What you will learn on this page:
If you value creativity, there are lots of ways you can use this in life and work. Creativity is about expressing yourself, thinking differently, solving problems in new ways, and bringing ideas to life. Whether you love designing, making, performing, or inventing, creativity is not only personally fulfilling – it’s also highly valued in the world of work.
The creative industries currently employ over 2.4 million people and are one of the country’s highest growing industries, with a range of exciting job opportunities in advertising, architecture, crafts, design, film, music, video games, and performing and visual arts.
A selection of jobs using creativity
Tap any job below to see the full career profile on the National Careers Service website – including what the job involves, what it pays, and how to get into it.
Explore more jobs and job sectors
These job sectors might be good places to start if you want to be creative in your working life.
How creativity helps you develop skills for working life
Being creative is not just about being artistic or coming up with new scientific discoveries – it’s about how we develop problem-solving skills that we can use in all aspects of our lives.
- Getting creative is good for your health – trying a new creative activity for just ten minutes a day has been shown to boost mood, reduce stress and enable people to express themselves and build their confidence.
- Creative skills will boost your employability chances into the future – employers value people who can use their imagination and generate new ideas and ways of doing things.
- You can develop creativity skills – it doesn’t matter what your creative skills are like at the moment, you can build them. You can either focus on getting even better at something you enjoy or try something new.
What strengths do creative people have to offer?
Creativity means more than just drawing or making something. These are strengths you can develop by getting creative. Which of these do you already have to offer?
- Flexible thinking – are you able to come up with more than one idea or solution to a problem? Are you able to change direction if something isn’t working?
- Being curious about the world around you – such as asking questions and discovering how things work.
- Having a positive attitude – essential for coming up with ideas and overcoming barriers or difficulties.
- Determination – to turn your thoughts and ideas into reality.
How you can develop your creative skills
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” — Maya Angelou, author
The BBC has films about people talking about how they got started with their creative interests and also some celebrities share their creative talents.
Looking for new techniques to boost your creativity? Watch these films on BBC Ideas.
Seven tips to boost your creativity and unleash your hidden creative side!
Find out more about the Creativity skill and reflect on your current skills level using the Skills Builder Framework.
Further information on creative careers
Discover Creative Careers – over 570 careers featured to give you more ideas of creative jobs that might suit you!
Screenskills – careers in film, games, fashion, TV and VFX including courses and apprenticeships.
The ERIC app is a free careers app helping you break into the creative industries and become work-ready. Browse thousands of internships, events, training schemes, courses and more.
