25 of the Highest Paying Garments Jobs in 2024

The best Garments jobs can pay up to $128,000 per year.

High Paying Garments Jobs

• Textile Engineer

  Salary range: $101,500-$128,000 per year

  As a textile engineer, your job is to help design and create fabric, including the equipment and materials needed for fabrication. You may determine the best way to develop a type of fiber, help process raw materials, determine the best way to add graphic designs to completed textiles, and otherwise ensure smooth production during each project. Textile engineering is a specific form of mechanical engineering that emphasizes creating different products for different needs. For example, heat-resistant fabrics may be used for oven gloves, while breathable fabric may be used for summer clothing. In some cases, a textile engineer also supports marketing and sales efforts, researches new materials, and ensures all final products meet the expected safety and quality standards.

• Textile Designer

  Salary range: $48,000-$92,500 per year

  As a textile designer, you create designs for different types of fabrics, including knit, woven, and printed, for a particular industry, such as fashion or furnishings. Your job duties include using computer design software to produce textile designs, meeting with suppliers and manufacturers of textile materials, and keeping up with industry trends. Producing quality textile designs for your employer and maintaining your own art and design portfolio are two of your main responsibilities.

• Fashion Designer

  Salary range: $51,000-$89,000 per year

  Fashion Designers study current and past trends and sketch the initial clothing or accessory design. Designers will shop for fabrics and trims and then conduct fittings and adjustments on prototypes of their designs. When they have settled on a design, it will be marketed to clothing retailers. Fashion Designers oversee the entire garment production from their initial sketch to its final manufacturing.

• Pattern Maker

  Salary range: $48,000-$86,000 per year

  The duties of a pattern maker are to create master patterns or samples that manufacturers can use in the production of garments, shoes, and other types of apparel. Pattern makers also work in other manufacturing industries that require translating designs into correctly dimensioned, technically sound patterns. You use plans or blueprints created by designers to draft a pattern that has the proper fit. The responsibilities of a patternmaker also include grading, which involves changing the dimensions of the design in marker areas so that it can adjust to different sizes while keeping the same appearance.

• Costume Designer

  Salary range: $60,000-$75,500 per year

  As a costume designer, your job is to buy, rent, or make costumes for actors. You discuss design choices with other staff members, sew new outfits from a pattern, decide what makes sense for the physical demands of a performance, and perform fittings to ensure each costume fits. Costume designers can work in a variety of fields, including movies, television, theatre, and other performing arts. In many cases, you spend time researching the fashion trends of the past, manage a costume budget, and interpret the producer's creative vision. You must also confirm when and where costumes need to change during a performance to ensure everyone has enough time to do so.

• Intermediate Designer

  Salary range: $63,000-$75,000 per year

  The majority of Intermediate Designer salaries across the United States currently range between $63,000 (25th percentile) and $75,000 (75th percentile) annually. This moderate range of salaries suggests pay in this role will be consistent, regardless skill level, location and years of experience, though some advancement is possible. Based on recent job postings on ZipRecruiter, the Intermediate Designer job market in the United States is very active, with many companies hiring.

• Fabric Worker

  Salary range: $38,500-$61,000 per year

  The majority of Fabric Worker salaries across the United States currently range between $38,500 (25th percentile) and $61,000 (75th percentile) annually. This moderate range of salaries suggests pay in this role will be consistent, regardless skill level, location and years of experience, though some advancement is possible. Based on recent job postings on ZipRecruiter, the Fabric Worker job market in the United States is moderately active, with several companies hiring.

• Weaving Supervisor

  Salary range: $38,500-$55,500 per year

  As a weaving supervisor, you oversee the management of a shift at a textile production facility. You inspect all of the fabric, such as cotton cloth or wool yarn, to ensure that your workers are following the instructions laid out by the manufacturer. Your duties and responsibilities are to monitor and maintain all the equipment, such as the loom and other textile knitting machinery, regularly. You typically report to a plant manager and engage in company-wide efforts to improve the efficiency of the facility.

• Marker Maker

  Salary range: $49,000-$52,000 per year

  The majority of Marker Maker salaries across the United States currently range between $49,000 (25th percentile) and $52,000 (75th percentile) annually. Most people working in this role make similar salaries regardless of skill level, location and years of experience. Based on recent job postings on ZipRecruiter, the Marker Maker job market in the United States is active, with some companies hiring.

• Shoe Designer

  Salary range: $30,000-$51,000 per year

  A shoe designer works in the fashion industry designing footwear. Job duties include developing shoe concepts, creating prototypes, and testing designs. Shoe designs are typically created as hand drawings first; however, some designers may use computer software. Shoe designers who work for a larger company must present their ideas to management for approval.

• Dyer

  Salary range: $27,000-$50,500 per year

  The job responsibilities of a dyer revolve around adding color to fabric and apparel. Dyers usually work in the textile industry. Your job duties in this career include working to weigh, measure, and mix dyes so that the resulting color is accurate. You may add water, additional color, or substances like bleach to adjust the color tones. You operate dyeing equipment and inspect the final product after it dries to ensure quality and to make sure that any patterns required in the fabric are visible.

• Sewing Supervisor

  Salary range: $30,500-$47,500 per year

  The majority of Sewing Supervisor salaries across the United States currently range between $30,500 (25th percentile) and $47,500 (75th percentile) annually. This moderate range of salaries suggests pay in this role will be consistent, regardless skill level, location and years of experience, though some advancement is possible. Based on recent job postings on ZipRecruiter, the Sewing Supervisor job market in the United States is active, with some companies hiring.

• Saddle Stitch Operator

  Salary range: $39,000-$45,000 per year

  As a saddle stitch operator, you work under the direction of a bindery department supervisor to set-up equipment. You operate a saddle-stitch production line to produce products, such as books, while meeting quality standards and specifications set by the client. You review each job before starting to ensure you understand everything that needs to be completed; this includes special instructions and procedures to set-up the machine or line. Other responsibilities include checking product quality regularly, removing pieces that do not meet standards, and maintaining accurate production records. You perform daily and periodic maintenance on equipment, and assist with repairs or rebuilds. Additional duties include preparing new employees and reporting unusual activities to your supervisor.

• Shear Operator

  Salary range: $36,000-$44,000 per year

  The majority of Shear Operator salaries across the United States currently range between $36,000 (25th percentile) and $44,000 (75th percentile) annually. This moderate range of salaries suggests pay in this role will be consistent, regardless skill level, location and years of experience, though some advancement is possible. Based on recent job postings on ZipRecruiter, the Shear Operator job market in the United States is active, with some companies hiring.

• Braider

  Salary range: $32,000-$42,500 per year

  The majority of Braider salaries across the United States currently range between $32,000 (25th percentile) and $42,500 (75th percentile) annually. This moderate range of salaries suggests pay in this role will be consistent, regardless skill level, location and years of experience, though some advancement is possible. Based on recent job posting activity on ZipRecruiter, the Braider job market in the United States is not very active as few companies are currently hiring for this role. You can try exploring related titles to find jobs with more active opportunities.

• Weaver

  Salary range: $30,000-$40,000 per year

  A weaver works on looms or industrial weaving machines to create fabrics, textiles, or other types of woven products. An artisan weaver may knit fabrics by hand or use a non-automated loom. Your duties in this career vary depending on your employer. In a commercial textile factory, your responsibilities include setting an automated machine that creates woven fabric. This process often requires you to enter settings into a computer and then monitor progress as the device weaves the fabric.

• Leather Cutter

  Salary range: $36,000-$39,000 per year

  A leather cutter works with a variety of materials to layout, mark, and trim a pattern for articles such as furniture or garments. They may work with skins or tanned hides using shears or a cutting table. Positions exist in a range of industries, such as clothing and furniture manufacturing. Duties vary with the type of job and level of expertise.

• Stitcher

  Salary range: $30,000-$38,500 per year

  A stitcher works in the performing arts industry. As a stitcher, you take the costume pieces prepared by the cutter and assemble and sew them together into full costumes. Stitchers know how to sew by hand and with a machine. Hand sewing is a vital skill because period costumes require a handmade look that sewing machines cannot replicate. Stitchers also need to accommodate the specific wardrobe needs of the actors who wear the attire; they must know how to add hidden snaps, buttons, or zippers. Outside of film and theater, a stitcher may also work on upholstery.

• Industrial Seamstress

  Salary range: $30,000-$38,000 per year

  The role of an industrial seamstress or sewer is to sew large amounts of fabric for manufacturing or wholesale production. Responsibilities include operating a sewing machine; a serger, which is used to cut edges on material, such as heavyweight or garment fabric; and a hemmer, which is a specialized sewing machine for making hems. As a sewer, you have to maintain your machines in good working order, and be able to perform routine maintenance and calibrations on the equipment.

• Fabric Cutter

  Salary range: $30,000-$37,500 per year

  A fabric cutter's duties revolve around preparing material to sew into a garment or pattern by measuring, placing marks, and cutting the fabric or textile to the proper specifications. As a fabric cutter, you can work in different environments and may handle various materials depending on that environment. You may have to cut a fabric roll into a given number of yards or while following a pattern as part of the manufacturing process of furniture or textiles. The process may require a different set of skills depending on the material, but generally, you work with a set of sheers or cutting machines.

• Sewing Machine Operator

  Salary range: $30,000-$36,000 per year

  As a sewing machine operator, your duties are to sew, join, gather, hem, and reinforce materials using an industrial sewing machine. You may select a pattern for sewing, determine what type of fabric to use, and adjust your equipment to ensure it is capable of creating the intended product. If you work as a seamstress on an industrial scale, your responsibilities are to produce a significant number of garments while adhering to your company's quality standards. If you work independently or at a tailor shop, you may sew original garments and perform alterations on existing clothes. In some positions, you may be asked to make decisions about sewing garments, such as what type of stitch to use, or help your company create a plan for other dressmakers to follow.

• Autoclave Operator

  Salary range: $28,500-$36,000 per year

  An autoclave is a powerful heated machine used for chemical reactions using high pressure and temperatures, such as steam sterilization. Autoclave operators operate and monitor this specialized pressure chamber in different settings. They work in hospitals or other healthcare facilities sterilizing surgical devices and other medical instruments. You may also function as an autoclave operator for a manufacturer of rubber products or yarn. In this position, you utilize the machine to vulcanize rubber or cure rubber composites and preset and preshrink yarn.

• Apparel Pattern Maker

  Salary range: $34,500-$35,500 per year

  An apparel pattern maker works to create working designs for clothing samples and production based on the ideas, specs, drawings, and blueprints of a fashion designer. Your duties in this career involve working to adjust the original plan and measure the garment pattern so that the resulting clothing product has the proper fit. Your responsibilities as an apparel pattern maker usually involve using information from the designers to develop the blueprint into a production-ready design. Your pattern may have information about the grade or sizing and other details for production.

• Textile Worker

  Salary range: $30,000-$35,000 per year

  The majority of Textile Worker salaries across the United States currently range between $30,000 (25th percentile) and $35,000 (75th percentile) annually. This moderate range of salaries suggests pay in this role will be consistent, regardless skill level, location and years of experience, though some advancement is possible. Based on recent job postings on ZipRecruiter, the Textile Worker job market in the United States is active, with some companies hiring.

• Creeler

  Salary range: $21,500-$28,000 per year

  A creeler works in the textile industry. In this position, your duties usually focus on setting up equipment that creates yarn and other products. You ensure proper materials are in place and meet the requirements of each production run. After setting up the machines, you monitor them as they twist, weave, or spool the product. Your responsibilities include making adjustments during a production run if necessary. The type of machinery that you use can vary, but you often operate a loom or other machine used for tufting or twisting yarn and similar materials. You also oil and maintain your loom or tufting machine.

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