“What would you like to do if money were no object? How would you really enjoy spending your life?” – Alan Watts

The answer – find your passion and pursue it. And earn money.

It turns out these things are not mutually exclusive. It’s time to set aside your image of the ‘struggling artist’, pursue your creative passions and earn the big bucks.

Photographer

Earning potential: Limitless

Contrary to Instagram. not everybody can be a professional photographer. It takes time, skill and a little bit of study. While most of the work is freelance, once you’ve got your network of contacts and leads, you could be on a fashion shoot one day and editing in your studio the next.

For TAFE NSW student Aidan Williams, his passion for photography was ignited when he was given his first camera at the age of seven. After graduating from TAFE NSW, he chased his dream, and his niche, and is a photographer for professional Slack Lining (high wire) athletes and competitions. After being published in National Geographic magazine, he headed off to Europe to continue creating.

Online Content Producer

Earning potential: $70K+

Content createth the brand. As an online content producer (aka web producer, publisher, content producer, online editor) you build and maintain the character of a website. You’re responsible for writing, editing, creating visual, interactive and video content.

No two days are the same and this career lends itself well to people who enjoy flexibility, professional growth and communication.

This was true for graduate Fiona Spence, who studied through TAFE Digital, our online learning platform. She learnt to edit sound and dialogue, prepare video assets and write for a range of media. Fiona’s now a successful online content producer and has established herself as a writer, influencer and passionate advocate for further education.

Web Designer

Earning potential: $80K+

There are over a billion websites, and they all should have hired a web design professional!

Every click we make was designed to take us on a “journey” and when you’re a web designer you’re responsible for leading people down the right road. Your creative mind and eye for visual storytelling will be your best assets, add to that coding and programming and you’re ready to go live.

3D Artist and Animator

Earning potential: $70K+

For thousands of years, artists, puppeteers, photographers and sculptors have been attempting to capture human movement and spirit. Now, with 3D technology you can make walking, talking, 3D experiences that are as close to real-life as you can get.

If you’re keen to make the switch to a creative career, TAFE NSW has a specialist degree in animation that will give you technical skills to prepare you for a career in visual communication, visual effects and animation. Delivered at our renowned Design Centre Enmore, there is a strong focus on building a portfolio of work so you’re ready for roles in 3D and visual effects, concept or pre-visualisation, 3D modelling for interactive games or creating visual effects for a feature film.

Marketing Manager

Earning potential: $100K+

The creative job you have when you’re not having a creative job – marketing merges creativity and innovation with business. If you’re already working in business, accounting or administration, making the move to marketing is ideal.

Marketing Managers are responsible for brand awareness and creating demand for products and services. From gathering initial data to creative ideation, from campaign launch to post campaign follow-up and recommendations, you’ll need to get creative to appeal to your audience in fresh, appealing ways.

Create a career