Models
Model garments or other apparel and accessories for prospective buyers at fashion shows, private showings, or retail establishments. May pose for photos to be used in magazines or advertisements. May pose as subject for paintings, sculptures, and other types of artistic expression.
Most important skills
- Social Perceptiveness
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Coordination
- Reading Comprehension
- Time Management
- Judgment and Decision Making
Key knowledge
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Fine Arts
- Transportation
- Communications and Media
- Administration and Management
- Computers and Electronics
- Public Safety and Security
What the work involves
- Pose for artists and photographers.
- Gather information from agents concerning the pay, dates, times, provisions, and lengths of jobs.
- Follow strict routines of diet, sleep, and exercise to maintain appearance.
- Record rates of pay and durations of jobs on vouchers.
- Report job completions to agencies and obtain information about future appointments.
- Assemble and maintain portfolios, print composite cards, and travel to go-sees to obtain jobs.
- Work closely with photographers, fashion coordinators, directors, producers, stylists, make-up artists, other models, and clients to produce the desired looks, and to finish photo shoots on schedule.
- Apply makeup to face and style hair to enhance appearance, considering such factors as color, camera techniques, and facial features.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Artistic, Realistic, Enterprising.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (76.3% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (47.8%)
- On-the-job training
- None or short demonstration (75.6%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Models is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | High | Higher on contact with others than 76% of occupations compared | 78% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 90% of occupations compared | — |
| Teamwork | Very low | Lower on teamwork than 93% of occupations compared | — |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 80% of occupations compared | — |
| Time pressure | Very low | Lower on time pressure than 99% of occupations compared | 71% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Conflict situations | Very low | Lower on conflict situations than 98% of occupations compared | 60% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 98% of occupations compared | — |
| Consequence of error | Very low | Lower on consequence of error than 85% of occupations compared | — |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very low
- Conflict situations: very low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very low
- Consequence of error: very low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 0%
- Contact with others about half the time: 9.39%
- Contact with others most of the time: 12.31%
- Constant contact with others: 78.3%
n = 16, Incumbent 08/2021
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Fairly important: 20.15%
- Important: 1.95%
- Very important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Extremely important: 0.62%
n = 16, Incumbent 08/2021
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 17.42%
- Fairly important: 9.15%
- Important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Very important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Extremely important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 16, Incumbent 08/2021
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Limited freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Some freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- A lot of freedom: 25.32%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2021
Time pressure
- Never: 71.37%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0.33%
- Once a month or more but not every week: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a week or more but not every day: 8.85%
- Every day: 0.69%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2021
Conflict situations
- Never: 59.63%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 23.86%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 0%
- Once a week or more but not every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Every day: 0%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2021
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a year or more but not every month: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a month or more but not every week: 0.62%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 0%
- Every day: 0%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2021
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Fairly serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Serious: 0%
- Very serious: 7.27%
- Extremely serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2021
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O*NET-SOC 41-9012.00 · SOC 41-9012 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8