Magician Job Description, Career as a Magician, Salary, Employment

Training/Educational Requirements: No formal education required

Median Salary: $49,000 per year

Job Prospects: Fair

Job Description

Magicians perform tricks and illusions for people. There are varying degrees of magicians, and the more experience and training that one has in this position, often the better they are. One usually may not consider a magician as a full-time career, but it can turn into that.

Magicians work at a specific venue, keep regular gigs or engagements, or work on a contract basis through an entertainment company. Magicians perform at special events or engagements for entertainment purposes. The more breadth and depth that they have to their tricks, the more likely they are to get a variety of engagements. Magicians should be able to work with various groups, from children to the elderly.

Magicians generally perform optical illusions or other tricks that they learn through their training and experience. Those magicians with really impressive tricks and who can connect with their audience are the ones who get full-time engagements and who are the most successful. It can be helpful for a magician to work on personality and people skills as much as the actual magic tricks to make the perfect act.

Magicians may work on their own or on a contract basis, and if this is the case then they must be able to manage their own business as well. This can be a full time job or offer regular paying engagements or clients if the act is good and the tricks are impressive. It’s necessary to keep up with many different skills and practice the act to keep it fresh and cutting edge.

Training/Educational Requirements

There really isn’t any formal educational requirement for the magician profession. Though most magicians have a minimum of a high school diploma, this is not a requirement. Some of the most successful magicians are just naturally talented in this capacity and work to foster and further develop this skill over time. It’s not as much about an educational requirement so much as working on the perfection of the craft and skills involved.

It can be helpful to take training courses to learn new tricks and fully develop the magic act. This can be helpful at the beginning, but over time a magician’s training becomes more of a matter of practicing. It can be interesting to keep up with current trends and new tricks, but the best magicians are the ones who offer something unique and interesting, even if that something is old and time-tested. Practicing the actual magic tricks is important, as is working on the interpersonal skills required to create a successful act.

How to Get Hired

The best way to get hired as a magician is to have an act. Though this act is sure to evolve over time, having a repertoire of tricks as a starting point is a great way to initially get hired. Working as a magician at smaller venues or engagements is an excellent way to build up experience and develop an act. This is another great way to get hired into a more full time or regular position.

Working in a support role, at an entertainment company, or at a specific venue that uses magicians is another way to get hired or at least get a foot in the door. It can be helpful to observe other magicians and pick up tips and tricks that can be used in the future. This is a helpful way to build diversity as a magician and end up getting hired in a more lucrative capacity.

Job Prospects, Employment Outlook, and Career Development

Though there are working magician jobs out there, the growth is not quite as fast as in other professions. Because this is an occupation that depends on demand for entertainment, when there are tough economic times, magicians are not in a period of growth. Magicians often represent a form of entertainment that people will pay for when they have disposable income. If times are tough, people won’t often pay money to hire a magician or to see a magic show.

Working on a contract basis may be a more feasible option in terms of career opportunities in this field. Working for an entertainment company can offer more promise of regular paid engagements. Being a magician can be a competitive occupation, so it’s important to stand out from the crowd in some way.

Working Environment

The working environment may vary for a magician, depending on type of employment. If magicians have their own show or are more established, then they may have their own auditorium or venue that people come to see them at. A permanent venue usually involves a rather large stage with potential for trap doors. Any venue that entertains people may have a need for a magician, so it may be necessary to cater the act to the environment.

If a magician works for an entertainment company or independently, the entertainer may travel to different venues or client homes to work private parties. This can mean a different working environment each day, and working with all different types of personalities. This can make for a rather interesting and constantly changing work environment, but it may not be as high paying as a regular engagement.

Salary and Benefits

Though the average salary for a magician is around $49,000, the range can vary based on many factors. This salary assumes that the magician works on a full-time basis and is a trained professional. There are all levels of magicians in a wide array of jobs, many of which work on a part-time or contractual basis. If working in that capacity, then there may not be a set salary range but instead an hourly rate. Magicians may be employed by entertainment companies, or may even have regular gigs at specific venues. Most magicians don’t receive benefits, so they are often responsible for their own.