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The differences between associate creative directors and executive creative directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both an associate creative director and an executive creative director. Additionally, an executive creative director has an average salary of $162,850, which is higher than the $141,099 average annual salary of an associate creative director.
The top three skills for an associate creative director include graphic design, digital marketing and creative concepts. The most important skills for an executive creative director are sketch, graphic design, and creative direction.
| Associate Creative Director | Executive Creative Director | |
| Yearly salary | $141,099 | $162,850 |
| Hourly rate | $67.84 | $78.29 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 8,945 | 72,952 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 83% | Bachelor's Degree, 80% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
An associate creative director helps the creative director in creating design concepts and directions for multiple design projects, marketing materials, and campaigns. Other tasks include researching marketing trends and strategies and overseeing multiple design projects. The skills that an associate creative director should possess to accomplish his/her or her responsibilities include good interpersonal skills and knowledge of social media platforms and trends. The requirements to qualify for the job including possessing a degree in advertising, fine arts, or related fields and experience in supervising staff.
An executive creative director is primarily in charge of directing and overseeing creative projects and campaigns. They manage a company's creative team that typically consist of writers, graphic designers, and content specialists. As an executive creative director, it is their duty to set goals and timelines, understand the client or company's needs, conceptualize plans and insights, control the budget, and develop strategies to optimize operations and outcomes. Moreover, they monitor the progress of all projects and campaigns, resolving issues and concerns should there be any.
Associate creative directors and executive creative directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Associate Creative Director | Executive Creative Director | |
| Average salary | $141,099 | $162,850 |
| Salary range | Between $87,000 And $226,000 | Between $88,000 And $300,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | California | New York |
| Best paying company | The Howard Hughes | Estée Lauder |
| Best paying industry | Media | - |
There are a few differences between an associate creative director and an executive creative director in terms of educational background:
| Associate Creative Director | Executive Creative Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 83% | Bachelor's Degree, 80% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | Harvard University | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between associate creative directors' and executive creative directors' demographics:
| Associate Creative Director | Executive Creative Director | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 68.6% Female, 31.4% | Male, 70.6% Female, 29.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 7.7% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 7.8% White, 66.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |