10 Entry-Level Jobs In The Fashion Industry

Image via Complex Original

Estimated Salary (in NYC): $40,000
Where to Apply: In-store, company websites, monster.com
How to Make It: A four-year degree will help set you apart from the mallrats for this gig. It also helps if you can count money really well, and can be trusted to open and close a store all by yourself.

If you ever thought of owning your own boutique, it would help to know how to run a store first. Working for a corporate chain or franchise not only gives you the experience of running a shop, it also helps you develop a bird's-eye-view of how the industry operates. You'll notice things like how Fall/Winter clothes arrive in late August and Spring/Summer clothes hit stores around January, you'll witness firsthand the kind of things that are flying off the racks, and develop a knack for trends and what's hot in the streets.

If you're really good at it, you could move up the ranks as a district or regional manager, or make the hop into buying. Remember, the business side of fashion is definitely more lucrative than the design side. Designers, stylists, and models only serve to sell the clothes. It's the people that can move those products that are really making bank.

Estimated Salary (in NYC): $59,000
Where to Apply: Fashion Jobs Central, Style Careers
How to Make It: Sales is all about talking that talk, so knowing when to speak and when to shut up is an essential skill.  Having a genuine interest in brands and fashion news will help. Keep up with blogs and style mags.

Sales representatives get a firsthand look at new samples at showrooms and meet with buyers from all over to get the clothes in stores. Also, they work on the marketing side of things and meet with editors and bloggers so they can preview new collections months before they hit stores. Primary responsiblities include pitching the products to boutiques and press, tracking samples, and following up on orders from clients. It's very customer service-oriented, but hey, at least your clients are very stylish.

Estimated Salary (in NYC): $30,000
Where to Apply: Fashion Jobs Central, Fashion.net, Style Careers
How to Make It: A good eye for how to present things and put them together. Combine that creative mindset with a background in design, some mixed media art experience (papier-mâché holler!), and a basic grasp of color theory, and you could land the gig.

All those awesome window and store displays aren't done by janitors. Merchandising teams put them together. A junior merchandiser helps execute the ideas put forth by their boss or the corporate team, who decide on a certain theme or set of standards that need to be met, and then translate it to how the store's merchandise is arranged. Big department stores like Saks, Barneys, and Macy's are known for their excellent, consistent, merchandising. The only downside is all of this happens when the store is closed. So if you're down for early mornings and late nights, this is the type of job for you. On the bright side, at least you won't have to deal with hordes of shoppers.

Estimated Salary (in NYC): $28,000
Where to Apply: Mediabistro, Journalism Jobs, Daily Fashion Jobs
How to Make It: Be a dick about grammar and punctuation. Read magazines, books, and websites constantly (twitter doesn't count). Cultivate a network of contacts at public relations agencies and brands so you can pitch your own stories.

Dream of working in publishing? You're going to need a few internships under your belt, and if you're lucky, you'll land an editorial assistant position. No, you won't be making coffee every morning, but you will get to pore over copy and look out for small details like typos, punctuation errors, and fact-checking. You might even get a couple of bylines for online articles or blurbs in the magazine.

Keep in mind, most publications have two separate teams for web and print. So assistants can have very different responsibilities. For print, that could mean checking page layouts for glaring errors and inaccuracies, while for the web that means looking over blog posts with an eagle eye for the same things, while occasionally even writing some of your own.

Estimated Salary (in NYC): $27,000
Where to Apply: Fabjob.com, Fashion Jobs, Personal-Assistants.com
How to Make It: You gotta be completely dedicated and attentive to what your boss needs (within reason of course, you're running errands, not turning tricks). Know how to multi-task really well and have a talent for scheduling—and always able to make things happen, especially the unrealistic demands of your boss.

Designers and other fashion executives like high-up editors don't have time to run errands and do all the things normal people do — like pick up dry cleaning, make dinner reservations, or book flights. That's where you come in. Your job is to be highly organized, efficient, field calls, meetings, and be extremely punctual. You'll probably start off getting paid in free swag with up-and-coming designers, but if you're really good — or their career takes off — you can start making the big bucks. The downside? Say goodbye to your social life. Being a good personal assistant means being reliable, 24/7.

