How To Become A Graphic Arts Technician: What It Is and Career Path

What is a graphic arts technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Sarah Satterfield Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a graphic arts technician. For example, did you know that they make an average of $25.85 an hour? That's $53,758 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 Arts Technician?

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 Arts TechnicianUS Average

Salary

4.2

Avg. Salary $53,758

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 34.12%

male 65.88%

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 arts technician

Explore graphic arts technician education requirements

Most common graphic arts technician degrees

Bachelor's

50.0 %

Associate

25.0 %

Master's

9.6 %

Start to develop specific graphic arts technician skills

Skills	Percentages
Graphic Design	32.79%
Adobe Indesign	28.07%
Fine Arts	21.05%
Typesetting	10.38%
Protectors	7.71%

Complete relevant graphic arts technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New graphic arts technicians 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 arts technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real graphic arts technician resumes.

Research graphic arts technician duties and responsibilities

Manage external communications such as brochures and other sales collateral for direct mail from inception to circulation.
Plan and conduct professional development workshops on PowerPoint presentations.
Utilize a variety of creative media including illustration, photography and digital design to convey ideas beautifully and intelligently.
Create printed service menus in QuarkXPress for auto dealership service departments following the recommended maintenance schedules for each auto manufacturer.

Prepare your graphic arts technician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your graphic arts technician 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 arts technician 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 arts technician resume templates

Build a professional graphic arts technician 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 graphic arts technician resume.