Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between assistant technical designers and freelance designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both an assistant technical designer and a freelance designer. Additionally, a freelance designer has an average salary of $57,260, which is higher than the $55,660 average annual salary of an assistant technical designer.
The top three skills for an assistant technical designer include sketch, tech packs and apparel. The most important skills for a freelance designer are sketch, CSS, and HTML.
| Assistant Technical Designer | Freelance Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $55,660 | $57,260 |
| Hourly rate | $26.76 | $27.53 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 115,280 | 45,914 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
An assistant technical designer primarily performs support tasks to assist technical designers in completing various projects. They are usually responsible for preparing and processing documents, conducting research and analyses, coordinating with different teams, organizing documents, and maintaining records. Moreover, they work together with technical designers in developing plans and strategies, creating prototypes and assessments, identifying issues and concerns, coordinating with engineers, and subjecting designs into various tests to ensure it adheres to the company's standards and policies.
Freelance designers are creative, independent contractors who create visual and graphic designs for their clients. They develop text and illustrated versions of brands, messages, and communications with strong visible influence with their clients. Typical activities include networking, seeking projects, and negotiating prices to their customers. They manage client proposals, develop concepts, present solutions, and ensure the timely completion of projects. Freelance visual and graphic designers are creative, self-motivated as well as result and deadline oriented.
Assistant technical designers and freelance designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Assistant Technical Designer | Freelance Designer | |
| Average salary | $55,660 | $57,260 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $88,000 | Between $39,000 And $83,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | - |
| Highest paying state | Washington | - |
| Best paying company | Ralph Lauren | - |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | - |
There are a few differences between an assistant technical designer and a freelance designer in terms of educational background:
| Assistant Technical Designer | Freelance Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between assistant technical designers' and freelance designers' demographics:
| Assistant Technical Designer | Freelance Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 15.0% Female, 85.0% | Male, 48.0% Female, 52.0% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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 | 13% | 13% |