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Boston Career Explorer

Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media

Set and Exhibit Designers

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.

Also called: Designer, Display Coordinator, Exhibit Coordinator, Exhibit Designer, Exhibit Preparator, Historical Society Window Dresser

Median pay in Greater Boston
$74,710
$35.92/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
150
Massachusetts 2024–2034
+1.6%
50 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
Bachelor's degree

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$51,870$56,400$74,710$80,910$123,320

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Develop set designs, based on evaluation of scripts, budgets, research information, and available locations.
  • Prepare rough drafts and scale working drawings of sets, including floor plans, scenery, and properties to be constructed.
  • Prepare preliminary renderings of proposed exhibits, including detailed construction, layout, and material specifications, and diagrams relating to aspects such as special effects or lighting.
  • Read scripts to determine location, set, and design requirements.
  • Submit plans for approval, and adapt plans to serve intended purposes, or to conform to budget or fabrication restrictions.
  • Attend rehearsals and production meetings to obtain and share information related to sets.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Moderate exposure48 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 45
  • Language-model AIOE 41
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 58

Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)

Set and exhibit design has moderate AI exposure, and observed AI use is currently little or none. AI tools could help with rough drafts, preliminary renderings, and scale drawings. Reading scripts, working out design needs, and adapting plans to budget and fabrication limits depend on people's judgment and teamwork.

Likely to change

  • Preparing rough drafts and preliminary renderings
  • Producing scale drawings and floor plans

Still relies on people

  • Reading scripts and interpreting creative needs
  • Adapting plans to budget and build limits

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

Next steps from here

Related jobs that build on what you already do.

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    Turning drawings into real structures carries over to carpentry. It is an apprenticeship trade with low AI exposure and $75,210 median pay in Boston.

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  • Electricians

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    Pay difference
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Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

9 programs near Boston (plus 2 graduate)

Related occupations

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