While your friends are getting ready to hit up the local happy hour after work, your idea of a good time involves a quiet evening by yourself. You’re not ashamed of your introverted tendencies, but you are a bit unsure when it comes to choosing a career path that offers plenty of alone time yet allows you to tap into your creative side.
The good news is that introversion and creativity aren’t mutually exclusive—plenty of successful creative professionals prefer to keep to themselves. So don’t fret and think that you have to change who you are to succeed in a creative career. We rounded up eight creative careers for introverts. Take a look to see if one of them could be the right fit for you!
8 Creative careers for introverts
Not all creative careers require an overload of group collaboration. Your introverted personality could be an asset in many creative careers. Explore these eight career paths to see how introversion and creativity can go hand in hand.
1. Writer
Writers can earn a living in many different career paths, including journalism, copywriting, technical writing, grant writing and freelancing. Each of these jobs uses different writing styles to communicate a clear message to a particular audience.
Why it’s ideal for introverts: Whether they’re drafting marketing copy or publishing a technical manual, writers in all fields share the ability to get their work done solo. While writers may need to get input or feedback from others at certain stages of a project, the bulk of their writing work is done independently.
2. Artist
Artists are on a mission to share a message or communicate a particular idea or emotion through their art. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) describes two types of artists: craft artists who create functional art and fine artists whose work is purely aesthetic. Within both types of art are many types of artists, including painters, glassblowers, sculptors, textile artists, potters and illustrators.
Why it’s ideal for introverts: More than half of artists are self-employed, according to the BLS, making this profession especially well-suited to introverts. Not only do self-employed artists go solo to create their art, they also manage their own businesses and control how much interaction they have with others on a daily basis.
3. Graphic designer
Graphic designers are artists who combine their creative skills with technology. They create everything from logos and website designs to digital illustrations and infographics. These creative professionals use design principles of layout, typeface, white space and color to share their message.
Why it’s ideal for introverts: There are a variety of work environments for graphic designers, each with different requirements for group projects and collaboration. Designers will often meet with a team or clients to determine a creative direction for a project, then go solo for the design work itself. Get the full scoop on what it’s like to be a graphic designer in this beginner’s guide to this creative career.
4. Animator
Animators are the creative geniuses behind the special effects of the movie you watched last night, the stunning imagery of your favorite video game and the cartoons you loved watching as a kid. They use storyboards or wireframes to plan an animation or special effect, then bring them to life with specialized software.
Why it’s ideal for introverts: Like many of the creative careers on this list, animators might work with a team during parts of a project before completing the animation design work on their own. This article on everything you need to know about working in animation design can help you decide if your introverted personality could shine in the world of animation. If this creative career sounds intriguing, find out if you have what it takes to succeed as an animator.
5. Web developer
Web developers are the creative pros behind every website you’ve ever visited. They build websites from the ground up using various programming and coding languages, and they keep the end user in mind at every point of the process.
Why it’s ideal for introverts: Introverts are known for being empathetic, which makes them a great fit for this creative career that’s always considering how well a site will work for the end user. If creating websites from scratch sounds like a good use of your creative juices, discover more about what web developers do and everything you need to know about becoming one.
6. Market research analyst
Market research analysts gather data about market conditions, consumers and competitors to make predictions about product sales and set prices. A job title with the word “analyst” in it may not strike you as very creative, but market research analysts bring their out-of-the-box thinking to the job every day as they determine unique ways to apply and communicate the data they dig up.
Why it’s ideal for introverts: These creative pros are often on their own as they collect and analyze data to reach meaningful conclusions. Then they present their findings in ways that are visually appealing and easy to understand for clients and executives. Learn all the ins and outs about this introvert-friendly career in our article, “What Is a Market Research Analyst? Surveying This Data-Driven Career.”
7. Video editor
The job title says it all: Video editors do behind-the-scenes work to organize and compile recorded footage for movies, TV shows, commercials and social media videos. With the growing popularity of YouTube and social media avenues like Instagram TV, video editors aren’t limited to working in Hollywood. They can collaborate with filmmakers and brands across the nation to create engaging videos.
Why it’s ideal for introverts: Video editors make magic happen behind the camera without being in the spotlight themselves. Introverts will collaborate with clients or directors to capture the right vision, then have plenty of alone time to edit a film into the final product.
8. UX designer
User experience designers—UX designers for short—focus all their attention on making apps and websites easier to navigate. They put their creative skills to work by foreseeing and avoiding potential problems in a design, paving the way for others to have a great experience using a product.
Why it’s ideal for introverts: Introverts are masters at putting themselves in others’ shoes, a necessity for UX designers. They also won’t mind the focus and concentration it takes to see a problem from multiple angles to uncover the best solution. Find out more about this creative design career with our article, “Everything You Need to Know to Get Started in User Experience Design.”
Say hello to a creative career
Did this list of creative careers for introverts spark your interest? Don’t let the inspiration stop here! Check out our article, “16 Tips to Help Promote Your Creative Thinking,” to keep your creative juices flowing into a new career and beyond.
