Design teacher vs design director

The differences between design teachers and design directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a design teacher, becoming a design director takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a design director has an average salary of $132,823, which is higher than the $52,907 average annual salary of a design teacher.

The top three skills for a design teacher include classroom management, graphic design and photography. The most important skills for a design director are sketch, human centered design, and product design.

Design teacher vs design director overview

	Design Teacher	Design Director
Yearly salary	$52,907	$132,823
Hourly rate	$25.44	$63.86
Growth rate	5%	3%
Number of jobs	89,152	48,337
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Average age	43	38
Years of experience	2	12

Design teacher vs design director salary

Design teachers and design directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Design Teacher	Design Director
Average salary	$52,907	$132,823
Salary range	Between $38,000 And $71,000	Between $82,000 And $212,000
Highest paying City	-	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	Proenza Schouler
Best paying industry	-	Manufacturing

Differences between design teacher and design director education

There are a few differences between a design teacher and a design director in terms of educational background:

	Design Teacher	Design Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Most common major	Graphic Design	Graphic Design
Most common college	Harvard University	University of Pennsylvania

Design teacher vs design director demographics

Here are the differences between design teachers' and design directors' demographics:

	Design Teacher	Design Director
Average age	43	38
Gender ratio	Male, 44.9% Female, 55.1%	Male, 60.0% Female, 40.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.2% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.9% Asian, 3.6% White, 72.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	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	12%	13%

Differences between design teacher and design director duties and responsibilities

Design teacher example responsibilities.

Lead debates with advance students on topics including globalization, economics, and political history.
Create a mobile-camera obscura for teaching photography without needing a classroom.
Develop television production class curriculum incorporating technology.
Provide students with technical assistance using Berthold's typesetting computer

Design director example responsibilities.

Delegate and manage technical and cad team; fittings; and associate designers.
Manage and grow brand s social media outlets; Facebook, twitter and Instagram.
Manage product backlog and lead agile team in shipping SaaS products from ideation to delivery.
Design, manage, and execute development of all products, from concept sketch through production.
Manage the creation and implementation of new design tools, and modifications to the RF design specifications.
Manage REVIT models for various BIM projects including updating, cleaning, and linking arch models for MEP design.

Design teacher vs design director skills

Common design teacher skills

Classroom Management, 19%
Graphic Design, 16%
Photography, 14%
Curriculum Development, 11%
Web Design, 10%
Auto CAD, 4%

Common design director skills

Sketch, 12%
Human Centered Design, 8%
Product Design, 6%
User Experience, 5%
Architecture, 5%
UI, 4%

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Design Teacher
Design Teacher vs Design Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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