top-level decisions will come to you. You may also be responsible for approving a final budget and making sure company policies are being followed.
Some directors have long work hours, it depends on your employer and industry. Some directors will work longer than the typical 40-hour work week and many have erratic schedules that are determined by meetings, which are usually held after normal business hours.
- Average Salary: $113,489
- Degree: Bachelor's Degree
Art Director
Role:
An art director's duties basically revolve around the handling of artistic trends and decisions in plans and campaigns. Several times, it is up to you to think up strategies and ensure the accomplishments of the goals and take charge in harmonizing with different artists and productive workers. In addition, as an art director, you must keep an eye on the improvement of workflow and the labor force, create ideas and strategies, and validate or give opinions on every ingenious achievement by workers.
You must exhibit good communication, project management, coordination, leadership skills, and aesthetic assessment. Additionally, you must have a bachelor's degree. Being an apprentice in an art-related industry can help as well. You will earn an average salary of $74,672 or $35.90 per hour.
You must exhibit good communication, project management, coordination, leadership skills, and aesthetic assessment. Additionally, you must have a bachelor's degree. Being an apprentice in an art-related industry can help as well. You will earn an average salary of $74,672 or $35.90 per hour.
- Average Salary: $88,367
- Degree: Bachelor's Degree
Creative Director
Role:
Creative directors are key personnel in marketing and advertising agencies. They design media strategies and monitor communication campaigns for brands and products. They oversee the work of copywriters and graphic designers, revise presentations and coordinate the work of the creative team, making the final calls in creating advertisements.
The job of creative directors is essentially to whittle down the creative chaos their team generates into the most efficient, witty, and spot-on ad solutions. A good creative director will know how to motivate and inspire his/her or her team, bring the best out of the people they work with, and give space for great ideas to grow.
Advertising is a highly competitive and lucrative business for anyone involved, and creative directors are certainly not the ones to miss out on the financial perks. There are a lot of opportunities to show your worth, and as a creative director, you can make anything between $87,869 to $169,072 a year, depending on your location, the size and reputation of your agency, your experience in the field, and the results your work brings.
The job of creative directors is essentially to whittle down the creative chaos their team generates into the most efficient, witty, and spot-on ad solutions. A good creative director will know how to motivate and inspire his/her or her team, bring the best out of the people they work with, and give space for great ideas to grow.
Advertising is a highly competitive and lucrative business for anyone involved, and creative directors are certainly not the ones to miss out on the financial perks. There are a lot of opportunities to show your worth, and as a creative director, you can make anything between $87,869 to $169,072 a year, depending on your location, the size and reputation of your agency, your experience in the field, and the results your work brings.
- Average Salary: $137,779
- Degree: Bachelor's Degree
States With The Most Artistic Director Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active artistic director jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where artistic directors earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Average Salary: Job Openings:
Number Of Artistic Director Jobs By State
| Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 713 | $95,808 |
| 2 | New York | 512 | $87,017 |
| 3 | Iowa | 503 | $76,649 |
| 4 | Alabama | 484 | $58,650 |
| 5 | Louisiana | 481 | $67,148 |
| 6 | Arkansas | 473 | $39,344 |
| 7 | Oklahoma | 436 | $47,046 |
| 8 | Mississippi | 294 | $65,051 |
| 9 | Texas | 266 | $56,524 |
| 10 | Illinois | 216 | $64,643 |
| 11 | South Dakota | 187 | $52,163 |
| 12 | Massachusetts | 182 | $75,969 |
| 13 | Georgia | 159 | $60,770 |
| 14 | Pennsylvania | 149 | $67,813 |
| 15 | New Jersey | 146 | $84,984 |
| 16 | Florida | 146 | $61,155 |
| 17 | Virginia | 130 | $58,841 |
| 18 | North Carolina | 118 | $62,643 |
| 19 | Washington | 105 | $81,671 |
| 20 | Ohio | 99 | $57,125 |
| 21 | Oregon | 82 | $90,594 |
| 22 | Colorado | 82 | $47,551 |
| 23 | Wisconsin | 79 | $50,673 |
| 24 | Minnesota | 74 | $72,632 |
| 25 | Michigan | 61 | $68,573 |
| 26 | Missouri | 61 | $49,640 |
| 27 | Arizona | 53 | $51,226 |
| 28 | Maryland | 53 | $54,974 |
| 29 | Connecticut | 51 | $72,958 |
| 30 | Indiana | 43 | $46,072 |
| 31 | Tennessee | 41 | $45,981 |
| 32 | Utah | 33 | $71,978 |
| 33 | South Carolina | 33 | $42,536 |
| 34 | Kentucky | 27 | $44,183 |
| 35 | Nebraska | 19 | $44,552 |
| 36 | Nevada | 17 | $68,597 |
| 37 | Kansas | 16 | $75,772 |
| 38 | Vermont | 15 | $79,589 |
