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The differences between assistant technical designers and production artists 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 production artist. Additionally, a production artist has an average salary of $61,870, 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 production artist are graphic design, adobe photoshop, and adobe creative suite.
| Assistant Technical Designer | Production Artist | |
| Yearly salary | $55,660 | $61,870 |
| Hourly rate | $26.76 | $29.75 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 115,280 | 59,103 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| 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.
A production artist is responsible for managing digital content, meeting clients' standard specifications and requests for successful project completion. Production artists must have computer proficiency, especially on utilizing various software tools and applications to create illustrations and layouts. They also work closely with the creative team, cooperating in brainstorming sessions to ensure the consistency for each assigned task. A production artist should be keen on details, adjusting outputs as needed to maintain the highest quality for the actual presentation.
Assistant technical designers and production artists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Assistant Technical Designer | Production Artist | |
| Average salary | $55,660 | $61,870 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $88,000 | Between $40,000 And $94,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | Ralph Lauren | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | - |
There are a few differences between an assistant technical designer and a production artist in terms of educational background:
| Assistant Technical Designer | Production Artist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| 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 production artists' demographics:
| Assistant Technical Designer | Production Artist | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 15.0% Female, 85.0% | Male, 57.2% Female, 42.8% |
| 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% |