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The differences between associate designers and 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 associate designer and a designer. Additionally, a designer has an average salary of $66,347, which is higher than the $56,770 average annual salary of an associate designer.
The top three skills for an associate designer include sketch, CAD and customer service. The most important skills for a designer are sketch, customer service, and graphic design.
| Associate Designer | Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $56,770 | $66,347 |
| Hourly rate | $27.29 | $31.90 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 47,571 | 52,433 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
An Associate Designer helps in developing sketches on paper and in graphic design software. They usually are supervised by the junior staff and interns.
A designer is someone who creates a master plan of the look or workings of something before it will be made. It could be tangible or intangible objects, products, procedures, laws, events, games, graphics, services, and even experiences. Designers are creative thinkers with a great eye to configure the skeletal and structural properties of the targeted output. They work in several fields, such as fashion, architecture, web graphics, and user experience. In spite of the variety of professionals in the design industry, all of them are artistic, passionate, inspiring, and emotionally connected to their projects and brands.
Associate designers and designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Associate Designer | Designer | |
| Average salary | $56,770 | $66,347 |
| Salary range | Between $40,000 And $80,000 | Between $45,000 And $97,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | Apple | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Technology |
There are a few differences between an associate designer and a designer in terms of educational background:
| Associate Designer | Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between associate designers' and designers' demographics:
| Associate Designer | Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 34.8% Female, 65.2% | Male, 56.9% Female, 43.1% |
| 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% |