Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators vs Set and Exhibit Designers: $55K vs $75K Median Pay

Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators vs Set and Exhibit Designers: what changes?

Consider Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators if you want to create original artwork using any of a wide variety of media and techniques. Consider Set and Exhibit Designers if you would rather design special exhibits and sets for film, video, television, and theater productions. Both list bachelor's degree; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators and Set and Exhibit Designers. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators

National median pay (2025): $55,490
Route into the job: Bachelor's degree; More than 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: More than 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Use materials such as pens and ink, watercolors, charcoal, oil, or computer software to create artwork.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 2,200

Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 2.9% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators brief

Set and Exhibit Designers

National median pay (2025): $75,240
Route into the job: Bachelor's degree
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate: Develop set designs, based on evaluation of scripts, budgets, research information, and available locations.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 2,200

Know before you choose

Deadline pressure is a recurring condition rather than an occasional emergency.

See the full Set and Exhibit Designers brief

How the national numbers differ

Set and Exhibit Designers has the edge on median pay

Set and Exhibit Designers is at $75,240, compared with $55,490 for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators.

Typical preparation differs.

Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators: Bachelor's degree; More than 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing Set and Exhibit Designers: Bachelor's degree Preparation categories do not establish admission difficulty, calendar time, tuition, time without earnings, or licensing difficulty.

Set and Exhibit Designers has the edge on projected growth

Set and Exhibit Designers is at 1.4% projected growth, compared with -2.9% projected growth for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators.

34.4/ 100

Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators

40/ 100

Set and Exhibit Designers

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators vs Set and Exhibit Designers

Dimension	Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators	Set and Exhibit Designers
Median pay (2025)	$55,490	$75,240
Pay percentile	40.5 percentile	65.1 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	-2.9%	1.4%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	2,200	2,200
2025 employment	28,900	31,600
How you qualify	Bachelor's degree; More than 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing	Bachelor's degree
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 3	Job Zone 5
Related work experience	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job training	More than 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.	BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators brief Read Set and Exhibit Designers brief

Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators vs Set and Exhibit Designers: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators

Set and Exhibit Designers

How the national numbers differ

Set and Exhibit Designers has the edge on median pay

Typical preparation differs.

Set and Exhibit Designers has the edge on projected growth

Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators vs Set and Exhibit Designers

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