The opportunity to be creative is vital for our mental and spiritual well-being. Whether it’s painting, drawing, knitting, wood carving, ceramics, or any other area where we get to create, these artistic endeavors provide an outlet that can help us relieve stress, deal with emotions, and even process complex events. Something as small as knitting a hat or stenciling a fruit border on our kitchen wall can bring us joy and a sense of calm.
Amateur pursuits can also give us a sense of accomplishment and pride. Now, imagine being able to make a living with your artistic endeavors and being able to spend your day creating fabulous objects for people to enjoy, to make a living being innovative and creative. If you’re interested in finding a job that allows you to use your creativity but aren’t sure where to concentrate your talents, keep reading. This blog will cover eight jobs that enable you to be creative.
1. A Fine Artist
One job that allows you to show off your creativity while making a living is that of a fine artist. This job has many modalities that can be used, such as paints, pottery, pencils, wood, glass, and textiles. Weaving, sculpting, woodworking, and sketching all fall into the area of fine arts. The typical fine artist makes approximately $59,000 per year through their creations.
While many artists supplement their creativity with a “day job”, others can be employed full-time by studios, an art gallery, museums, illustration companies, and the fashion industry. Some artists work as tattoo professionals, sketch artists for law enforcement, furniture makers, and set designers for stage and screen.
If working for someone else doesn’t appeal to you, it’s all good. You can open up a studio in your home to create your art and sell it at craft fairs, local shops, or online. Working as a fine artist can provide many benefits, such as the ability to make your own hours, be your own boss, and be a part of a larger creative community. It’s also a job that allows you to work anywhere. So, if you need or want to move, there are no worries about finding employment.
2. An Interior Designer
Interior design professionals make indoor spaces safe, beautiful, and functional. A designer may work for an architectural firm, design company, small interior houses of design, or for themselves. Typically, an interior design pro needs a bachelor’s degree and will work under an experienced interior designer before taking on independent projects.
While on the surface, it appears all these professionals need is some creativity and style; they need many skills and a lot of knowledge. Interior designers must know how to draw, read, and exit blueprints, have knowledge of building codes and accessibility standards, math skills for measurements and dimensions, and organizational office skills. Add to that the creative side is sketching designs, knowledge of materials, window treatments, use of color, flooring, lighting, and more.
They often work as a team alongside architects, contractors, suppliers, and the homeowner. There’s a lot of variety to being an interior designer. One day, you’re designing a corporate office, and the next, a luxury home. No two days are the same. Good interior designers have superior communication skills, are detail-oriented, and have great visual-spatial awareness. This is a tremendous artistic-oriented job where you can express your creativity and make others happy at the same time. The average interior designer makes about $62,000 per year.
3. Cosmetic Dentist
If you want to combine creativity with your love of science and medicine, cosmetic dentistry could be for you. Like general dentists, cosmetic dentists examine the teeth and gums of patients, perform procedures, and offer advice on proper oral hygiene, but they also help create beautiful smiles. These specialized dentists work with clients who want to feel better about themselves. A cosmetic dentist uses various methods to make that dream a reality.
If a patient has dull and discolored teeth, the dentist may apply tooth whitening treatments to give a bright and shiny smile. These specialists can use veneers for teeth that will cover up gaps, breaks, or chips. They can affix a crown to a tooth that is decaying to improve the overall appearance of the mouth.
If decay is severe and affects several teeth, a cosmetic dentist may suggest the patient get dental implants. This process involves the extraction of existing teeth and roots and the implantation of artificial teeth using screws. This choice is often more popular than dentures as there’s no worry about slipping or movement.
In order to become a cosmetic dentist, you must earn a doctorate in dental medicine. Typically, a clinical internship is completed, and then state board exams must be passed to become licensed to practice. Being a cosmetic dentist offers not only an outlet for creativity but also flexibility, the ability to help people, work with various people, and collaborate with other professionals. Cosmetic dentists can work for a group practice, clinic, or hospital or start their own practice. The average salary for the dental profession is about $220,000 per year.
4. A Jewelry Designer
One of the great things about being a jewelry designer (aside from letting your creativity flow) is that no matter what your personal style or preference for materials, people have a vast range of tastes and needs; there is sure to be a market for what you sell. Whether it’s delicate or chunky, casual or formal, gold or hemp, with the proper exposure and marketing strategies, you’ll likely do well with the onset of online platforms where you can open your shop for next to nothing.
The jewelry industry is more lucrative than ever. That’s not to say you don’t have to put the work in. Creativity and imagination are necessary for designing jewelry, but there is much more to it. Most jewelry designers take their natural talents and combine them with a variety of classes that could include gem cutting, welding, engraving, metal cutting, and marketing.
