How To Become A Graphic Artist/Typesetter: What It Is and Career Path

What is a graphic artist/typesetter and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. Sarah Satterfield Ph.D.,

David Abbott

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a graphic artist/typesetter. For example, did you know that they make an average of $27.04 an hour? That's $56,237 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 6,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a graphic artist/typesetter?

Dr. Sarah Satterfield Ph.D.

Department Chair Visual and Performing Arts, Professor of Music and Humanities, College of Central Florida

I was once told, if you do what you love, you will never "work" a day in your life. I have found this true in my own career and hope our VPA graduates will find it true in theirs as well. The arts offer such a unique means of engaging and we, as arts educators, have an ability to "reach" those we have contact with, in a unique way.

ScoreGraphic Artist/TypesetterUS Average

Salary

4.4

Avg. Salary $56,237

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.2

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.37%

Asian 10.42%

Black or African American 3.42%

Hispanic or Latino 10.63%

Unknown 4.99%

White 70.17%

Gender

female 69.88%

male 30.12%

Age - 37

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 - 37

Stress level

4.2

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.5

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.9

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a graphic artist/typesetter

Explore graphic artist/typesetter education requirements

Most common graphic artist/typesetter degrees

Bachelor's

48.6 %

Associate

31.1 %

High School Diploma

12.8 %

Start to develop specific graphic artist/typesetter skills

Skills	Percentages
Typesetting	27.87%
Adobe Photoshop	21.61%
Business Cards	7.98%
Quark	6.32%
Corel Draw	5.12%

Complete relevant graphic artist/typesetter training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New graphic artist/typesetters 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 a graphic artist/typesetter based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real graphic artist/typesetter resumes.

Research graphic artist/typesetter duties and responsibilities

Manage typesetting and graphics department.
Manage external communications such as brochures and other sales collateral for direct mail from inception to circulation.
Set type, laid out and design print material for a small print company using phototypesetting as well as desktop publishing.
Maintain typesetting and graphic operations for the company.

Prepare your graphic artist/typesetter resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your graphic artist/typesetter 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 a graphic artist/typesetter resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable graphic artist/typesetter resume templates

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