If you’re interested in graphics, website development, video production or just have a creative bent that makes you want to write, perform or design, a career in the Arts, Audio/Video Technology & Communications sector might be for you. This industry cluster is one of 16 that the U.S. Department of Labor tracks to monitor employment. Like other clusters, it covers many careers and multiple industries and some may overlap other categories. Learn more about the U.S. Department of Labor’s industry clusters and their economic outlook.
Adults using these resources to help students explore careers may also find it helpful to use the Career Journeys Supplemental Materials we’ve prepared for teachers and counselors.
Captivated by current events
As a general assignment reporter for WTAE, Sheldon Ingram might be covering a break in a city water main one day and a city council meeting the next. Already captivated by current events at 14, he knew then broadcast journalism was what he wanted to do.
Interested in photography? Practice empathy!
In her first career as a model, Anita Buzzy-Prentiss was in front of the camera. As a photographer and owner of Buzzy Photography, she’s now behind it.
Making Music
For Micah Azouru, an engineering career became a means to an end, helping him fund his passion for music production.
Product management involves a little bit of everything
Product management gives Corrie Potter a chance to dabble in every aspect of her business, from the creative elements of product development to sales and training.
Marketing is about messaging
As a marketer, it surprised Christian Kratsas to find it’s more important to get the message out often than to get it perfect every time.
Falling in love with web design
As a teen, Meesha Gerhart was artistic and wanted to do something creative where she could still make a living. With the internet just coming to life when she was in college, she fell in love with web design.
For broadcasting, troubleshooting is a top skill
Now a Mobile Unit Engineer at NEP Group, Inc., George Ribich began developing his interest and skills in broadcasting at age 12, working at a community television station.
Working at the intersection of art and science
As U.S. Business Director for ECI Media, Victoria Potter is trying to help her Stockholm-based parent company develop advertising clients in North America. More an ad auditor than an ad agency, her firm’s work is at the intersection of art and science.
Transportation safety for kindergartners to teens and adults
As a Safety Press Officer for PennDot, Yasmeen Manyisha doesn’t just talk to the media, she also takes information about safety into the community, whether by teaching kindergartners how to be safe crossing the street or talking with teens about driving safely.
Harnessing music and technology to help people with memory
For Rachel Francine, the road to entrepreneurship was paved with family talents—her brother’s in music therapy, and her father’s vision for an invention that would give musical cues.
The performing arts aren’t just about being on stage
Jara Dorsey-Lash says there are lots of career paths that take passion for the performing arts without being a Broadway star. She found one as Associate Director of Development for Penn State University’s Performing Arts Center.
Combining graphics and technology skills
A Marketing & Graphic Design Specialist for The Christian Academy outside Philadelphia, Ryan Davis said his current job combines everything he loves to do. He said anyone who wants a similar career needs “a creative drive.”
Nonprofit founder pegs learning to learn as most important skill
Through her own education as an architect, Nina Barbuto pursued her passion for creativity. As founder and Executive Director of Assemble, she’s helping foster creativity and learning to empower communities.
Making the move from news to public relations
Now a graduate assistant in Public Relations at Point Park University, Stacey Federoff says that PR is about telling stories, much like she did as a news reporter, though with a different audience and purpose.
Seeing art everywhere
Franz Deeke mentally processes the images of everyday life–from sunsets to traffic jams–as art. His visual imagination made him a perfect candidate for being an audio-visual producer.
Curiosity to follow a winding path
As Digital Organizer for Re-Imagine Beaver County, Connor Mulvaney helps engage the community in the dialogue and decision-making needed to protect their air and water while attracting industry and jobs.
Photojournalism has learning at its heart
A Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist now working as an educator, Martha Rial says the two roles have a lot in common. Both require a love of learning and an open mind.
