Long-Term Prospects

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Job Satisfaction

General quality of life statement

Let's lay the cards on the table and let all of the strings show. A major in puppetry is not going to get you a cushy salary and a steady job right out of college. The path will not be straight. You'll have plenty of bumps along the way. Very likely, at some point, you'll find yourself at the corner of cliché and disappointment, waiting tables with the other actor/dancer hopefuls.

If you don't want the straight and narrow (and chances are, if you're pursuing puppetry, you're not exactly the straight-and-narrow type), then this can be an exciting career path full of the grit, triumphs, and trials.

Just be aware that this is not an easy life. Only 46% of those with jobs in drama and theater arts are satisfied with their job, compared to the 54% college-grad median. To top it off, you're not going to make a lot of money. The median salary for a person in theater arts is just $40,000, which is $15,000 below the median salary for other college grads. There's a reason the phrase "starving artists" exists.

Here's the silver lining: while the average life for a puppeteer or artist can be harrowing, most artists are not striving for an average life. They're reaching for the stars, looking to be a household name. It's a glorious and rewarding payoff to what might otherwise seem like a pretty steep gamble.

25th Percentile Salary

Median Salary

75th Percentile Salary

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