Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Job outlook for assistant technical designers in the United States
Are assistant technical designer jobs in demand?
Assistant technical designer job and salary trends over time
Assistant technical designer jobs over time
Assistant technical designer job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 212 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 209 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 224 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 226 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 225 | 0.00% |
Average assistant technical designer salary over time
Assistant technical designer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $55,660 | $26.76 | +2.4% |
| 2024 | $54,336 | $26.12 | +3.5% |
| 2023 | $52,521 | $25.25 | +3.4% |
| 2022 | $50,780 | $24.41 | +2.2% |
| 2021 | $49,675 | $23.88 | +1.6% |
Assistant technical designer jobs by state
Most common states for assistant technical designers
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 203 | 29% |
| 2 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 1,234 | 22% |
| 3 | Delaware | 961,939 | 210 | 22% |
| 4 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 165 | 22% |
| 5 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 1,132 | 20% |
| 6 | Alaska | 739,795 | 146 | 20% |
| 7 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 364 | 19% |
| 8 | Georgia | 10,429,379 | 1,832 | 18% |
| 9 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 154 | 18% |
| 10 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 2,180 | 17% |
| 11 | Kansas | 2,913,123 | 481 | 17% |
| 12 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 580 | 16% |
| 13 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 208 | 16% |
| 14 | New York | 19,849,399 | 2,913 | 15% |
| 15 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 1,918 | 15% |
| 16 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 883 | 15% |
| 17 | New Mexico | 2,088,070 | 315 | 15% |
| 18 | Missouri | 6,113,532 | 831 | 14% |
| 19 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 451 | 14% |
| 20 | Michigan | 9,962,311 | 1,307 | 13% |
Most common cities for assistant technical designers
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prescott | 1 | 2% | $57,791 |
| 2 | Columbus | 1 | 0% | $49,228 |
Assistant Technical Designer job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of assistant technical designer experts
Louisiana State University and A&M College
Merrimack College
Highline College
Belmont University
Eastern Illinois University
Mansfield University of Pennsylvania
What general advice would you give to an Assistant Technical Designer?
Dr. Mary Elliott: Thank you so much. We will be sure to feature your response in the article and send a draft over for your review before we promote it.
What Assistant Technical Designer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Mary Elliott: The fashion industry is one of the largest industries in the world. According to McKinsey & Company, if the fashion industry were a country measuring GDP, it would be the 7th largest economy in the world. The fashion industry encompasses all of the processes needed to take raw product to finished textiles and then to the finished product ready for purchasing by the consumer. This diverse, fast-paced, constantly changing industry is generally divided into two categories for preparation purposes: the creative side and the business side.
What will help Assistant Technical Designers increase their earning potential?
Nancy Wynn: There are many different ways to intersect the creative field of graphic design or Design. You can enter utilizing production skills centered on working with an Art Director-you produce their designs with various handwork and software platforms. If you enter as a junior graphic designer-you collaborate with an Art Director and brainstorm concepts / designs for projects. You may intersect working in the service industry where you help customers produce their designs. Day-to-day tasks can be specific if you work at a very large company, or more comprehensive if you work at a smaller agency. They can range from meetings with Art Directors or marketing people; collaboration with fellow designers or other team members based on the project components; brainstorming, research, and ideation for projects; learning new technology by producing designs and client presentations; meetings with focus groups or testing of projects; and finally debrief sessions on projects results.
What soft skills should all Assistant Technical Designers possess?
Diana Boyd: -Collaboration/Teamwork
-Interpersonal
-Reliability
-Ethical behavior
-Self-starter
Doug Regen
Professor of PracticeBelmont University
Graphic Design Department
What skills will help Assistant Technical Designers earn the most?
Doug Regen: Brilliant Ideas are executed flawlessly. Team player. Ability to motivate and lead others. Strong communicator and presentation skills.
Samantha Osborne
Assistant Professor of Graphic Design, Owner, Samantha Osborne DesignEastern Illinois University
Art + Design
What skills stand out on Assistant Technical Designer resumes?
Samantha Osborne: Soft skills are equally important to hard skills. Graphic designers are visual communicators. Visual communication is a universal learned skill, vs. a linguistic capability. This means that graphic designers must learn to recognize and effectively utilize mood and tone in their own visual compositions in regard to color theory and psychology, gestalt principles, and font or lettering design. Essentially a well-skilled graphic designer becomes part psychologist in working through design problems and deciphering client direction, part problem-solver in developing an effective solution to the design problem, and part artist in bringing astonishing and original visual communication and graphics to reach a solution.
What soft skills should all Assistant Technical Designers possess?
Samantha Osborne: Three soft skills stand out most: an ability to see the big picture, an ability to "read" people, and an ability to make a convincing argument for your design solution(s).
i. An ability to see big picture: there are an infinite number of details in graphic design, whether you work in website design on the front or back end, or in print media with physical outputs. It's easy to get caught up on the details, especially when clients are making specific demands about things such as paper type. A skilled designer must be able to see beyond the details and look at the big picture for an effective design solution. For example, a client may be asking for an invitation design for an up-coming event. A skilled designer will ask questions and dig in, eventually uncovering that perhaps for a successful event, the client also needs a splash page and social media, either in place of or in addition to an invitation. A skilled designer addresses design problems holistically, rather than minutely.
ii. An ability to "read" people: designers are trained in art-specific vocabulary. Hue, saturation, pixels, gestalt...most non-art folks don't use or speak that language. When clients are describing their goals, they aren't using art-vocabulary. It's a designer's job to translate what the client is saying into an advanced and effective creative solution. They must be able to speak and understand the language of non-creative folks, as well as the language of the broader creative industry.
iii. An ability to make a convincing argument for your design solution(s): many young and inexperienced designer tend to get their hearts broken when a client smashes one of their [very well thought-out] ideas. Rather than rolling over, a designer must learn to navigate how best to build support for their idea(s). That might mean in some instances you work more fluidly with the client throughout the design process, so that they feel they have ownership in the development of the solution. In other instances it might mean that the designer is presenting options, rather than a single solution, so that the client feels empowered to make choices throughout the design process. And in some instances, it might be a matter of better explaining and presenting your idea to a client; perhaps the designer needs to push back more, perhaps they need to provide more research as to why their solution is best, or maybe they simply need to present it with more excitement and enthusiasm.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Assistant Technical Designers?
Michelle Lockwood: Oh, yes! There will be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on graduates, and all of us. It has already changed so much about how we interact, do business, socialize, learn, love, and just plain live. There is no way that it could not impact the future of this field, or any area, in my opinion. I think the job market will look very different in the months and years to come. We will adapt, and there will be more opportunities for creativity, more problems to solve, and more chances to engage and inform. But those practicing will need to remain flexible, adapt gracefully to changing circumstances, and find pockets where they can solve problems, and use their unique skillset to illuminate, inform, and delight -- just as we have always done -- only differently.