Also called: Executive Creative Director, ECD
Leads the teams of writers and designers who dream up ad campaigns, and has the final say on the creative work.
You review twenty rough ideas for a Super Bowl commercial, push the team to make the best one weirder and funnier, and then present it to a nervous client. When it airs, millions see your team's work.
Estimate; top agency ECDs earn much more.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 12 years after high school. Bachelor's in advertising, design, or English; 10+ years of agency experience and a strong portfolio.
Ways in: 4-year college, On-the-job training. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Advertising, Graphic Design, English, Communications.
Growing slowly. Few positions; agencies consolidating.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI pumps out hundreds of ad concepts, so teams shrink; picking, sharpening and selling the one great idea stays human.
Classes: Art and design, Creative writing, Theater or film studies, AP Psychology.
Official data: O*NET occupation 27-1011.
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.