Being a creative doesn't mean you have to settle for mediocre jobs that don't allow you creative expression just to pay the bills. There are opportunities out there that allow you to use multiple skills of creative thinking, vision, and artistry, and several offer high salaries. The performing and creative arts industry revenue has grown to reach an estimated $57 billion this year. This includes actors, artists, models, media personalities, and authors, among other creative professions.
“The ease of accessing content via the internet has made this industry less dependent on location. Performers and artists are now able to distribute their work from anywhere with a high-speed internet connection,” IBIS World, a data research firm, reports.
If you're a creative professional who needs a boost in income, has a bit of experience with creative projects, or wants to use your transferable skills from one job to transition into another industry, check out these top six-figure jobs for creatives:
1. Fit Model
Average Yearly Salary: $100,000+
We all know about supermodels who make six- into seven- and eight-figure salaries walking in fashion shows or posing for campaigns. And while they are the exception, not the norm, there is a specific type of modeling that an everyday professional can do to potentially earn an amazing salary. These are models who are hired by designers or clothing manufacturers to test the fit, style, and appearance of the fashions they offer, especially if it’s a niche line or department like plus, petite, maternity, or big and tall.
You don’t necessarily have to walk a catwalk or take photos, but you have to have specific measurements that fit certain niches and of course, be confident, professional, timely, and reliable in testing out the garments.
2. Creative or Art Director
Average Yearly Salary: $114,155
These professionals are in charge of the creative or visual vision of a brand, concept, or project, and they have to use skills such as research, team management, digital media, and art conceptualizing in order to do their job well at the six-figure salary level. Indeed indicates a candidate must have five to eight years of experience, know how to market themselves and their ideas, and be able to work well with clients and team members.
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3. Digital Designer
Average Yearly Salary: $109,503
You’ll be able to use your strategic creativity to develop websites, web pages, newsletters, and other digital products for a company or brand, and you’ll have diverse options in terms of what industry you’d like to work in. It’s not a job just exclusive to media or advertising, as you might be supporting individual personalities, campaigns, small businesses, or various aspects of a corporation. You must have a knack for combining your ideas with skills using design programs and coding languages like Adobe Creative Suite, JQuery, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
4. Animator
Average Yearly Salary: Up to $101,000
If you are an artist or love to play around with the ways you can use art to create cartoons, tutorials, games, and other interactive experiences, this is perfect for you. There are diverse ways you can pursue this, and if you’re a freelancer, you can work with multiple clients to really stretch your range and earning potential.
Some animators can even earn extra via commissions or profit-sharing depending on experience, contract, and nature of the projects they work on. You’ll need to be trained in animation software programs as well as basic sketching and art skills. For some projects or jobs, you might also be handling budgets, editing, or creating new storylines and scripts.
5. Public Relations Managers
Average Salary: Up to $186,000
Professionals who are public relations managers (or strategists) in top business markets like New York, Los Angeles, or Washington D.C. command the big salaries and are able to combine critical, communications, and creative skills to not only manage the pitching and marketing of clients, concepts or messaging but helm the vision of taking a professional, brand or business to the next level.
You’ll need several years of experience, strategic marketing, an MBA, or a master’s level communications degree. Many who have paid their dues start their own firms, bringing the earnings well into six figures as well.
Phynart Studios/Getty Images
6. Social Media Content Creator
Average Annual Salary: 100,000+
There are millions of content creators who have hit the six-figure mark via YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. To be clear, these are creatives who have built strategy and business acumen into their creative pursuit, and some of the top-earning content creators have agents and talent managers to help facilitate their boosts in income. Some have started officially structured businesses to offer content creation, ambassador, strategy, and video content services, while others are simply fully self-employed and are hired as freelance employees.
Some are hired by brands, small businesses, and corporations to create exclusive content as employees. Brand deals and resources like YouTube’s ad revenue and TikTok’s Creator Fund also add to the earnings. For this, you must be able to multitask and schedule using platforms like Sprout Social, Buffer, or Hootsuite, have a knack for social media video production, and have a knowledge of SEO and digital marketing.
7. Digital Marketing Manager
Average Annual Salary: $124,000
In this position, you’d be leading the digital marketing strategy and operations to increase the demand for a product, tap into new customers, enhance sales, and drive traffic to a company’s website or store. A knowledge of SEO and SEM is required, with at least five years of experience as a digital marketer, as well as a knack for sales, creative visuals, and a bachelor’s degree in marketing or other digital media marketing niches.
8. Medical Illustrator
Average Annual Salary: $168,000
If you have a passion for healthcare but want something a bit more on the creative side and less on the medical or tech side, this is perfect. In this job, you’ll be collaborating with researchers, doctors, and other medical professionals to turn complex concepts into visual images that can be used in books, presentations, or other educational purposes. Experience in artistry, drawing, and sketching is required, as well as training and education in both life sciences and visual media.
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Anyway, I personally think that the less shallow folks out here may contemplate calling things “quits” or they at least distance themselves a bit from their partner (and what I’m referring to is serious relationships) due to all of the stress and strain that oftentimes comes with the holidays whether it be financial, familial, due to their tight schedules or something else.
Listen, I would hate for you and your man to miss the fun and happiness of experiencing this time of year, all because you are so overwhelmed or irritated that you can’t really enjoy it. That’s why I have a few practical tips for how to avoid allowing the typical holiday season stress from INFECTING your relationship.
Manage Your Expectations
GiphyUnmanaged expectations. If there is a main reason why the holiday season tends to be so stress-filled for so many people, I’d bet good money that this is the cause. And when you’re in a long-term relationship, expectations can manifest themselves in all sorts of cryptic and/or unexpected ways. You might have relatives who assume that you are going to be with them for Thanksgiving or Christmas when you have other plans in mind. You might be thinking that you are going to spend one amount for presents while your man is thinking something totally different. When it comes to scheduling, your signals may be crossed.
