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The differences between custom designers and assistant designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a custom designer and an assistant designer. Additionally, a custom designer has an average salary of $59,230, which is higher than the $52,475 average annual salary of an assistant designer.
The top three skills for a custom designer include sketch, customer orders and customer service. The most important skills for an assistant designer are sketch, tech packs, and adobe illustrator.
| Custom Designer | Assistant Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $59,230 | $52,475 |
| Hourly rate | $28.48 | $25.23 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 45,123 | 47,598 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A custom designer's duties depend on their line of work or industry of employment. They are typically working together with a company's design and creative team where the tasks include meeting with clients to identify their preferences and needs, gathering and analyzing data to determine the best procedures, conceptualizing plans, drafting designs, and producing samples or prototypes for client approval. Furthermore, as a custom designer, it is essential to maintain an active communication line with the creative and production team to ensure the accuracy and quality of the end product.
Assistant designers act as administrative support to senior designers in creating innovative designs by negotiating with the vendors about the prices of decoration materials. They are keen and up-to-date to the latest fashion and trends by conducting surveys and research. They are exceptionally creative and innovative and have excellent IT skills as they use illustration, typography, and photography layouts in the design process. However, being an assistant designer, career development relies on his/her /her specialism, reputation, and experience depending on how its opportunities are influenced by the company he/she works for.
Custom designers and assistant designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Custom Designer | Assistant Designer | |
| Average salary | $59,230 | $52,475 |
| Salary range | Between $42,000 And $81,000 | Between $37,000 And $73,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | General Motors | PVH |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Construction |
There are a few differences between a custom designer and an assistant designer in terms of educational background:
| Custom Designer | Assistant Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between custom designers' and assistant designers' demographics:
| Custom Designer | Assistant Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 44.4% Female, 55.6% | Male, 28.3% Female, 71.7% |
| 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% |