Can you make money in the Creative Industries?

The short answer is yes, you can! There’s a lot of chat about whether the creative industries is a good industry to get into if you want to earn the dollar bills 💸. The great news is that, an analysis of 2022 starting salaries by recruitment agency Aspire shows that creative roles are all paying at least 15% more than they were in 2021. 

But you don’t have to take our word for it… 

Check out these salary averages for a large range of creative roles that are available in the UK. 

The average salary of someone working in the UK creative industries is around £35,000, however some of the highest salaries you can earn in the creative industries look a little something like this…

• 💸 The average salary for a Public Relations (PR) Director in the United Kingdom is £67,908. 

• 💸 Total annual pay for an Advertising and Public Relations Director can vary between £34,000 and £128,000

• 💸 The current average base salary for a Marketing director is £66,519 a year, and the total annual pay can be well over £170,000 starting with £63,000. 

• 💸 UX (user experience) designers are in high demand, earning between £25,000 and £50,000 per year.

• 💸 The average game designer salary in the United Kingdom is £45,000 per year or £23.08 per hour. Entry level positions start at £34,500 per year while most experienced workers make up to £65,000 per year.

Making money in the creative industries can come in a few different forms, featuring freelance, full-time employment and in-house work. 

Freelance workers are in a strong position right now to command higher fees. Ahead of an analysis of freelancer pay rates exclusively for FreelanceUK, it was reported that freelancers in 2021 earned an average of £368 per day – some 5% up on 2020.

Self-employed people emerged as the top earners, commanding an average of £512 a day. Social media freelancers made an average of £307.

But averages can be deceptive. In line with the Aspire data indicating demand for social media managers, one social media manager on Yuno Juno achieved a day rate of £1,120. You can read more about this here. 

So, if you’re worried about pay, don’t be! The creative industries have plenty of scope for earning potential.