Become A Fashion Coordinator
According to the Associated Press, some 61 million people were expected to peruse the racks this year on Black Friday, putting the fashion coordinator’s job in the spotlight. The essential task of the Fashion Coordinators is to direct the marketing of clothing, maintaining a consistent style among the various fashion sections of department stores, retail stores, design houses, and fashion magazines. As a fashion consultant, you will need to maintain a strong grasp of fashion trends by talking to designers and keeping up with the relevant industry magazines. Among the most enjoyable of your tasks will be travelling overseas in the name of research. With this information in hand, you will help buyers choose their purchases and provide salespeople or magazine editors with advice to pass on to their customers.
Well-suited to Your Career
Although there are not many of these advanced level positions available, job outlook is reasonably good, as there are numerous industries that employ fashion coordinators and numerous schools offering accredited degree programs.
There are numerous career paths for fashion coordinators, including positions such as retail sales associate, assistant fashion coordinator, fashion coordinator and fashion director. Both design houses and large department stores hire fashion coordinators, as do fashion magazines. Employers generally expect a bachelor’s degree from a fashion design or fashion merchandising program earned at an accredited school. As these are specialized and competitive jobs, employers also want you to have considerable hands-on experience of the fashion industry. If you want to be in a position to influence not just your own wardrobe, but those of large sections of the shopping public, a job as a fashion coordinator could put you there.
Sources:
Accounting Web, “Black Friday 2006 & Beyond”
holisticjunction.com, “fashion-coordinator”
Jobguide, “Fashion Coordinator”
myfuture.edu, “Occupation Information: Fashion Coordinator”
occupationalinfo.org, “Fashion Coordinator”
Become A Fashion Buyer
According to Monster.com, with a degree from an accredited school, you can possibly bring in six figures as a fashion buyer. Fashion buyers purchase clothes from designers, wholesalers, and manufacturers to be sold by retailers, department stores, and independently owned businesses. As you might often make your purchases two years or more in advance, you would need a keen sense of fashion trends, as well as an understanding of your customers’ needs and desires. In addition to fashion sense, buyers need advanced computer skills, strong budgeting skills, and an ability to work within deadlines. You will liaise closely with retail staff and consult complicated sales reports to determine what to buy and the competitive price to charge.
Tailor-made Career
Beginning as an assistant buyer, you will have strong prospects of becoming an independent buyer in 3 to 5 years. Starting salaries fall between $30,000 and $45,000, while the experienced can earn $50,000 and above. These figures can also rise comfortably to between $70,000 and $100,000.
An attractive path toward success is the executive training program. Often run by large retailers, these programs train entrants as assistant buyers with a view to eventual promotion to positions as fashion buyers. Employers generally require at least a bachelor’s degree in fashion merchandising or other relevant fields earned from an accredited school. Retail experience is a plus, and of course being a fashion-lover is a must in this job. So if you have a love for style and a head for business, a job as a fashion buyer might be a perfect fit.
Sources:
bls, retail purchase agent
careerccc.org, “Fashion Buyer”
monster.com, “Work as a fashion Buyer”
Become A Fashion Marketer
The Associated Press reports that the sales for Black Friday 2006 were up 6 percent over last year, a large swathe of which would surely be in fashion sales. Using advertising and marketing skills, fashion marketers work to make their clothing irresistible to consumers. As a fashion marketer with the appropriate degree, you will identify and supply trendy clothing for customers, but you will also work to actually create trends. Fashion marketers, therefore, must possess a strong grasp of consumer preferences and habits, anticipating new tastes before they arise. Other responsibilities include frequenting fashion shows, deciding what and how much to order, and supervising ad campaigns and promotions.
A Career of Your Own Design
As a rule, there is always strong competition for top tier fashion marketing jobs. Add to this the fact that the number of jobs is projected to increase less quickly than average through 2014, and the future can appear dim. However, with the clothing industry being such a vast playing field, marketing jobs should remain fairly easy to obtain, especially with a degree from an accredited program. Employment can be found in a number of areas, including textile manufacturers, fashion magazines, department stores, fashion salons, fashion schools, and mail order companies. Salaries vary wildly due to the variety of jobs available, from a bottom line of $15,000 to a well-turned-out high of $100,000. Of course, in order to land these higher figures, you will most likely want to enrol in a fashion marketing program offered at an accredited school. Once you have gotten your degree, you can put your trend-setting abilities to work.
Sources:
Accounting Web, “Black Friday 2006 & Beyond”
careerprospects.org, “Overview of Careers in Fashion and Merchandising”
stylecareer.com, “How to Become a Fashion Merchandiser, Buyer, Window Dresser…”
Become A Jewelry Designer
Design a Bright Future with Jewelry Design
As a jewelry designer, you will create new pieces of jewelry; set and polish precious gem stones; repair bracelets, rings, earrings and other setting, as well as appraise pieces for their quality and value. As a jewelry designer, you may work for a large manufacturer, a small retail shop, or own your own business. Currently, about 40 percent of jewelry designers are self-employed. No matter where you work, you will need technical skill, and attention to detail to succeed in jewelry design.
Necessary Education for Careers in Jewelry Design
Most jewelry designers learn their trade in vocational, technical, or even fashion design school. Secondary institutions also offer art and design school programs that can grant a bachelor of fine arts or master of fine arts in jewelry design. Many colleges’ art and design schools offer coursework that can lead to the degree of bachelor of fine arts, or master of fine arts in jewelry design. Increasingly, computer design is being used in this field, and to remain competitive, you may want experience in computer-aided design (CAD). In addition, various programs offer courses in gemology, covering the identification and quality assessment of diamonds and other precious gem stones.
Typical Earnings for Jewelry Designers
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the average annual income for jewelers and precious stone and metal workers was $27,400 in May 2004. As a jewelry designer, you may start out with a standard salary, but as you become more proficient, you may begin charging by pieces completed based on their complexity and value.
Become A News Editor
Just because you don’t want to be in front of the camera doesn’t mean you can’t have a fulfilling career in journalism behind the scenes. The news editor is an essential part of the journalism team, which includes the reporter, photographer, and graphic artist. But you’ll need some skills in the area of film and video, visual communication, and media arts before you start shopping around for editing jobs. It’s a good thing art schools offer courses in all 3 of these areas. You may inquire incredulously “how is editing an art?” Editing is an art form that combines print, media, graphics, and visual art to convey information in the most accurate and creative way. Currently, there are over 150 art schools that offer courses and program degrees for film and video, and over 60 for media arts.
Editors gather news stories, interviews, and other visual information from their team and edit them together to fit with the time sequence, content, and style of their given organization. According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, editors made an annual average of over $50,000 a year in 2005, with the top 10% making over $85,000. Now, you can’t tell me you wouldn’t like to be paid well to call the shots, right? Make sure you enter the job search with the proper education so you can remain competitive. Art school is one option that can only help your chances.
Sources:
artschools.com
bls.gov
