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Every since I was in high school I knew I wanted to design clothes for my own clothing brand. While every one else wanted to be a musician, rapper, movie star, doctor or star athlete. I even remember how in school they would have the career assessment day in, which you would choose what you wanted to do in life and do a presentation based on your findings. After looking at the salary of a fashion designer and remembering at first being disappointed, because I knew that I wanted to do something I enjoyed, but at the same time….I wanted to make a substantial amount of money!

The projected salary that I found were for the traditional meaning of a fashion designer when you work under a brand name and you are most likely one of two or three designers ($14,400 to $200,000+) . Usually a senior or head designer, and an assistant. Don’t get me wrong $200,000 a year is good money, but I always had big goals that most people would say could never happen or were thoughts that dreams are made of. Most will tell you that you have to go to school and get a degree to become a fashion designer and if you plan on designing under a well-known company most will want some kind of experience whether through a previous professional reference or internship or college degree or technical training.

So if your stuck for what you might want to do in the fashion industry or if starting your own clothing line isn’t an option right now. Below are some exciting careers in the fashion industry that can help you build some experience, while waiting to create your first season or working your dream job as a head designer of a major fashion label: (Salary information is courtesy of Fashion Schools an online fashion school research website)

• Fashion Merchandiser: Analyzing and Forecasting trends and styles to guide the direction of future designs and product offerings for clothing brands. Experience is definitely required for this position, because having an overall understanding of the apparel industry is required. They start higher than most jobs in the field at $50,000-$100,000 range.
• Sales Representative: We wrote about being a sales rep in this article. You would attend trade shows or either setup a showroom displaying clothing brands represented by you as an independent sales rep or a firm and sell to buyers from wholesalers or retailers. I would say an education is not required to be a sales rep, me personally I’ve found that the best reps are just all around people’s person and know how to sell! Most I’ve known had no background in the sales industry prior to starting a clothing line or representing for other clothing lines. Salary is anywhere from $15,000-$100,000
• Fashion Buyer- Pretty much the opposite of a sales rep. You will attend trade shows and showrooms in the hopes of finding the next best thing in fashion! I think this career choice is rather exciting. Your responsiblities are restocking best selling items and having a great selection to complement your retail stores target customer based on your knowledge of fashion trends. Salary potential is upward of a $100,000.
• Graphic Designer-Graphic designers design and prepare artwork until it is camera-ready usually for printing or graphic based line sheets, but not limited to those tasks. I’ve seen some graphic designer that handle everything from apparel graphics to artwork for printed promotional use (Flyers or Banners). Graphic designers may work as a freelancer or for a graphic design firm or even underneath a fashion label. Career earning potential is around $15,000-$80,000.
• Fashion Stylist-Most fashion stylist are well connected within the industry. They either provide clothing for photographer’s set or a director or may be the personal stylist of celebrities or high profile people. Most stylist work within a budget and must be up on current trends and of course stylish. Career earning potential around $0-$100,000. Most are usually paid on a hourly basis or per event.
• Visual Merchandiser-Usually work in retail stores and create arrangements for the floor and window displays for the various brands. They must have a sense of their target customer and create an in store environment around their personal preference. Career earning potential around $15,000-$60,000.
• Product Manager or Developer-You are responsible for overseeing every aspect of the garments creation from start to finish. If you are aiming for this position than a degree would definitely get your foot in the door faster and some prior experience wouldn’t hurt either. It takes a great amount of understanding the process of developing a product and garment production (Design, Creation, Sewing). Career earning potential around $45,000-$90,000.
• Pattern maker-I think this career option definitely requires some special training or some years in school to have a great amount of understanding the process. I went to school for 3 1/2 years for Fashion Design/Marketing and still have problems when working with patterns (I don’t bother with it anymore ). Your main responsibilities are taking a designers specs and sketches and creating patterns for use in the manufacturing process. Career earning potential around $11,000-$150,000.
• Fashion PR or Public Relations-Your job will be to build your companies image in the eye of the public and media. Getting contact with key people at fashion magazines and other editorials will be part of your daily task. Having connections and knowing people in “high” places will definitely benefit your career in Fashion pr. Career Earning Potential around $20,000 to $100,000.

The careers above can all help you gain valuable experience in the fashion industry and the pay for some of them aren’t that bad either….just don’t expect to hit the $100,000 mark right off bat. These are just baby steps that can help with your overall understanding of how the fashion industry works and eventually put toward your own fashion empire. Just take some time to master your craft and the results can be unbelievable.

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