How To Turn Your Love For LEGO® Into A Career
Originally written back in 2017 while working for the LEGO-Inspired STEM organization, Play-Well TEKnologies.
Parents frequently ask “How can my kid become a LEGO® Master Builder?”
Although we are not LEGO® Master Builders ourselves, we have met a few of them and we have spent a great deal of time in the world of LEGO®. So, we decided the best way to answer these questions is to compile an extensive list of our favorite resources about the various paths of turning your love of LEGO® into a career.
We apologize for the length, as we wanted to make it as comprehensive a list as possible. If you have additional links you’d like to share, feel free to provide them in the comments below.
We have broken it down into two sections:
- How Can My Child Become a LEGO® Master Builder?
- Can I Get Paid To Play With LEGO® without becoming a LEGO® Master Builder?
We hope you find this helpful.
How Can My Child Become a LEGO® Master Builder?
Before we begin, we must first define a few job terms in the world of LEGO®.
- LEGO® Master Builders are generally responsible for designing and building promotional displays for The LEGO Group, such as X-Wing, LEGO® Version of David Ortiz, and the Millennium Falcon.
There are currently only 7 LEGO® Master Builders in the world.
- LEGO® Designers create the LEGO sets that you get to build with.
- LEGO® Master Model Builders create promotional displays at LEGOLAND Parks around the world.
- LEGO® Certified Professionals is a community-based program made up of adult LEGO® hobbyists who have turned their passion for building and creating with LEGO® bricks into a full-time or part-time profession.
What we found from our research is a complicated truth. There is no specific route to become a LEGO® Master Builder. Master builders and designers come from all different backgrounds and all walks of life. Some builders didn’t even play with LEGO® as a kid!
Does your entire family consist of LEGO® fanatics? For the last seven years, we have been working with the Father and son duo, Dan and Chris Steininger, as part of LEGO® Kidsfest. Chris has followed in his father Dan’s footsteps to become a father-son LEGO® Master Builder team! For the Steininger’s LEGO® really is a family affair.
The LEGO® Master Model Builder world has been a bit of a boys club but the field is transitioning into an increasingly girl-friendly environment. In June 2014, LEGOLAND Discovery Center Westchester hired their first female LEGO® Master Model Builder, Veronica Watson. She was recently in a NY Times article, featuring her LEGO version of Picasso’s Guernica.
Dana Brandsema, one of our awesome Play-Well staff, was a LEGO® Master Model Builder back in 2010 at San Diego’s LEGOLAND. Here is her story on how she became a model builder:
If your daughter loves to create unique creations out of LEGO® make sure to snap a lot of photos for her portfolio. One day she may be competing to become the next LEGO® Master Builder.
Not all of the LEGO® Master Builders spend their time making models for theme parks and discovery centers. Former corporate attorney, Nathan Sawaya left his job in New York City to become a full-time LEGO® artist.
His brick sculptures have been featured in countless museums and galleries around the world. He is best known for his Art of The Brick Exhibition, which CNN has called “one of the top global exhibitions to see.”
Many of the Master Builders we have come across have a background in the arts including fine art, cartoons, and sculpting. Erik Varszegi didn’t play with LEGO® as a child but he did love comic books and Star Wars:
The LEGO® Blockumentary Series is a great resource for parents & kids who want to learn what it’s like during at an average day working for LEGO®. Here is one of Dan Steininger.
If you would like to work at LEGOLAND as a LEGO® Master Model Builder, there is one rite of passage for everyone in this coveted job. The LEGO® Master Model Builder job interview is a live competition where LEGO® fanatics have to build against one another to earn the spot as the newest LEGO® Master Model Builder. Check out this video of a real LEGO® Master Model Builder build competition at the LEGOLAND Discovery Center in Arizona:
According to LEGOLAND staff, “passion and the agility of being creative” are key ingredients to becoming part of the LEGO® team. Here is an infographic from LEGOLAND on how to become a LEGO® Master Model Builder.
There are hundreds of jobs with LEGO® besides being a Master Builder and working at the LEGO® company is a great way to climb through the ranks. You can start as a gluer, a model builder, product design, transportation logistics, engineering, game design and more. LEGO® is always hiring enthusiastic, passionate people. They have offices and build centers all over the world and many times model builders will have the flexibility to relocate. Check out their online job listings for more information.
Want to know what it is like to work at The LEGO Group Headquarters? Check out this video and the Life At The LEGO Group YouTube Series here:
or the LEGO Documentary: The LEGO House
Here are additional tips on How To Become a LEGO Master Builder:
- Know what the job entails
- Hit the Bricks (Understand everything about LEGO including S.N.O.T.)
- Get the appropriate education
- Develop the right skills (Learn LEGO® Digital Designer & CAD)
Can I Get Paid To Play With LEGO® without becoming a LEGO® Master Builder?
You sure can. Another route to being able to play to build with LEGO® is to explore the world of AFOL: Adult Fans of LEGO®. An entire documentary called The LEGO® Brickumentary depicts the AFOL world and all the awesome people who are part of it.
