24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 2018 Jobs Rated Report from CareerCast, a targeted job opportunity website, to determine the worst jobs in America. The report ranks over “200 careers on the overall quality of their work environment, amount of stress, occupational outlook, and income” to help determine job security projections until the year 2026 in the U.S.
Photographer ranked #25 on the list with median annual wages at $34,000 coming in slightly below the median wage for all U.S. jobs of $37,690. This alone is a topic that should be up for debate depending on location and specified genre of photography. Photographers are expected to see a decline in job growth of -5.6% by the year 2026 due to the increase of highly capable and accessible technology in smartphone cameras.
The study was conducted considering jobs with more acute stress levels paired with low pay are likely to be some of the worst. The lowest median income of the list was for Food Servers who rake in a median income of $23,290. Two out of the 25 listed were jobs in a creative capacity (DJ and photographer).
What is the Future Like For Photographers?
Job security is a topic many creatives and artists struggle with because of “passion”. With a total employment number of 49,560 photographers in America, does the threat of advancements in technology really ruin our chances of having a profitable future? In USA Today’s article summing up the #25 worst jobs, they claimed that “other photography jobs could be eliminated as companies choose to hire freelancers rather than keeping salaried photographers on their payrolls.”
Why Technology Will Never Replace Our Jobs
While cameras are coming out with better tech, like touch screen AF for example, there is very little a camera can do when it comes to directing and posing a subject. The charisma a photographer brings to set paired with the vision to create a photograph is irreplaceable, and that is fact, not opinion. Multiple media and news sites claim that the rise of smartphone cameras deems a threat to professional photographers, but there is no way that technology can replace the feeling of creating an unforgettable experience for your client.
Via USA Today