Estimated Salary (in NYC): $30,000
Where to Apply: Mediabistro, Daily Fashion Jobs, Fashion.net
How to Make It: Be able to explain to old people why exactly they're paying you to run their social media accounts, use jargon like "metrics" and "return-on-idea."  Master the art of talking about "work" without "talking about work."

Getting a brand's name out there is as important as the clothes it makes. True, there are some brands out there that can stand on the merits of their products, but a strong marketing team—whether at an agency or in-house—keeps people talking about the brand.

With the advent of social media, young people with a passion for twitter and tumblr have been brought into the fold of companies looking to utilize those platforms and get their clients' or brand's names circulating on them. If acquiring reblogs or twitter followers is something you're good at, that's a skill that can be applied to an entry-level marketing or social media gig.

Estimated Salary (in NYC): $38,000
Where to Apply: Mediabistro, Fashionista.com, Daily Fashion Jobs, PRCouture
How to Make It: Familiarize yourself with how to track tweets, reblogs, and website trackbacks. Master the art of the concise yet effective e-mail pitch — use words wisely and get to the point. Have no shame, get your name out there and reap the benefits later.

Public Relations and Advertising aren't the same thing, but these entry level gigs require similar skill sets and interests.

Behind every Don Draper there are several Pete Campbells. Public relations and advertising agencies depend on clients for income. Clients in turn depend on the people running their account to make sure they're happy. Depending on the size of the account, there will be a number of executives and supervisors on each of them, and under those two, are the account coordinators.

These people track the success of campaigns via media tracking, build lists of contacts to pitch ideas and client projects to, writing press releases, media packets, and other copy. They also do a lot of office support like writing memos, fielding calls, and pretty much make work easier for their team and their clients.

Estimated Salary (in NYC): $42,000
Where to Apply: Fashion Jobs Central, Fashion.net, Style Careers
How to Make It: Get a degree in fashion design. Intern. A lot. Be reliable, punctual, and willing to be overworked and underpaid. Have a genuine passion for your boss' work.

No great designer works alone. As a design assistant, you won't be sketching the next collection, but you will help make sure it comes together. You'll get a firsthand look at fabrics, travel a lot to tradeshows, factories, and yes, fashion week. But, you'll spend a lot of that time putting in long hours of work: fitting models, tracking samples, and making sure the show or presentation goes on as smoothly as possible.

It's a lot of work, but extremely rewarding if you have a passion for it. It's a great feeling to hear positive feedback on a great show after months and months of work helping put a collection together. Who knows? Give it a few years, and you might develop the network necessary to branch out and start your own line.

Estimated Salary (in NYC): $47,000
Where to Apply: Fashion Jobs Central, Style Careers, Fashion Jobs
How to Make It: Know your shit when it comes to brands and designers that are hot in the streets.  Be able to think months ahead in regards to trends, and have a great mind for business and the kinds of product you think will sell out.

Buyers use their sense of style and knowledge of trends to anticipate the kinds of gear people will be lining up to cop next season. That means looking for the warmest coats in the summer and the illest swimwear in January. You're always thinking ahead, despite looking fresh for the season. Assistant buyers will weigh in their opinions to their bosses, who usually have the final say on how many units should be sent to the store, if any.

For larger stores, assistant buyers have their own budgets to spend, which they should do carefully, as it means the pressure is much higher for them to make sure the stuff they bring into the store sells out. Successful buyers have a good sell-through rate, and can make boatloads of money.

Estimated Salary (in NYC): Unpaid, transportation and lunch compensated.
Where to Apply: Mediabistro, Daily Fashion Jobs, Fashionista.com
How to Make It: Be motivated. Make yourself known to other people in the office without trying too hard to please everyone (you can't; you won't). Chill out, try to do good work and help out where you can, and constantly try to improve your skills and learn as much as you can while you're there.

The absolute best way to get paid for what you'd for free is well... do it for free, at first. There's horrible internships and there's great internships, but there's plenty of either. Whether your dream is working for a reputable fashion house, a luxury boutique, or a big magazine, nothing gives you a better look at what you're getting yourself into than an internship. You'll see how the business operates, get to network with the people there, and if you hustle hard enough, could even land yourself a job.

If your dream happens to be working for a big magazine though, Complex is currently looking for interns for the Spring semester...