Makeup artists rate their happiness above average.

At CareerExplorer, we conduct an ongoing survey with millions of people and ask them how satisfied they are with their careers. As it turns out, makeup artists rate their career happiness 3.7 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 22% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy makeup artists are to similar careers in the industry. Take a look at the results below:

Salaries and satisfaction ratings in similar careers

Career Satisfaction Avg Salary
Choreographer
4.2
$5k
Costume designer
4.0
$26k
Model
3.8
$14k
Seamstress
3.7
$26k
Exhibit designer
3.7
$54k
Makeup artist
3.7
$20k
Fashion designer
3.6
$57k
Skincare specialist
3.4
$32k
Esthetician
3.3
$21k
Spa manager
3.2
$38k

So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:

  • Salary: Are makeup artists happy with their salary?
  • Meaning: Do makeup artists find their jobs meaningful?
  • Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as makeup artists?
  • Work environment: How enjoyable are makeup artist’s work environments?
  • Skills utilization: Are makeup artists making the best use of their abilities?

Are makeup artists happy with their salary?

Makeup artists rated their satisfaction with their salaries 2.9/5. Makeup artists tend to be quite unhappy with their salary, with very few reporting satisfaction with their pay.

We asked makeup artists how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:

2.9 out of 5 stars

777 makeup artists

5 Star
15%

15% of makeup artists rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
18%

18% of makeup artists rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
28%

28% of makeup artists rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
23%

23% of makeup artists rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
16%

16% of makeup artists rated their compensation 1 stars

Do makeup artists find their jobs meaningful?

On average, makeup artists rate the meaningfulness of their work a 3.2/5. Most tend to be satisified with the level of meaning they find in their careers.

We asked makeup artists how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:

3.2 out of 5 stars

782 makeup artists

5 Star
22%

22% of makeup artists rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
21%

21% of makeup artists rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
26%

26% of makeup artists rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
19%

19% of makeup artists rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
12%

12% of makeup artists rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as makeup artists?

Makeup artists rated their personality fit with their work an average of 4.1/5. The majority of makeup artists find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.

We asked makeup artists how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:

4.1 out of 5 stars

852 makeup artists

5 Star
47%

47% of makeup artists rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
28%

28% of makeup artists rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
17%

17% of makeup artists rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
5%

5% of makeup artists rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
3%

3% of makeup artists rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a makeup artist’s work environment?

As a whole, makeup artists rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.7/5. A solid majority of makeup artists enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a makeup artist.

We asked makeup artists how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:

3.7 out of 5 stars

856 makeup artists

5 Star
32%

32% of makeup artists rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
29%

29% of makeup artists rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
23%

23% of makeup artists rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
10%

10% of makeup artists rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
5%

5% of makeup artists rated their work environment 1 stars

Are makeup artists making the best use of their abilities?

Former makeup artists on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.6/5. Most makeup artists surveyed find that they manage to use their abilities to their fullest as a makeup artist, which helps contribute to higher career satisfaction in the long term.

We asked makeup artists how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:

3.6 out of 5 stars

854 makeup artists

5 Star
31%

31% of makeup artists rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
24%

24% of makeup artists rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
23%

23% of makeup artists rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
14%

14% of makeup artists rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
8%

8% of makeup artists rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars