There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a graphics illustrator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $29.49 an hour? That's $61,331 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 8,800 job opportunities across the U.S.
There are certain skills that many graphics illustrators 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 analytical skills, computer skills and creativity.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a graphics illustrator, we found that a lot of resumes listed 16.4% of graphics illustrators included graphic design, while 14.7% of resumes included photoshop, and 8.1% of resumes included artwork. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the graphics illustrator job title. But what industry to start with? Most graphics illustrators actually find jobs in the technology and media industries.
If you're interested in becoming a graphics illustrator, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 68.3% of graphics illustrators have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 8.9% of graphics illustrators have master's degrees. Even though most graphics illustrators have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a graphics illustrator. When we researched the most common majors for a graphics illustrator, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or associate degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on graphics illustrator resumes include master's degree degrees or high school diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a graphics illustrator. In fact, many graphics illustrator jobs require experience in a role such as graphic designer. Meanwhile, many graphics illustrators also have previous career experience in roles such as artist or designer.
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the right jobs to get there.
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, a graphics illustrator can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as artist, progress to a title such as manager and then eventually end up with the title marketing communications manager.
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Use Zippia's Salary Calculator to see how your pay matches up.
Designing and figuring out what to include on your resume can be tough, not to mention time-consuming. That's why we put together a guide that is designed to help you craft the perfect resume for becoming a Graphics Illustrator. If you're needing extra inspiration, take a look through our selection of templates that are specific to your job.
Learn How To Write a Graphics Illustrator Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Graphics Illustrator resumes and compiled some information about how best to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Detailed InformationPhiladelphia, PA
Pittsburgh, PA
Los Angeles, CA
Cambridge, MA
Durham, NC
Boston, MA
New York, NY
Boston, MA
Evanston, IL
Ann Arbor, MI
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, 16.4% of graphics illustrators listed graphic design on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and computer skills are important as well.
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a graphics illustrator. The best states for people in this position are Virginia, California, Maryland, and Oregon. Graphics illustrators make the most in Virginia with an average salary of $78,935. Whereas in California and Maryland, they would average $74,547 and $73,330, respectively. While graphics illustrators would only make an average of $70,430 in Oregon, 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. Virginia
$78,936
Avg. Salary
2. Maryland
$73,331
Avg. Salary
3. California
$74,547
Avg. Salary