Also called: Headliner
Tours theaters and arenas with their own hour of comedy, often with specials on streaming.
A headliner tours 100+ cities a year, works new jokes into an hour-long set, records a special, and appears on podcasts to sell tickets.
Extremely rare; only a few hundred comics reach this level. Top comedians earn tens of millions.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
No formal education, about 0 years after high school. Usually 10-15+ years of stand-up first.
Ways in: Self-taught, On-the-job training. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Theater.
Growing about average. Comedy touring is strong.
Low risk for 10 years. Live touring and specials rest on a human personality and stage presence that AI can't copy.
Classes: Theater, Speech and debate, Creative writing, Business.
Official data: O*NET occupation 27-2099.
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.