It takes knowledge of all these skills and more to be great at making jewelry. Many designers of this sort supplement their income (which averages about $38,200) with side gigs like appraising jewelry in cash for gold establishments, working at jewelry stores, repairing jewelry, and even welders. Many jewelry designers work hard amid pounding the pavement for years, which pays off.
They are often hired as consultants for fashion designers, or large retail stores buy their designs to mass produce and sell themselves. It’s a beautiful thing to create something people want to wear on their bodies for years to come and hopefully pass it down for generations. It’s truly a legacy to be proud of.
5. An Artisan Beer Crafter
This job requires creativity, chemistry skills, a sense of adventure, and a love of beer! Craft beer and microbreweries have become big businesses in recent years. This is great news for beer connoisseurs who have long yearned for something more flavorful and unique than whatever is on tap at the local bar.
It’s even better news for home brewers with nothing else to do with their fermented experiments to share with friends. Now, there are craft beer fairs, stores, restaurants, companies, and small businesses that use artisan craft beer to make their events stand out. They’re always looking for the next big thing, which could be you!
But first, there are some things you need to know. You can’t just buy a kit and dump it in a bucket in your basement. Many brewmasters hold bachelor’s degrees in areas like chemistry, microbiology, or fermentation science. They’ll then go on to complete brewing classes in mating, mashing, milling, filtering, conditioning, and fermenting.
A good brewer must also know how to select good ingredients, learn about sanitation and hygiene regulations, how to use a myriad of equipment, and finally, come up with tasty, unique recipes that everyone will clamor for. Once you’ve got the knowledge, you’ll need a place to make your beer. Many craft beer producers get their start in their basement or garage, which is so great.
But if you’re ready to take the next step, consider taking on a partner and renting a space to create batches, bottle, and package them. Then, try entering contests and attending art and street fairs with your brew. It’s a great way to market beer without breaking the bank. Once you’ve established yourself as an artisan beer crafter, you can expect to make anywhere from $33,000 – $77,000 per year selling on the side.
6. A Carpenter
A carpenter does much more than help build homes or repair items. They are master craftspeople who can create just about anything from wood. The possibilities for creativity are endless. Carpenters can choose to carve and assemble anything from furniture, plates, toys, lamps, and bowls to entire custom kitchen cabinetry and even estate homes.
This profession requires excellent measurement skills and nimble hands to use the many tools to cut and shape wood. Being a skilled woodworker can allow creativity to flow from the tools and into any wood, from pine to mahogany, to create pieces that will bring happiness for years to come. Most woodworkers have a natural flair for this profession; most enhance their skills by taking classes. To be a professional carpenter, you’ll need to serve as an apprentice first.
During this time, it’s often required that courses are taken to help pass the licensing exam. Carpenters can work in many places, including for contractors, towns, furniture makers, and themselves. Carpenters can make up to $100,000 annually, depending on their experience and expertise.
7. A Stone Mason
If you want to work outdoors, are physically strong, and have excellent hand-eye coordination and dexterity, your creativity can be used as a stone mason. This trade profession uses bricks, concrete, and artificial and natural stone supplies to create structures. Think of structures like The Pyramids, Stonehenge, and The Great Wall of China; stone Masons built them. It doesn’t get more creative than that.
Masons use plans and blueprints to design and lay patterns for walkways, foundations, stairs, walls, and facades. A high school diploma is required to be a stone mason. In addition, they will have to complete an apprenticeship under an experienced stone mason and attend classes before they can work independently.
They must know how to read blueprints, mix grout and mortar, clean and polish stone and cement, and use various tools to cut and shape the materials. Stone masons can work in a variety of places, like construction companies, architectural firms, concrete manufacturers, a natural stone supply business, as well as their companies. The average stone mason makes about $50,000 a year.
8. A Landscape Designer
If you love the outdoors and making it pretty, you may enjoy being a landscape designer. Not to be confused with landscapers and landscape architects, designers decorate outdoor spaces like yards, parks, campuses, playgrounds, resorts, and apartment complexes. They use a variety of trees, flowers, bushes, shrubbery, pathways, stone, and water installations to beautify areas and provide a sense of calm and balance.
To excel in the area of landscape design, you’ll need an eye for detail, be able to sketch structures and read architectural blueprints. You’ll work closely with clients to make their vision come to life. Designers also need to have a lot of ideas for projects in case the customer has no idea what they want. You’ll also work with Stone Masons, artificial grass company representatives, and lawn and garden distributors, so excellent communication skills are necessary.
This profession requires at least an associate’s degree in a plant-related area, such as horticulture or floral design. It’s also needed to receive CAD training (computer-aided design). The average salary for a landscape designer is about $60,000 a year.
If you’re yearning to unleash your creative side, these jobs could satisfy your desire. All it takes is imagination, passion, and the courage to take the leap and share your vision with the world.
