Pageant directors supervise and coordinate the organizational, financial and ceremonial aspects of beauty pageants. Also commonly referred to as artistic directors or artistic associates, pageant directors audition performers, prepare scripts, appoint judges and act as liaisons between the pageant and its host location.

Salary and Occupational Data

According to 2010 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics, pageant directors earn an average annual wage of $68,400 per year. Nearly 100,000 people were employed as pageant directors in the United States as of 2010, a number anticipated to grow between 7 and 13 percent between 2008 and 2018, a predicted job growth of between 6,930 and 12,000 new positions. The annual salary of pageant talent directors equates to $32.90 per hour when factored across a standard 40-hour work week, although many work long and sporadic hours, particularly when leading up to event dates.

Industrywide Salary Comparison

Pageant directors earn relatively competitive wages when compared to producers and directors in other realms of entertainment. Producers and directors employed by performing arts companies earn $59,820 per year on average according to BLS statistics, a rate nearly 15 percent less than the average earnings of pageant directors. Producers and directors employed in the radio and television broadcasting industry also earn similar wages with an average annual salary of $72,030, an increase of just six percent over the average income of pageant directors.

Skill Requirements

Pageant directors must possess keen interpersonal communication, networking and team management skills. In addition to the ability to make and stand by decisions in the face of adversity, aspiring pageant directors must also be able to gauge social perceptiveness and coordinate the actions of their subordinates in relation to the actions of others. Keen organizational skills and clerical and administrative prowess are also key skills relevant to the position.

Relevant Educational Background

According to the the Occupational Information Network, 36 percent of talent directors possess a bachelor's degree. Relevant fields of study for aspiring pageant directors includes event management, theater and communications. Aspiring pageant directors should ideally posses some formal artistic production training. Any formal training in stage production including set design, theatrical lighting and live audio amplification is also advantageous.