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The differences between apparel designers and senior designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become an apparel designer, becoming a senior designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a senior designer has an average salary of $102,058, which is higher than the $65,467 average annual salary of an apparel designer.
The top three skills for an apparel designer include adobe illustrator, tech packs and sketch. The most important skills for a senior designer are sketch, graphic design, and human centered design.
| Apparel Designer | Senior Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $65,467 | $102,058 |
| Hourly rate | $31.47 | $49.07 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 46,436 | 47,503 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 1 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 37 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 12 |
Apparel designers, also known as clothing or fashion designers, conceptualize and produce items of clothing. They frequently specialize in one type of design, like active, casual, or evening wear. Typical duties include monitoring current fashion trends and forecast future ones, sketching new designs, choosing patterns and fabrics to utilize in garments, and supervising production. They may present items to creative directors, clients, or retailers to determine if the garments are to be conventionally designed or mass-produced.
Senior designers are typically in charge of realizing design solutions that adhere to the business goals and marketing strategies of an organization. They should be comfortable managing graphics designers and making decisions. They must have extensive knowledge of styles, layout techniques, and graphic design while also managing projects and people effectively. Senior designers have a variety of duties, which include delegating tasks to junior designers, maintaining high-quality standards, and collaborating to improve digital creativity standards.
Apparel designers and senior designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Apparel Designer | Senior Designer | |
| Average salary | $65,467 | $102,058 |
| Salary range | Between $40,000 And $105,000 | Between $72,000 And $143,000 |
| Highest paying City | Richmond, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | Washington |
| Best paying company | Fanatics | Lyft |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Media |
There are a few differences between an apparel designer and a senior designer in terms of educational background:
| Apparel Designer | Senior Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | Cornell University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between apparel designers' and senior designers' demographics:
| Apparel Designer | Senior Designer | |
| Average age | 37 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 32.8% Female, 67.2% | Male, 71.0% Female, 29.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.3% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 11.9% Asian, 11.6% White, 63.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 10.4% White, 70.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 18% | 13% |