← All 785 jobsFile 39-5091
Makeup Artists, Theatrical and Performance
Lightly edited
AI performs some of this work. Most of it still needs a person. The BLS expects 6.1% more of these jobs by 2035, faster than the 3.5% average.
- Rank
- #259 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- +6.1% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $97,150 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 4,300 in the US, with about 600 openings a year
The work, 11 activities
The job description, marked up.
Every activity in this job, the biggest first. Tap a line for the evidence.
- deleAI does this
- +AIAI helps
- stetStill yours
Still yours: Apply hygienic or cosmetic agents to skin or hair39%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Study details of artistic productions20%
AI performed this in about 1 in 1,233 Copilot conversations and completed it 86% of the time.
AI does this: Communicate with others about specifications or project details8%
AI performed this in about 1 in 117 Copilot conversations and completed it 78% of the time.
Still yours: Evaluate patient or client condition or treatment options6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Create artistic designs or performances5%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 86 conversations, and it got them there 43% of the time.
Still yours: Manage budgets or finances5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Prepare reports of operational or procedural activities5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Purchase goods or services4%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 214 conversations, and it got them there 91% of the time.
Still yours: Train others to use equipment or products3%
AI does this in desk jobs, but in this one it is mostly hands-on.
Still yours: Train others on health or medical topics3%
AI does this in desk jobs, but in this one it is mostly hands-on.
Still yours: Groom or style hair2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
2025 to 2035
Ten years from now.
For every 100 of these jobs in 2025, the BLS projects 106 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
About 600 openings a year, from growth and from people who retire or move on.
Nearby
Where your skills travel.
Jobs that share the most work with this one, where AI does less of it.
- Shares 47% of the workSkincare Specialists6% AI does, against 28% here+8.8% by 2035 · $45,330 · Postsecondary certificate
- Shares 45% of the workManicurists and Pedicurists7% AI does, against 28% here+9.2% by 2035 · $35,760 · Postsecondary certificate
- Shares 39% of the workShampooers20% AI does, against 28% here+5.6% by 2035 · $32,600 · No formal credential
The wire
On the wire.
Nothing filed about this job yet. The latest from the Love front:
How to read this file.
deleAI does this. In US Bing Copilot conversations from January to September 2024, AI itself performed the activity, completed it and made a real difference often enough to count.
+AIAI helps. People brought the activity to AI as their own goal, and it usually got them there.
stetStill yours. It barely shows up in AI use, AI rarely finishes it, or in this job it needs hands.
Shares are weighted by how much each activity matters in the job, using O*NET. Microsoft’s own AI applicability score for this job is 0.13, higher than 45% of jobs.
Doing an activity is not doing a job. The researchers behind this data warn against reading it as job loss, and so do we. It is US data; the shape of the work travels.
Sources: Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025) · O*NET OnLine, 39-5091 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
Check another job.
Know someone in this job? Send them the file.