Quite a few people in the AFOL community have been able to turn their passion of LEGO® into a part or full-time job playing with LEGO®. One of those amazing people, Alice Finch, featured in the LEGO Brickumentary and also on CNN. Check out her work below:
Alice may not have the title of a LEGO® Master Builder, but all of her work communicates otherwise. Alice recently published a bestselling book called the LEGO® Architecture Book:
You can also become a professional LEGO® Artist like the individuals featured below.
Ekow Nimako — Professional LEGO® Artist
Mariann Asanuma — Modeling Building Secrets
Mariann Asanuma, a former LEGO® Master Model Builder, makes models out of LEGO® materials through her organization.
Adam Ward — Professional LEGO® Freelance Artist
You can even turn the your passion for LEGO into a career simply highlighting other amazing builders. Joshua Harlan and Matthew Kay turned their love of LEGO® into a film career where they spotlight the world’s top LEGO® builders and their creations on their youtube channel: Beyond The Brick.
They recently visited Alice Finch’s house to see her 4 Million LEGO® piece collection.
There is even now a LEGO® Building Competition called LEGO Masters, where the top builders in the world compete on national TV:
You can also check out the LEGO Masters Australia show here.
When at Play-Well TEKnologies, we took great pride in having three of our staff on the first season of LEGO Masters USA:
Where Can I Meet These Awesome LEGO® builders and creators?
You can meet tremendous LEGO® builders and creators, just like the ones above, at the Adults Fans of LEGO® (AFOL) events that happen all over the country and see some of their incredible creations.
Here is an example of what occurs at these events:
LEGO®-Themed Conventions around the U.S.:
- BrickFair — New Jersey, Alabama, Virginia
- BrickWorld — Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kansas
- BrickCon — Washington
- Brick Cascade — Oregon
- Brick Fiesta — Texas
- BrickSlopes — Utah
- Bricks LA — Los Angeles, CA
- Bricks By The Bay — SF Bay Area, CA
- Bricks Universe — Tours All Over The United States
- Brick Fest Live — Tours All Over The United States
International LEGO Conventions:
- BrickCAN — Canada
- BrickFete — Toronto, Canada
- Fana’Briques — France
- BrickExpo — Australia
- Brickvention — Australia
- Lego fan weekend — Denmark
- Brick Live — United Kingdom
- LEGO World — Germany
In our travels, we have met:
- LEGO® Stop-Motion Animators
- Photographers of all things LEGO® with huge followings on Instagram
- Writers blogging about their love of LEGO®
- Designers who create custom LEGO® Minifigures
You can even make a living simply by opening LEGO® kits to talk about them. Check out the following example:
Do you think you are still too young to get paid to play with LEGO®?
Meet Evan, who started making videos of him playing with toys at 6. He now has been doing reviews about LEGO® sets and other toys on his channel EvanTubeHD for the past decade.
His little sister also has a channel called JillianTubeHD.
Teaching Through LEGO
You can even teach through LEGO. Here are some individuals and organizations doing great educational work with LEGO.
I worked for this organization for over 16 years and had some amazing adventures along the way. Here’s some of them:
It was an amazing ride for 16 years.
Here are other orgs and individuals doing great work:
Yoshito Isogawa — LEGO® Technic Master Model Builder
Help Teams Solve Problems Through LEGO
“The LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® Method is a technique that improves group problem-solving. By utilizing visual, auditory, and kinesthetic skills, the Method requires participants to learn and listen, and it provides all participants with a voice.”
You can check it out in action here:
You can even embrace your inner engineer and build contraptions out of LEGO and make a career showing people how to do it:
Want even more information about becoming a LEGO® Master Builder, artist or designer?
We have provided additional articles, interviews, and videos below. If you see a great article or video missing from this list, let us know and we will add it.
LEGO® Master Builder Articles:
- How To Become A LEGO® Artist
- How To Get A Real Job Designing & Building with LEGO® at LEGOLAND
- Inside Your Child’s Dream Job: Master Builder — Huffington Post
- College Student Pieces His Way To LEGO Mastery — NPR
- How To Become a LEGO® Master Model Builder — Brick Blogger
- Yes, you now can get a degree in LEGO® Construction
- 8 Tips To Help Your Child Become a LEGO® Master Builder — About Parenting
LEGO® Master Builder Interviews:
- 5 Questions with a 5-Year-Old: LEGO® Master Builders Jason Miller & Chris Steininger — Geek Dad
- Exit Interview: I Played With LEGO® For A Living
- LEGO® Master Builder Interview: Paul Chrzan — Yahoo Movies
LEGO® Master Builder Videos:
- 3 Million LEGO® Bricks in One Room — WIRED
- Tips To Become A LEGO® Master Builder
- Meet Nathan Sawaya, LEGO® Brick Artist and Master Model Builder
- LEGO® Insider’s Master Model Building Secrets
Great Links That Are All Things LEGO®
- The Brothers Brick (Great blog highlighting phenomenal LEGO® artists and designers)
- JK Brickworks Creations Instructions (JK Brickworks creations with instructions on how to build them)
- LEGO Technic — Tora No Maki (Yoshito Isogawa’s first book with so many inventive LEGO® Technic creations)
- LDraw (LEGOCad)
- Bricklink (The EBay of LEGO)
- LEGO Ideas (Submit An Idea That Could Become A LEGO Set)
- LEGO Idea Conference (A conference hosted by LEGO to empower children to become creative, engaged, lifelong learners)
