Set and Exhibit Designers
SOC 27-1027 · 2024-2034
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.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
What California expects of this job
- Typical pay in California
- $107,970per year
- Projected openings
- 5,810
- Projected change
- +4.2%
- Usually needs
- Bachelor's degree
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Time Management
- Operations Analysis
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties) | $120,092 | 430 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties) | $109,477 | 100 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara MSA (Santa Barbara County) | $108,306 | 60 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County) | $106,405 | 70 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles MSA (San Luis Obispo County) | $106,107 | 30 |
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $104,785 | 150 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $102,734 | 4,790 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County) | $102,575 | 500 |
| San Rafael MD (Marin County) | $95,845 | 30 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $69,191 | 230 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties) | $51,164 | 110 |
| Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region (Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Inyo, Mariposa, Mono, and Tuolumne Counties) | Not reported | 30 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | Not reported | 80 |
What the pay actually ranges across
- The lowest-paid tenth earn under
- $48,727
- A quarter earn under
- $75,249
- Half earn under
- $107,970
- Three quarters earn under
- $137,782
- The highest-paid tenth earn over
- $167,378
A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| Occupation | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interior Designers | $82,476 | 9,960 | +5.6% |
| Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators | $59,870 | 6,030 | +6.3% |
| Graphic Designers | $77,233 | 24,970 | +1.2% |
| Commercial and Industrial Designers | $103,591 | 4,320 | +1.9% |
| Art Directors | $141,637 | 30,370 | +5.5% |
| Fashion Designers | Not reported | 6,620 | -3.7% |
Programs that train for this job — 1
Certificate of Achievement, Theatrical Technologies
College of Marin · Greenbrae · $3,148