Also called: Themed Entertainment Designer, Show Designer
Dreams up and designs theme park rides, lands, and attractions.
Imagineers sketch new worlds, build scale models, write ride stories, and work with engineers to make the impossible real. Disney Imagineering, Universal Creative, and design firms in Orlando and LA hire for dozens of specialties.
Estimate.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 8 years after high school. Bachelor's in architecture, industrial design, engineering, theater design, or animation, plus a strong portfolio.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Industrial Design, Architecture, Theater Design, Mechanical Engineering, Animation.
Growing about average (about 3% over 10 years).
Medium risk for 10 years. AI concept art and story drafts speed early design, squeezing junior sketch roles; building physical worlds with engineers stays human.
Classes: Art/drawing, Theater tech, Physics, Drafting/CAD.
Official data: O*NET occupation 27-1029.
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.