How To Become An Entertainer: What It Is and Career Path

What is an entertainer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Entertainers work in bars, restaurants, cruise ships, cultural centers, and variety shows. Much of their work is done for live audiences. There are a lot of different types of entertainers, but commons ones include dancers, comedians, musicians, and singers.

Aside from creating and practicing acts, wearing costumes that suit the performance, operating puppets, they also research new materials for the acts and deals with finances. Some entertainers are specialized in only one field, while others have many talents that they incorporate to produce an act, such as a performer who sings and plays an instrument. Some work as solo artists, others as part of a team. They carry out administrative and promotional duties, especially if they are self-employed.

There are no fixed academic qualification standards, and there are a number of routes into the field. Some of the popular routes are taking part in talent competitions, working at holiday events, or performing at local clubs. It is beneficial to have learned singing, acting, or dance from a young age and to have performed in school plays or amateur stage productions.

ScoreEntertainerUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $51,601

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

4.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.83%

Asian 5.24%

Black or African American 9.99%

Hispanic or Latino 20.46%

Unknown 6.02%

White 57.47%

Gender

female 50.83%

male 49.17%

Age - 34

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 - 34

Key steps to become an entertainer

Explore entertainer education requirements

Most common entertainer degrees

Bachelor's

42.0 %

High School Diploma

27.6 %

Associate

18.1 %

Start to develop specific entertainer skills

Skills	Percentages
BARS	49.05%
Customer Service	20.30%
DJ	4.90%
Costumes	3.19%
Corporate Events	2.62%

Research entertainer duties and responsibilities

Include experience with HTML, CSS, and design.
Design websites and HTML fliers.
Film stock film, interviews, and provide stock photography.
Create advertising content and use SEO analytics to target core audiences.

Prepare your entertainer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your entertainer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an entertainer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Entertainer Resume templates

Build a professional Entertainer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Entertainer resume.

Apply for entertainer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an entertainer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do entertainers rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

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1 Star

Entertainer reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2019

Pros

I've been a mascot at Powerplay Entertainment Center Metro North for 3 years. My character's name is Pete. The thing I enjoy being the mascot is being silly and dancing and playing with the kids even though my dance moves are pretty Rusty. I got into mascotting because of my idol KC Wolf from the Kansas City Chiefs. I wanna be just like him. I'm currently saving up for my own mascot suit so I can mascot on my own time when I'm not Pete. I started mascotting my third week of working at Powerplay for a Quick Trip event and I've enjoyed it ever since. I'll take mascotting any day. Years down the road I plan on being like KC Wolf he motivates me to be a better mascot than I was from when I first started mascotting. Although I'm not as good as him. With me having autism being in the mascot costume helps me feel better with confidence and sometimes I feel more comfortable being in suit. I'll tell you this though mascot suits are hot but I just ignore it I'm used to the heat but I'd still take regular breaks so you don't pass out.

Cons

Not being able to be in the costume all the time. Because if I could I'd mascot any day if I could. Also one thing I don't like about mascotting is not always being needed all the time. I also don't like it when kids cry when I approach them in suit because it makes my character sad.