If you’re looking for creative careers to pursue after you leave high school, you’re in the right place! We’re here to cover a few different industries that you could enter, as well as examples of the kinds of jobs within that industry, which don’t require a degree on the whole.
There are opportunities to be creative in all kinds of roles that you don’t immediately associate with creativity, however in these industries specifically, it’ll be a key part of your role.
Design
First up, the design industry is renowned for needing creative flair, as well as technical knowledge, which is a great combination for many people. There are so many different areas of design, from working for a branding agency Manchester based to design websites, packaging, marketing campaigns and so much more, through to things like video game design, UX design and product design.
As well as creativity, to have a successful career in design, you need attention to detail and to have the ability to absorb and interpret information to create a design that meets and exceeds what the client is expecting. This is an industry that you can get started in without a degree, just make sure you’re willing to get work experience and work your way up from the bottom.
Marketing
Next we have marketing, another industry famous for encouraging and requiring creativity. This is such a vast industry, and again, one that you can work your way up from the bottom without a degree. We’d recommend doing as many work placements as you can to identify an area you’re interested in, as well as to get a good understanding of everything that goes into a marketing campaign.
From SEO and PPC to paid social, email marketing, influencer marketing, video marketing, content marketing and so much more, your options are endless with a career in marketing. Understanding how marketing relates to branding and PR is also important, as you’ll often be working closely with these teams for overall campaigns. Much like design, many of these careers are quite technical in their nature, which many people enjoy.
Media and Entertainment
Another job that is great for expressing creativity is working in the media and entertainment industry. There are so many different options here so you’ll need to do some reading and narrow down your options, or do some fun work placements to help you find the path you want to pursue. From film to theatre, publishing and journalism to music and photography to writing, these are really vague categories with hundreds of different career options within each of them!
A great way to get a good overview is to try and get a work placement at a large company who allow you to move between departments, spending a day or two in each, and speaking to people about the job, the pros and cons and generally just to see what areas you might want to find out more about.
It is difficult to get into the media and entertainment industry, however definitely not impossible, so make sure you’re willing to do non-paid or entry-level jobs, get work experience, work hard and potentially move to cities where there is more work available. A good tip here is to try and find a mentor who works in the industry, even if it’s just for a quick video call to find out more.
Art
Last but not least, we have a career in art. As well as the obvious paths of actually painting or creating, there are so many fantastic jobs within the world of art for you to pursue. If you are very interested in art, you could go into curation or teaching, perhaps you could look at interior design careers, jewellery design, cake design, illustration or even tattooing.
Again, these aren’t careers that you need a degree for (except teaching which usually requires a degree), and are the ultimate expression of creativity, as they allow you to completely find and develop a style across the course of your career.
It can be extremely fulfilling and rewarding, although many people do find it to be financially challenging at some point in their career. However, make sure to speak to people working in the industry as they can help give you insider information about the reality of this.
Final Thoughts
Creativity and a desire to pursue that within your career is a wonderful thing to have, and luckily you have so many different options to help you do it. Our best pieces of advice are to get as much experience as you can, go in with a great work ethic and be willing to work your way up from the bottom. From here, you can make a fantastic career with your creativity at the centre of it!
