Talent Directors build judgment and decision making, social perceptiveness and negotiation skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes (94%).
Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers
Sorted by skill match.
| # | Career | Skill match | Median pay | Pay change | Extra education |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes | 94% | $82,890 | — | None |
| 2 | Public Relations Specialists | 89% | $74,750 | — | None |
| 3 | Advertising and Promotions Managers | 86% | $133,660 | — | None |
| 4 | Writers and Authors | 84% | $76,910 | — | None |
| 5 | Public Relations Managers | 80% | $146,910 | — | None |
| 6 | Art Directors | 80% | $114,850 | — | None |
| 7 | Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners | 80% | $61,160 | — | None |
| 8 | Fundraisers | 80% | $72,550 | — | None |
| 9 | Fundraising Managers | 78% | $125,470 | — | None |
| 10 | Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers | 77% | $76,910Pay for the broader BLS group “Writers and Authors” | Not compared | None |
Compared with Talent Directors, median —. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.
How important each skill is in work as talent directors (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).
The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.
Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.
A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.
94% skill match · $82,890
Persuasion · Negotiation · Time Management
89% skill match · $74,750
Systems Evaluation · Persuasion · Time Management
86% skill match · $133,660
Systems Evaluation · Management of Material Resources · Operations Analysis
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes (94% skill match, median $82,890), Public Relations Specialists (89% skill match, median $74,750) and Advertising and Promotions Managers (86% skill match, median $133,660), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
None of the 25 closest matches pays more than talent directors at the national median (BLS May 2025). Higher-paying moves usually need more training.
25 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones.
We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.