1. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
In-State Tuition
$15,262
Enrollment
30,079
Your boss sees a new product launched by the company and finds it very satisfying, but does he/she know who designed it? It is you, the design manager. Besides conducting successful meetings with new clients, you have to use your artistic nature to bring smart innovations to the market. No one is more creative and innovative than the design manager in the company. You are the root cause of the success of any new project. On average, you can earn up to $46.72 per hour, while working full office hours.
Usually, a bachelor's degree is a must for design managers. Suppose you can show some creativity to a company. In that case, you are good to go as you'll give lots of presentations to provide insight into your ideas. It is essential for you to have a firm grip on various design and presentation software.
For any company, clients are their most valuable assets. You can make healthy relationships between the company and the clients and prove yourself to be very beneficial for the company. So many new customers can be made, courtesy of your new ideas implemented in the products. Behind every successful product, there is the talented hand of the design manager. You have the capability to take your company to new heights of success.
There are certain skills that many design managers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed math skills, organizational skills and detail oriented.
If you're interested in becoming a design manager, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 62.5% of design managers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 10.0% of design managers have master's degrees. Even though most design managers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of project manager you might progress to a role such as director of construction eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title director of construction.
What Am I Worth?
The role of a design manager includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general design manager responsibilities:
There are several types of design manager, including:
An engineering manager leads a team of engineers and supervises their work, developing solutions to better technology. Collaborating with scientists and technicians, he/she or she will coordinate machine design, civil project plans, production, and quality control.
Engineering managers typically work on a project basis and are responsible for successful implementation. They create project budgets and make sure the work flows smoothlyl delegating tasks, hiring, and training employees for their team, if they see fit. They create progress reports on the work as well.
The work of engineers affects our lives in every possible area. From Ferris wheels to space shuttles, from interactive television to audiovisual special effects, comfy shoes, and waterslides, engineers were always behind the magic, supervised by an engineering manager.
Project Engineering Managers are responsible for managing and directing the people working on specific projects such as drafters, design engineers, and technical engineers. He/She develops, implements, and evaluates complex designs. He/She also supervises product construction and testing to ensure project completion effectively and efficiently. Apart from this, he/she reviews and verifies changes that would affect the budget, schedule, or scope of a project.
Employers often require a bachelor's degree in engineering or a related field for this job. Some even prefer certification as a licensed professional engineer. Additionally, they require at least three years of work experience in a related field. Applicants must be conversant with engineering principles and methods and must be proficient in engineering software like AutoCAD. Also, they must possess communication, technical writing, problem-solving, project management, and critical thinking skills. Applicants must know the applicable government laws and regulations. The salary of a Project Engineering Manager ranges from $124,034 to $160,392, with an average gross salary of $142,581.
Engineering directors are tasked with running all the engineering activities and projects within an organization. They ensure their alignment with the set policies and objectives of the organization. They consult the management, production, and marketing staff to define the requirements and procedures for a project. Similarly, they examine the technology, organizational resources, and market demand to devise procedures for the project. Besides that, they monitor work schedules and cash flows, including working with different teams. Also, they oversee the installation, testing, operation, maintenance, and repair of facilities and equipment.
To become an engineering director, you need a minimum of a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, or a related discipline. You need eight or more years of relevant work experience. You must possess communication, critical thinking, analytical, and organization skills. These directors earn $193,118 on average annually. Their salary is between $143,000 and $261,000.