And you know what? To all of these scenarios, this is where clear and consistent communication come in. Don’t assume anything. Don’t dictate anything either. From now until New Year’s, mutually decide to check in once a week, just to make sure that you are both on the same page as it relates to the holidays and what you both are thinking will come along with it. The less blindsided you both feel, the less stressed out you will be. Trust me on this.
Set (and Keep) a Budget
GiphyOkay, so I read that last year, 36 percent of Americans incurred some type of holiday-related debt. Hmph. Last year, there was still some sense of normalcy in this country, chile, so I can only imagine what finances are gonna look like over the next several weeks. That said, since I don’t know a lot of people who don’t find being broke stressful, make sure that you and your bae set a budget and then stick to it this year — no ifs, ands or buts.
Because really, y’all — it doesn’t make sense to deplete savings and/or max out credit cards for a few days of giggles only to be damn near losing your mind because you don’t know how to make ends meet come Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
And by the way, this tip doesn’t just speak to things like food and gifts; I also mean travel. If it doesn’t make a ton of sense (or cents) to be all over the place this year — DON’T BE.
Keep Matthew 5:37 at the Forefront
GiphyIf off the top of your head, you don’t know what Matthew 5:37 says, no worries, here ya go: “But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” That verse right there? Oh, it’s a boundaries lifesaver! I say that because do you see “maybe” or “I’ll think about it” in there? Nope. LOL. It says that you should tell people “yes” or “no” and leave it at that — and that complements Anne Lamott’s quote, “’No’ is a complete sentence” impeccably well. Yeah, you’ve got to remember that anything beyond a yes or no to a request is privileged information; you don’t owe anyone details or an explanation.
Besides, if you are really honest with yourself, when someone asks you something and you give a “Umm, let me think about it” kind of reply, more times than not, you already know what your answer is going to be — so why not let you both off of the hook? Give your response. Commit to that. And let everyone (including yourself) get on with their lives and schedules.
I promise you that when it comes to those holiday parties, you are pissing more folks off by not RSVP’ing or doing so and not showing up than just saying, “Thank you but not this year” off the rip.
Remember That Your Personal Space Is Privilege Not a Right
GiphyA friend of mine recently bought a new house and invited me over to come see it. He’s a single man with no children, so as I was taking in all of the space that he had, especially as I walked through his finished basement, I joked about relatives coming to live with him. “Hell no” and “absolutely not” were pretty much his immediate responses as he went on to say that some folks even had the nerve to be offended when he told them that he had no intentions on taking DNA in.
Ain’t it wild how people think that your stuff is their right? And yes, that brings me to my next point. Your home is your sanctuary space. If you want to host folks this year — cool. If not, ALSO COOL. Please don’t let folks (family included) guilt you into how they want you to act or even into what they would do if the shoe was on the other foot. You are not them — and as one of my favorite quotes states, “If two people were exactly alike, one of them would be unnecessary.” (A man by the name Larry Dixon said that.)
Hell, my friends? They know that I am good for sending them random things that they need or even want all throughout the year. Coming over to hang out at my pace, though. Uh-uh. Chalk it up to being a card-carrying member of the ambivert club yet I like keeping my living space personal — and I sleep like a baby, each and every night, for feeling that way.
Always remember that your space, your time, your resources, your energy and shoot, yourself period (including your relationship), are all things that are your own. You get to choose how, when and why you want to share them. The holiday season is certainly no exception.
Cultivate Some “You Two Only” Traditions
GiphyIt’s not uncommon for some couples to hit me up after the holiday season to “detox.” Sometimes it’s due to the financial drama (and sometimes trauma) that they experienced. Sometimes it’s because they allowed their relatives (especially in-laws) to get more into their personal business than they should’ve. More than anything, though, it tends to be because they didn’t get enough quality time together and so ended up feeling “disconnected.”
Please don’t let that happen. Listen, I’m not even a holidays kind of woman and yet, I will absolutely sit myself down with some hot chocolate and chocolate chip cookies to enjoy a Hallmark holiday film or two. Aside from the fact that most of them are lighthearted and sweet, I also like that they usually focus on couples loving on each other amidst all of the holiday beauty and ambiance — which is something that all couples should set aside some time to do.
Maybe it’s a vacation. Maybe it’s a staycation. Or maybe it’s my personal favorite, A SEXCATION. Whether it’s for a few days, the weekend or even overnight — don’t you let the holidays go by without setting aside time for you and your man to celebrate one another. Don’t you dare (check out “Are You Ready To Have Some Very Merry 'Christmas Sex'?”).
GET. SOME. REST.
GiphyI once read that 8 out of 10 people get stressed out over the holidays and 3 out of 10 lose sleep during to it — and when you’re stress-filled and sleep-deprived, that can absolutely lead to hypersensitivity, making mountains out of molehills and even not being in the mood for sex.
Your relationship can’t afford to go through any of this, so definitely make sure to prioritize rest. I don’t care how unrealistic it might seem during this time, sleep should never be seen as a luxury; it will always and forever be a great necessity.
That said, try to get no less than six hours of shut-eye in (check out “6 Fascinating Ways Sex And Sleep Definitely Go Hand In Hand”) and even ask your bae to take a nap with you sometimes (check out “Wanna Have Some Next-Level Sex? Take A Nap, Sis.”). Not only will sleep help to restore your mind, body and spirit but, when it’s with your partner, it’s an act of intimacy that can make you both feel super connected, even in the midst of what might feel like chaos.
___
Holiday season stress is real. Still, never give it the permission or power to throw your relationship off. Put you and your man first and let the holidays be what they are gonna be, chile.
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