What can I Expect to be Paid for a Starter Job in the Fashion Industry?

[lunitweety]

Remember that luxury brands don't often pay as much...

my friend had offers designing for Ralph, Calvin, and Sears.

Sears paid more than Ralph and Calving COMBINED!!!!

 

[e-v-elina]

i dont know if this belongs here but.. can i get a job in the fashion industry with just an associate degree?

 

[Yanka]

To work in fashion and have good money, you either have to have rich parents, rich husband or be really really famous, so companies would hire your for consulting etc.

 

[marc jacobs addict]

In regards to who I interned for/where those numbers came from, he is NY based designer, shows at NY Fashion Week, was appointed to design for a well established and well known brand (albeit fledgling) brand last year.

I later interned at Vogue and honestly, from my experience almost everyone either came from money or married into money... It's a very hard industry to work in, especially when you're just starting out in NYC.

 

[Glamagyrl]

You definitely don't go into fashion to get rich
because you have to be rich to get into fashion I LOOOVE THIS QUOTE !!

 

[fashionified]

^ totally agree with the quote

everyone said that fashion is the worst place u could place yourself into. the working hours are long, the job are hard, exhausting and stressful, and the pay are poor.

the only reason u'd ever do this job is only becoz u really really love it. and fashion educations are EXTREMELY expensive, so yeah u need to be rich *or at least have enough money for it.

i just hope for the best when it's time for me to find a job *which is in abt a year from now

 

[valcee]

I'm 21 and I seriously don't want to be making $30k per year for the next 5 years. Yes, it sure sounds rolling glamourous to be feeling,touching the threads of YSL but will YSL care if you can pay the bills? Hell no baby

That's why I opted to take on a marketing job in a bank and I'm making good wage for my age. That said - I've interned at fashion mags before and I've asked a lady in her mid 30's, she's a Fashion Editor of a mag, and you know what's her pay?$45k. And mind you, that's before taxes. It's miserable I know. If I continue working where I am, I'll be paid exactly the same before I turn 30. A lot of my friends who went into fashion either in mags or at designer houses, they are making a pittance - for their experience and expertise. My heart does go out to them, this industry thrives so hard on talent who is not duly rewarded. Like I posted before, for every Anna Wintour, there's a Fashion Editor making meagre wage for the next 10 or so years.

 

[shirleebee]

It's a labor of love. I can't imagine myself in a conventional job. I would die.

 

[tigerrouge]

The cautionary side of that is the above example of a fashion editor in her 30s making $45k - when you're that age, you definitely need the means to build solid foundations, and you'll be very aware of how superficial an 'exciting' career can be, especially if you've been doing it for ten years or more (so not much excitement left anyway).

It's important to find the balance between needing a steady wage (financial compensation) and needing excitement (emotional compensation). Even the most unconventional job gets boring through having to do it for a living, so it's good to ensure the job can earn you a living.

 

[shirleebee]

Ideally, my lifespan will allow for careers as a full-time writer (in-house, freelance, or both), styling, and maybe opening an art gallery later in life. I know for a fact that a career in a non-creative field will crush my soul. As punishing as fashion can be, I care about it enough to pursue it no matter what. I place my career goals above any social obligations or relationship plans in the coming years. I'm kind of like Nuclear Wintour when it comes to being scarily obsessed to the point where fashion (and, in my case, music) outweighs family and friends. I'll stop at nothing until I achieve what I set out for. In the past year, despite the turmoil of the industry, I've made marked progress, so I think I am on the right track.

 

[dumbbrunette5]

hi,

im hoping to get a job as an assistant buyer at (ideally) a department store like barneys or saks 5th avenue. obviously im also planning to apply to other places like sears and costco and whatnot, but im just curious about how much an assistant buyer makes at a high end department store. im hoping to make at least 30K..

 

[Cicciolina]

In regards to who I interned for/where those numbers came from, he is NY based designer, shows at NY Fashion Week, was appointed to design for a well established and well known brand (albeit fledgling) brand last year.

I later interned at Vogue and honestly, from my experience almost everyone either came from money or married into money... It's a very hard industry to work in, especially when you're just starting out in NYC.

Weird... I may have interned at you...

Even then, with the girls who do get their without coming from money or marrying into money, it's often the girls who are in the latter category who get promoted. Sad but true. Just look at the masthead and watch which names are going up.

 

[Raven_McCoy]

You're lucky if you get paid anything when you're starting off. I'd factor in working for free for six months after grad, and making $30,000 - $35,000 after that for an entry level job where you're working the same hours as your friends who graduated law school. It's only worth it if you really, REALLY love it

 

[dumbbrunette5]

well since this is the only thing i really really really love and could possibly see myself doing, i can definitely deal with not making much and since im a complete and total workaholic (its sad really) the long hours shouldn't bother me (im also one of those weird people who thinks math is super fun). but yea, the real thing i was afraid of is that i would only be making like 15,000 a year and i have no idea how id be able to find somewhere to live with that salary. 30,000 is totally fine with however.

 

[superbeautiful]

What about the starting pay as a pattern-maker?

 

[KhaoticKharma]

Digging up this old thread to ask... is it generally a better climate out there for buyers? I'd love to do fashion journalism or PR, but, alas, I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth .

 

[saann]

^It usually depends on where you work and how big your responsibility is. Some buyers make sh*t, and some make really well. PR can pay quite well, but it's extremely time and energy consuming and the one thing you always have to ask yourself before going into PR is: Are you really up for it?.. You really have to be a specific type of person for that line of work.

Loved going through this thread, even if it's a bit disheartening. The salary was actually the main reason why I didn't continue pursuing a career in fashion. I did it part time while studying but quiet immediately after. There are so many other factors that play in to making it in this world rather than real talent and work ethic. Just thinking about the amount of networking that has to be done was enough to put me off.

The more I saw and learned, the more I realized I would probably end up hating fashion if I made a career out of it.

Still admire those who do <3

 

[KhaoticKharma]

^ Really interesting perspective- will I love it as much if I do it? In a way, I feel the way about fashion that actors say you should feel about acting: because it's such a heartbreaking, time consuming, and, more often than not, totally unprofitable vocation, you really have to feel like there is no other career in the world that would make you happy.

Simpler put, the way I describe it to my friends at my liberal arts college: it's Wall Street hours with McDonalds pay

 

[tortoisie]

I'm just thinking about the latest situation in regards to PR Internships in London. Are they paid now? If so, is it roughly around 18-20k? Or am I dreaming?

 

[wannabemodelbook]

wake up