With non-fungible tokens (NFT) expected to grow by 147.24 billion dollars from 2021 to 2026, a career as an artist is more accessible than ever. Even without a formal four year education, artists have proven that NFT success can be achieved solely through skills and artistic merit. But a career as a visual artist isn’t the only one that’s accessible without a formal education. Here are some trade jobs for artists that don’t require a degree.

Glassblower

Although glassblowing requires a tremendous amount of skill, a career in glassblowing is considered a trade job as it doesn’t require a degree. Keeping with a tradition that is hundreds of years in the making, a career in glassblowing requires an apprenticeship with a glassblowing master. Glassblowing involves carefully shaping molten glass into artistic pieces or homeware. The glass being shaped is kept at roughly 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, this is why an apprenticeship is crucial when beginning to develop your glassblowing skills. There is a variety of careers that glassblowing could allow one to pursue from owning your own glassblowing studio to selling your glassblowing art or homeware online.

Jeweler

Another artistic trade job that doesn’t require a degree is becoming a jeweler. Becoming a successful jeweler involves both a high level of manual dexterity and an artistic design eye. Rather than formal education, a person wanting to pursue a career as a jeweler needs only to find where their strengths lie. Perhaps your style involves soldering metals together and strategically inserting tiny stones. Or maybe you prefer to use laser cutting to precisely cut stones and inscribe personal or inspirational messages. Whether you’re building your own jewelry business or looking for a stable job, proven skills are the most important aspect of this profession.

Woodworker

Pursuing a career as a woodworker requires a plethora of artistic, mechanical, and mathematic skills as well as excellent hand-eye coordination. Woodworkers work with a variety of power tools and computer-controlled machinery in order to design and build their pieces. If you’re looking to work in a factory with machines that mass-produce furniture, you’d be able to pursue this skill-focused career without needing that artistic eye. If, however, your ambition is to build and sell your own furniture, you’ll also need to have design skills. And, if you want to achieve consistent success in your business, you’ll also need a certain level of marketing skills and business savvy.

Makeup Artist

Although degrees are offered in this field, a successful career as a makeup artist doesn’t require formal education. If you’ve always wanted to pursue a career as a makeup artist but you lack the skillset, there are plenty of colleges and trade schools that offer programs that can help you refine your abilities. On the other hand, if you’re naturally skilled in that area, you still have the chance to pursue and achieve success in that field. Modern makeup artists can build a career for themselves in a variety of ways: theater makeup, special effects, celebrity makeup artist, bridal makeup artist, model industry, etc. Additionally, makeup artists have also used their high level of artistic skills to build up lucrative platforms on social media or even pursue careers in traditional artistic mediums.

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