Mouse over a state to see the number of active design manager jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where design managers earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
---|---|---|---|
1 | California | 4,618 | $129,024 |
2 | Texas | 1,758 | $106,131 |
3 | New York | 1,244 | $98,521 |
4 | Washington | 1,038 | $116,596 |
5 | Florida | 952 | $77,517 |
6 | Massachusetts | 944 | $104,715 |
7 | Virginia | 846 | $93,447 |
8 | Illinois | 830 | $95,065 |
9 | Pennsylvania | 752 | $101,186 |
10 | North Carolina | 696 | $92,439 |
11 | Georgia | 680 | $89,808 |
12 | Michigan | 667 | $100,678 |
13 | Ohio | 632 | $94,024 |
14 | Oregon | 587 | $106,349 |
15 | Minnesota | 551 | $89,766 |
16 | Arizona | 518 | $117,883 |
17 | Colorado | 510 | $81,374 |
18 | Maryland | 505 | $95,735 |
19 | New Jersey | 483 | $104,273 |
20 | Wisconsin | 407 | $96,569 |
21 | Indiana | 395 | $86,207 |
22 | Missouri | 320 | $82,971 |
23 | Connecticut | 301 | $95,326 |
24 | Tennessee | 289 | $85,509 |
25 | Utah | 281 | $87,431 |
26 | Alabama | 253 | $91,877 |
27 | South Carolina | 246 | $91,552 |
28 | Iowa | 225 | $85,094 |
29 | Kansas | 191 | $78,548 |
30 | Kentucky | 189 | $88,361 |
31 | New Hampshire | 135 | $114,038 |
32 | Nevada | 123 | $106,536 |
33 | Idaho | 122 | $102,039 |
34 | Arkansas | 119 | $77,055 |
35 | Oklahoma | 117 | $82,444 |
36 | Nebraska | 114 | $84,830 |
37 | New Mexico | 105 | $83,277 |
38 | Louisiana | 101 | $107,218 |
39 | Delaware | 98 | $93,750 |
40 | Maine | 93 | $91,268 |
41 | Rhode Island | 92 | $99,029 |
42 | Montana | 81 | $95,871 |
43 | West Virginia | 76 | $89,203 |
44 | Mississippi | 72 | $77,859 |
45 | Vermont | 70 | $85,527 |
46 | North Dakota | 58 | $86,027 |
47 | Alaska | 56 | $94,677 |
48 | Hawaii | 55 | $75,780 |
49 | South Dakota | 53 | $77,402 |
50 | Wyoming | 45 | $76,676 |
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
In-State Tuition
$15,262
Enrollment
30,079
Atlanta, GA • Private
In-State Tuition
$12,424
Enrollment
15,201
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
Ithaca, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,188
Enrollment
15,105
Seattle, WA • Private
In-State Tuition
$11,207
Enrollment
30,905
University Park, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$18,454
Enrollment
40,108
Evanston, IL • Private
In-State Tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
Austin, TX • Private
In-State Tuition
$10,610
Enrollment
40,329
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,465
Enrollment
6,483
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 7.8% of design managers listed sketch on their resume, but soft skills such as math skills and organizational skills are important as well.
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Design Manager templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Design Manager resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
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Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a design manager. The best states for people in this position are California, Arizona, Washington, and New Hampshire. Design managers make the most in California with an average salary of $129,024. Whereas in Arizona and Washington, they would average $117,883 and $116,596, respectively. While design managers would only make an average of $114,038 in New Hampshire, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. California
$129,024
Avg. Salary
2. Washington
$116,596
Avg. Salary
3. Arizona
$117,883
Avg. Salary
We've made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ design managers and discovered their number of design manager opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that Salesforce was the best, especially with an average salary of $114,678. European Wax Center follows up with an average salary of $92,955, and then comes Texas Instruments with an average of $155,597. In addition, we know most people would rather work from home. So instead of having to change careers, we identified the best employers for remote work as a design manager. The employers include Deloitte, CDM Smith, and General Motors
Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Meta | $200,744 | $96.51 | 43 |
2 | Apple | $182,598 | $87.79 | 62 |
3 | Texas Instruments | $155,597 | $74.81 | 81 |
4 | Micron Technology | $153,251 | $73.68 | 19 |
5 | Starbucks | $148,416 | $71.35 | 42 |
6 | Intel | $144,463 | $69.45 | 31 |
7 | Walmart | $142,003 | $68.27 | 19 |
8 | Workiva | $132,946 | $63.92 | 18 |
9 | Motorola Solutions | $125,727 | $60.45 | 18 |
10 | AT&T | $122,211 | $58.76 | 18 |