How To Become An Assistant Art Director: What It Is and Career Path

What is an assistant art director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Cynthia Tovar

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an assistant art director. For example, did you know that they make an average of $37.42 an hour? That's $77,835 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 4,700 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to an assistant art director?

Cynthia Tovar

Board Member, Association of Registrars and Collections Specialists, Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Due to the pandemic, it is unfortunate that there are limited job openings for new graduates entering the workforce; however, there are a number of ways that a young professional can continue to network and gain experience, including virtual internships and entering into an official mentorship or training program (such as the ARCS Mentorship Program, The Museum Leadership, Polaris mentorship program, the Broad Diversity Apprenticeship Program, or The Registrar Hour, Intern Hour). Emerging professionals that join ARCS as an individual or student member, will have access to job listings, networking opportunities, funding opportunities for conferences and the mentor program among other benefits.

For those that do enter the workforce, many institutions' staff are still working remotely or operating in a hybrid model. There will be a need for new staff to communicate effectively with their supervisors, while working remotely, over video meetings. They might also be expected to learn new software or technology such as DocuSign to facilitate remote working and or be expected to serve as a virtual courier using video technology and digital condition reporting techniques. Museums can benefit from a fresh viewpoint that advocates for efficiencies and new ways of operating in these challenging times.

ScoreAssistant Art DirectorUS Average

Salary

6.1

Avg. Salary $77,835

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.9

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.63%

Asian 7.61%

Black or African American 4.32%

Hispanic or Latino 14.13%

Unknown 5.56%

White 67.75%

Gender

female 53.71%

male 46.29%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

7.9

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.2

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.0

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an assistant art director

Explore assistant art director education requirements

Most common assistant art director degrees

Bachelor's

73.7 %

Associate

17.6 %

Master's

4.8 %

Start to develop specific assistant art director skills

Skills	Percentages
Adobe Photoshop	12.98%
Graphic Design	8.46%
Photo Shoots	7.71%
Art Direction	7.49%
Concept Development	6.39%

Complete relevant assistant art director training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New assistant art directors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an assistant art director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real assistant art director resumes.

Research assistant art director duties and responsibilities

Manage translation and localization for Facebook game into Spanish and Portuguese.
Direct and manage all photography including composition, talent acquisition and photo manipulation.
Conceptualize and successfully develop numerous creative visual concepts for online sites, print materials, and PowerPoint presentations.
Update, revise and create web pages using HTML.

Get assistant art director experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become an assistant art director. The most common roles before becoming an assistant art director include graphic designer, art director team lead and graphic artist.

Prepare your assistant art director resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your assistant art director resume.

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