Careers · As of 4 October 2026

8 careers for digital artists compared

Here are 8 careers side by side that are open after a degree such as Digital Arts: with outlook, pay in Austria and abroad, and the way in. 3 of them are growing, 5 are changing. All 5 adverts we counted in detail ask for a portfolio^1,2,3,4,5.

3 growing5 changing8 profiles

To the comparison What suits you

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Visitors try out games at the Independent Games Festival exhibition at the Game Developers Conference — Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, 2013Image: Official GDC · CC BY 2.0

01 · Comparison

Outlook and pay of the 8 careers at a glance

The outlook is our classification from statistics, studies and adverts, not a personal forecast. Pay is gross. “Median” means half earn more and half earn less.

8 careers compared, as of 4 October 2026
Career	Outlook	Austria	Abroad
Graphic design	changing	from €2,844.20 a month in Vienna⁶⁴, from €45,738 a year in Hagenberg¹	USA median $68,500⁹⁷
AI Creative Producer	growing	possible remotely from Austria²	related role in Los Angeles $126,000–147,000²¹
Forward Deployed Creative	growing	nearest position in Munich, pay not stated⁵	USA $145,000–205,000¹⁰²
Motion design	changing	Vienna €3,000–3,800 a month⁷³	USA median $91,000⁶⁶
Technical artist	changing	most recently €3,024–3,819 a month in Graz²³	New York $151,585–252,641¹⁰³
UI, UX and product design	growing	Vienna from €50,400 a year¹⁰⁸	UK median £45,000¹⁰⁹, USA $121,000¹¹⁰
3D animation and visual effects	changing	rarely advertised^74,111	USA median $102,030¹⁷
Media art and fine art	changing	start grant €9,000⁸⁸, Golden Nica €10,000⁷⁰	USA median $55,290²⁴

Figures from collective agreements, job adverts, salary studies and official statistics are only roughly comparable. The source is given at each number.

02 · What suits you

Which career suits you: 4 questions to ask yourself

You like telling stories

Moving image

Editing, timing and storytelling are what the adverts for motion design and for the AI Creative Producer ask for^4,2.

You like drawing characters

Characters and worlds

Riot Games asks for weight, timing and expression in animation¹⁰⁷. For your own works, media art fits.

You like tinkering with technology

Art meets technology

Light, materials and your own tools in game engines: technical artist¹⁰³.

You like thinking about other people

Designing for users

Designing apps and testing them with people: UI, UX and product design, the career with the best outlook among the 8¹⁴.

03 · All profiles

8 profiles with tasks, employers and the way in

Image: Rafael Esquer · CC BY-SA 4.0

Graphic design and animation

Tasks: Graphics and animation for games, according to an advert in Hagenberg¹
Employers: APEX Gaming in Hagenberg, Wintersteiger in Ried, the Academy of Sciences in Vienna, EMCO in Hallein, Gruppe am Park in Linz^1,72
Way in: A portfolio that shows your part, with a short animation¹

Hagenberg from €45,738changing

Full profile: graphic design

Image: Andy Goralczyk / Blender Foundation · CC BY 4.0

AI Creative Producer

Tasks: Telling stories with tools for image, video and sound²
Employers: ElevenLabs, remote in Europe, and Krea in San Francisco^2,3
Way in: A short film with your story, plus work in progress and why you made your choices²

new since 2025growing

Full profile: AI Creative Producer

Image: Julian Herzog · CC BY 4.0

Forward Deployed Creative

Tasks: Helping studios, agencies and media companies bring image and video tools into their production¹⁰¹
Employers: Luma AI in Munich, Riyadh and Redwood City, ElevenLabs in the USA^5,102,101
Way in: Not an entry-level role: after a few years in the job, with case studies for real clients⁵

USA $145,000–205,000growing

Full profile: Forward Deployed Creative

Image: DeborahForsans · CC BY-SA 4.0

Motion design

Tasks: Moving graphics and type for advertising, apps and films^4,21
Employers: Agencies in Wels and Vienna, Red Bull in Salzburg, Krea, Luma AI and Suno in the USA^73,4,21,100
Way in: A showreel of 1 to 3 minutes, best work first⁹⁵

USA median $91,000changing

Full profile: motion design

Image: UnnecessaryDecision · CC0

Technical artist

Tasks: Light, materials and your own tools in game engines¹⁰³
Employers: Epic Games in the USA, Riot Games in Singapore and Los Angeles. In Austria most recently Fronius, IGT and MERKUR.COM^103,105,23
Way in: A showreel with finished game art and how it is built¹⁰³

Austria from €3,104changing

Full profile: technical artist

Image: Alex Hollender / Wikimedia Foundation · CC BY-SA 4.0

UI, UX and product design

Tasks: Designing apps, building them as prototypes and testing them with people⁷⁹
Employers: Win2day in Vienna, TTG in Linz, Hagleitner in Zell am See, KNAPP near Graz, Figma and Synthesia^108,79,69
Way in: 2 to 3 case studies with sketches, prototype and testing⁷⁹

Vienna from €50,400growing

Full profile: UI, UX and product design

Image: Gabriela Cybulska · CC BY-SA 4.0

3D animation and visual effects

Tasks: Characters, worlds and effects for film and games, with weight, timing and expression¹⁰⁷
Employers: Riot Games, Pixar, teamLab in Tokyo. Pure animation positions are rare in Austria^{107,95,55,111}
Way in: A showreel of 1 to 3 minutes, with your part in every scene^95,4

USA median $102,030changing

Full profile: 3D animation and visual effects

Image: Manfred Werner (Tsui) · CC BY-SA 3.0

Media art and fine art

Tasks: Showing your own works with technology, supported by prizes and grants^70,88
Who funds: Ars Electronica in Linz, the federal start grants, the Creative Region in Linz^70,88,71
Way in: Submit a concept and documentation. For the Prix Ars Electronica, submissions in 2026 ran from January to March⁹²

Golden Nica €10,000changing

Full profile: media art

04 · Questions

3 questions about choosing a career after Digital Arts

Which art career has the best outlook?

UI, UX and product design: employers worldwide rank it 8th among the fastest-growing jobs until 2030¹⁴, and in the USA 6% more jobs are expected until 2035¹⁹. Art direction is growing too, but usually needs 5 years of experience²⁰.

Which art career pays best?

Among the figures on these pages, the lead role at a large US studio: a “Lead Technical Artist” at Epic Games in New York receives a base salary of $235,042 to $344,728 a year¹⁰⁴. In Austria, a UX position in Vienna pays from €50,400 a year¹⁰⁸.

Do I need a portfolio for every career?

Count on it. All 5 adverts we counted in detail ask for a portfolio^1,2,3,4,5. Epic Games and Pixar want a showreel, a compilation of your best work^103,95. How to put one together is on the page Applying.

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