Also called: Puzzle Product Developer, Wooden Puzzle Maker
Picks images and designs the piece shapes for jigsaw puzzles, from mass-market boxes to hand-cut wooden puzzles.
At a puzzle company, the designer picks artwork, adjusts colors so every section is fun to solve, and chooses the cut pattern for 1,000 pieces. At small wooden-puzzle shops, makers cut each piece on a scroll saw, including tiny “whimsy” pieces shaped like animals. They test new puzzles by solving them.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Graphic design degree for product roles; woodworking for hand-cut makers.
Ways in: 4-year college, Self-taught. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Graphic Design, Illustration.
Growing about average. Puzzles stayed popular after a big boom.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI can make images and cut patterns, but choosing a fun, solvable puzzle and hand-cutting stay human.
Classes: Art, Graphic design, Woodshop.
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.