How To Become A Prop Maker: What It Is and Career Path

What is a prop maker and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a prop maker. For example, did you know that they make an average of $26.2 an hour? That's $54,499 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 2% and produce 20,500 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreProp MakerUS Average

Salary

4.3

Avg. Salary $54,499

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

7.6

Growth Rate 2%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.15%

Asian 1.63%

Black or African American 7.50%

Hispanic or Latino 24.36%

Unknown 4.68%

White 60.67%

Gender

female 15.75%

male 84.25%

Age - 41

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41

Stress Level

7.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.8

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

5.3

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a prop maker

Explore prop maker education requirements

Most common prop maker degrees

Bachelor's

57.5 %

Associate

13.8 %

High School Diploma

13.8 %

Start to develop specific prop maker skills

Skills	Percentages
Table Saws	70.72%
MIG	29.28%

Complete relevant prop maker training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New prop makers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a prop maker based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real prop maker resumes.

Research prop maker duties and responsibilities

Lead a team in creation of costumes for mascot character development for entertainment studios and theme parks.
Manage, implement and review safety policies, conduct safety audits as required as well as conduct JSA tool box talks.
Observe and follows all safety rules and procedures, including wearing require PPE.
Take 2D concept art and make functioning complete props and costumes with budget and time frame limitations.

Prepare your prop maker resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your prop maker resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a prop maker resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Prop Maker Resume templates

Build a professional Prop Maker resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Prop Maker resume.