Also called: Freelance Illustrator, Editorial Illustrator
Draws images for books, magazines, ads, packaging, websites, and products.
An illustrator might draw a magazine cover one week and a set of app icons the next. They sketch concepts, send roughs to clients, and finalize in Procreate or Photoshop. Most freelance and juggle multiple clients.
Estimate based on BLS fine artists including illustrators; many are self-employed with unsteady income.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in illustration or fine art; portfolio is key.
Ways in: 4-year college, Self-taught. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Illustration, Fine Arts, Graphic Design.
Growing slowly (about 0% over 10 years). Little change projected; AI is pressuring stock-style illustration.
Medium risk in 5 years, high in 10. AI image generators compete directly with lower-budget illustration; distinctive personal styles and trusted client work hold value.
Classes: AP Studio Art 2-D Design, Drawing and painting, Graphic design.
Official data: O*NET occupation 27-1013.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.