Career Explorer Arts, media and sport
Changing shape
Set and exhibit designers
Design special exhibits and sets for film, video, television, and theater productions. May study scripts, confer with directors, and conduct research to determine appropriate architectural styles.
Changing faster than most: more resilient than 35% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is moderate (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it high), and US jobs are projected to change by +1.4% by 2035, slower than average. The work leans on creative vision.
AI can do many of the tasks, and hiring is expected to grow slower than average or to shrink. The job is likely to change, so build the human parts of it.
- Median pay (2025)
- $75,240
- Job growth to 2035
- +1.4%
- Openings a year
- 2,200
- People doing it (2025)
- 31,600
- Usual route in
- Bachelor's degree
Where people already use AI for this work
- Explain technical details of products or services
- Determine operational methods or procedures
- Communicate with others about specifications or project details
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Inspect completed work or finished products
- Direct construction or extraction activities
- Assemble products or work aids
What the work looks like
- Develop set designs, based on evaluation of scripts, budgets, research information, and available locations.
- Prepare rough drafts and scale working drawings of sets, including floor plans, scenery, and properties to be constructed.
- Prepare preliminary renderings of proposed exhibits, including detailed construction, layout, and material specifications, and diagrams relating to aspects such as special effects or lighting.
- Read scripts to determine location, set, and design requirements.
- Submit plans for approval, and adapt plans to serve intended purposes, or to conform to budget or fabrication restrictions.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Art directorsGrows with AI, Index 39, +4.2%
- Soil and plant scientistsGrows with AI, Index 41, +6.7%
- CuratorsGrows with AI, Index 36, +4.9%
- Computer and information research scientistsGrows with AI, Index 41, +21.8%
Also known as: Display Coordinator, Exhibit Designer, Scenic Designer, Set Designer, Designer, Exhibit Coordinator, Exhibit Preparator, Historical Society Window Dresser.
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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.