Career Explorer Personal care
Human edge, growing
Makeup artists, theatrical and performance
Apply makeup to performers to reflect period, setting, and situation of their role.
Among the most resilient careers: more resilient than 94% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is moderate (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it moderate), and US jobs are projected to change by +6.1% by 2035, faster than average. The work leans on creative vision and emotional intelligence.
AI struggles with much of this work, and US employers are expected to hire more people into it than average.
- Median pay (2025)
- $97,150
- Job growth to 2035
- +6.1%
- Openings a year
- 600
- People doing it (2025)
- 4,300
- Usual route in
- College certificate
Where people already use AI for this work
- Study details of artistic productions
- Communicate with others about specifications or project details
- Purchase goods or services
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Apply hygienic or cosmetic agents to skin or hair
- Evaluate patient or client condition or treatment options
- Manage budgets or finances
What the work looks like
- Clean supplies such as makeup brushes.
- Duplicate work precisely to replicate characters' appearances on a daily basis.
- Apply makeup to enhance or alter the appearance of people appearing in productions such as movies.
- Analyze a script, noting events that affect each character's appearance, so that plans can be made for each scene.
- Alter or maintain makeup during productions as necessary to compensate for lighting changes or to achieve continuity of effect.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologistsHuman edge, growing, Index 98, +7.7%
- Exercise trainers and group fitness instructorsHuman edge, growing, Index 99, +7.3%
- Skincare specialistsHuman edge, growing, Index 97, +8.8%
- Occupational therapy assistantsHuman edge, growing, Index 99, +21.5%
Also known as: Hair and Makeup Designer, Makeup Artist (MUA), Special Effects Makeup Artist (Special Effects MUA), TV and Film Makeup Artist (Television and Film Makeup Artist), Commercial Makeup Artist (Commercial MUA), Prosthetic Makeup Designer, Special Makeup Effects Artist.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.