Augmented Reality Careers: Professions, Earnings & Pathways

The burgeoning field of augmented reality (AR) is making strides in numerous areas of human life, from cutting-edge science to the games kids play on smartphones.

Extended Reality

Along with virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR), AR falls under the umbrella of extended reality (XR). XR technology brings digital elements to real, physical environments, and alters your perception of reality.

Different Degrees of Immersion

Interacting with aspects of XR leads to varying degrees of immersiveness in altered realities. Your immersive experiences can be low (AR, such as Instagram face filters) or high immersion (VR, like a gaming headset), depending on how much they “keep you in/remove you from” the real world. MR, on the other hand, allows physical and digital elements to interact with each other.

You Can Influence AR

The overlap of AR, VR and MR has spurred advances all over the place. These technologies are transforming industries from healthcare to entertainment. This post details promising AR career opportunities, the skills and education needed, and insights into working with leading companies in the field.

Exploring Key AR Career Paths

If you want to work in AR, your career options range from programming to management to marketing. Job descriptions, salary and requirements may vary by location, company and experience.

Augmented Reality Developer

Career Overview: As an augmented reality developer, you’ll work in a very particular area of software development. Like a software engineer, you’ll design, develop and test immersive experiences for apps, games or websites.

Typical Earnings: If you work full-time, expect a salary somewhere between $90,000 and $140,000. For part-time, hourly pay, expect between $40 and $60 per hour.

Education: Employers generally expect AR developers to have at least a bachelor’s degree in computer science, software engineering or a related field.

Skills & Tools Required: You’ll rely on proficiency in programming languages like C# for Unity or C++ for Unreal Engine, and knowledge of software development and design practices. Creative skills like 3D animation and motion capture could also be in demand.

Getting Started: Gain practical experience through internships and collaborative projects, particularly those involving machine learning and artificial intelligence.

AR Project Manager

Career Overview: Your responsibilities as an AR project manager will involve overseeing the development of applications from conception to launch. You’ll cover the whole project management lifecycle, working with team members to merge business concepts with technology development.

Typical Earnings: Salary expectations for AR project managers range from about $85,000 to $140,000, depending on experience and position. You may be able to land project-based gigs as well, working on a contract, paid-per-project basis.

Education: Typically, you’ll need a bachelor’s degree in computer science or related field, as well as experience working over the project life cycle.

Skills & Tools Required: The skill qualifications for project management include strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to collaborate with multidisciplinary teams and a range of team members.

Getting Started: Seek out pathways through management training programs or as a team member on smaller projects to develop relevant experience.

UX Designer for AR

Career Overview: As a user experience (UX) designer, you will focus on the overall experience of your users, with special attention given to safety and privacy concepts. UX design must consider the various devices used to access the product, clarity of instructions, and the interaction of the visual and audio elements.

Typical Earnings: You can expect to make between $90,000 and $160,000 working in UX design for augmented reality.

Education: Ideally, you will have a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field. Because UX for augmented reality is a developing space, new ideas are often cropping up. You can learn about them through online certifications and industry forums.

Skills & Tools Required: AR UX designers need to consider the entire user journey, from research and purchase to general use and repair. In addition to understanding the technology, they need to understand users' skills, thought processes and device preferences.

Getting Started: Building a portfolio through freelance projects and leveraging platforms like Dribbble allows you to showcase AR design work to prospective clients and employers. Also familiarize yourself with relevant tools and software, such as Autodesk products and AR on Adobe Aero.

AR Product Marketing Manager

Career Overview: The role of marketing managers in AR involves focusing on strategies to effectively promote AR products and technologies. You’ll work with sales and distribution to get AR products on people’s minds and into their hands.

Typical Earnings: As an AR product marketing manager, plan to make between $100,000 and $200,000 annually depending on location and experience.

Education: Unlike many other areas of AR, product marketing requires a background and degree in marketing or business. That said, experience in the development and marketing of tech, and an understanding of the industry, are generally expected.

Skills & Tools Required: You’ll need a strong understanding of the AR market, digital marketing skills, and experience with product launches.

Getting Started: Gain marketing experience in tech industries, participate in AR product campaigns, and stay current with AR trends and consumer preferences.

Where to Find Jobs in Augmented Reality

Several places and resources share career information and available jobs in augmented reality, advertising across a range of professions and skills. Big tech companies, like Microsoft, Apple and Meta, are certainly among the best companies to work for in AR, as they’re at the cutting edge of the technology and the market itself.

However, look to resources like Indeed, LinkedIn, Glassdoor and ZipRecruiter to find job alerts with lesser-known organizations. Just because you aren’t working on the Oculus or with the richest developers of VR technologies, it doesn’t mean the work isn’t important or exciting.

Grow Your Skills in Augmented Reality with Skillshare

The dynamic opportunities in the AR industry include jobs for a variety of skill types. While augmented reality jobs tend to center on the technology itself, there’s plenty to do with understanding industry trends, considering user experience and marketing in digital and analog spaces.

As society continues to adapt to AR, VR and MR, and technologies like wearables and headsets become commonplace, the career path options will only increase and diversify. Skillshare is the go-to platform for creatives of all abilities to improve their AR skills, complete with classes and projects from experienced professionals. Whether you want to make simple face filters or go deep into AR and XR design, you’ll find classes to suit your goals.

Written By

Katie Mitchell

Katie lives in Michigan with her husband, kids and pets. She enjoys cooking, travel and live music.