| 39 | Rhode Island | 14 | $68,615 |
| 40 | New Hampshire | 12 | $70,863 |
| 41 | New Mexico | 9 | $54,579 |
| 42 | Idaho | 8 | $76,825 |
| 43 | Montana | 8 | $59,968 |
| 44 | North Dakota | 5 | $64,189 |
| 45 | Delaware | 5 | $65,367 |
| 46 | Alaska | 4 | $133,350 |
| 47 | Maine | 4 | $82,850 |
| 48 | Hawaii | 3 | $74,681 |
| 49 | West Virginia | 3 | $50,830 |
| 50 | Wyoming | 2 | $61,038 |
Top Colleges for Artistic Directors
2. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-State Tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
3. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
In-State Tuition
$50,420
Enrollment
7,582
4. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
5. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
6. University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX • Private
In-State Tuition
$10,610
Enrollment
40,329
7. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-State Tuition
$6,381
Enrollment
34,564
8. Cornell University
Ithaca, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,188
Enrollment
15,105
9. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$51,354
Enrollment
7,083
10. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
In-State Tuition
$15,262
Enrollment
30,079
Top Skills For an Artistic Director
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, 21.3% of artistic directors listed artistic vision on their resume, but soft skills such as creativity and communication skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Artistic Director Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Artistic Director templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Artistic Director resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Artistic Director Demographics
Artistic Director Gender Distribution
Female
52%
Male
48%
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among artistic directors, 51.7% of them are women, while 48.3% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among artistic directors is White, which makes up 67.1% of all artistic directors.
- The most common foreign language among artistic directors is Spanish at 37.6%.
Online Courses For Artistic Director That You May Like
Advertising Disclosure Â
1. ART of the MOOC: Public Art and Pedagogy
Students of this course may try their hand at their own public art interventions, or simply focus on learning from the theory of public practice and its recent history. Designed by artist and Duke professor, Pedro Lasch, and co-taught by Creative Time artistic director, Nato Thompson, this course presents public culture and art in their radically reinenvented contemporary forms. The lectures link major developments of recent decades to wider topics like spatial politics, everyday social...
See More on Coursera2. Business Metrics for Data-Driven Companies
In this course, you will learn best practices for how to use data analytics to make any company more competitive and more profitable. You will be able to recognize the most critical business metrics and distinguish them from mere data. You’ll get a clear picture of the vital but different roles business analysts, business data analysts, and data scientists each play in various types of companies. And you’ll know exactly what skills are required to be hired for, and succeed at, these high-demand...
See More on Coursera3. Product Marketing for Technology Companies
Master your product marketing skills through practical examples and exercises...
See More on UdemyJob type you want
Full Time
Part Time
Internship
Temporary
Best States For an Artistic Director
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as an artistic director. The best states for people in this position are Alaska, California, Oregon, and New York. Artistic directors make the most in Alaska with an average salary of $133,350. Whereas in California and Oregon, they would average $95,808 and $90,594, respectively. While artistic directors would only make an average of $87,017 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. California
Total Artistic Director Jobs: 713
Highest 10% Earn:
$190,000
Location Quotient:
1.03
$95,808
Avg. Salary
2. Oregon
Total Artistic Director Jobs: 82
Highest 10% Earn:
$181,000
Location Quotient:
0.83
$90,594
Avg. Salary
3. New York
Total Artistic Director Jobs: 512
Highest 10% Earn:
$162,000
Location Quotient:
1.68
$87,017
Avg. Salary
How Do Artistic Director Rate Their Jobs?
Top Artistic Director Employers
Most Common Employers For Artistic Director
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ballet Austin | $117,534 | $56.51 | 2 |
| 2 | Coach | $83,931 | $40.35 | 3 |
| 3 | Cape Cod Community College | $80,673 | $38.79 | 3 |
| 4 | Socialserve | $73,689 | $35.43 | 2 |
| 5 | San Diego Symphony | $73,314 | $35.25 | 3 |
| 6 | ComedySportz Chicago | $72,265 | $34.74 | 4 |
| 7 | HONK | $64,088 | $30.81 | 2 |
| 8 | Universal Music Group | $62,702 | $30.15 | 3 |
| 9 | Dad's Garage Theatre | $59,707 | $28.71 | 3 |
| 10 | Los Angeles LGBT Center | $56,449 | $27.14 | 2 |
Artistic Director Videos
Day in the Life: Art Director
Career Advice on becoming an Art Director - Animation by Gillian R (Full Version)