Primarily, design technicians design products. They work as part of an engineering team that designs and executes many different types of projects. Design technicians are responsible for creating designs for electrical or mechanical products or large structures like buildings, highways, and bridges. Asides from that, they consult the project managers and the sales team to implement project scope and transfer information to blueprints. Also, they may prepare presentations and submit proposals. Their duties also include conducting research and analysis, creating cost estimates, designing models, and reviewing reports. Additionally, they must adhere to the company's policies and regulations.
Many employers seek candidates with an associate's degree in an engineering field. Candidates must have three to five years of related work experience. You must possess communication and interpersonal skills and you must be familiar with computer-aided design software. Design technicians earn an average salary of $50,529 annually. This varies between $36,000 and $71,000.
What is a Design Technician?
What Does a Design Technician Do
There are certain skills that many design technicians 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 reading skills, writing skills and problem-solving skills.
How To Become a Design Technician
If you're interested in becoming a design technician, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 41.0% of design technicians have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 4.3% of design technicians have master's degrees. Even though some design technicians have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Design Technician Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a design technician can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as computer aided design designer, progress to a title such as designer and then eventually end up with the title engineering manager.
Average Salary for a Design Technician
What Am I Worth?
States With The Most Design Technician Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active design technician jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where design technicians earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Number Of Design Technician Jobs By State
| Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 3,693 | $79,954 |
| 2 | Texas | 1,996 | $44,245 |
| 3 | Florida | 1,815 | $49,087 |
| 4 | New York | 1,515 | $67,425 |
| 5 | Illinois | 1,269 | $62,342 |
| 6 | Georgia | 1,238 | $45,212 |
| 7 | North Carolina | 1,193 | $58,636 |
| 8 | Massachusetts | 1,154 | $83,485 |
| 9 | Pennsylvania | 1,007 | $67,059 |
| 10 | Michigan | 955 | $63,240 |
| 11 | Virginia | 935 | $58,016 |
| 12 | Ohio | 889 | $62,321 |
| 13 | New Jersey | 821 | $88,043 |
| 14 | Minnesota | 816 | $55,221 |
| 15 | Washington | 768 | $79,435 |
| 16 | Arizona | 754 | $53,342 |
| 17 | Colorado | 716 | $48,708 |
| 18 | Maryland | 697 | $69,868 |
| 19 | Missouri | 647 | $46,978 |
| 20 | Wisconsin | 635 | $51,069 |
| 21 | Indiana | 630 | $50,820 |
| 22 | Oregon | 602 | $71,492 |
| 23 | Tennessee | 530 | $42,801 |
| 24 | South Carolina | 516 | $44,727 |
| 25 | Alabama | 469 | $54,371 |
| 26 | Iowa | 448 | $53,901 |
| 27 | Connecticut | 433 | $77,815 |
| 28 | Utah | 351 | $58,975 |
| 29 | Kentucky | 338 | $48,785 |
| 30 | Kansas | 299 | $45,578 |
| 31 | Oklahoma | 275 | $57,736 |
| 32 | Louisiana | 232 | $57,974 |
| 33 | Maine | 231 | $67,313 |
| 34 | Nebraska | 227 | $39,841 |
| 35 | Arkansas | 209 | $47,594 |
| 36 | Nevada | 203 | $54,277 |
| 37 | New Mexico | 197 | $51,758 |
| 38 | Mississippi | 196 | $56,378 |
| 39 | New Hampshire | 185 | $76,197 |
| 40 | Alaska | 147 | $72,147 |
| 41 | Idaho | 146 | $65,770 |
| 42 | West Virginia | 144 | $62,981 |
| 43 | Delaware | 138 | $60,325 |
| 44 | Montana | 123 | $39,846 |
| 45 | Rhode Island | 119 | $62,475 |
| 46 | North Dakota | 113 | $51,377 |
| 47 | Vermont | 103 | $78,847 |
| 48 | South Dakota | 87 | $44,760 |
| 49 | Hawaii | 86 | $59,087 |
| 50 | Wyoming | 64 | $43,627 |
Top Colleges for Design Technicians
1. Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
2. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
3. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
4. Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN • Private
5. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
6. SUNY College of Technology at Alfred
Alfred, NY • Private
7. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
8. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
9. Wentworth Institute of Technology
Boston, MA • Private
10. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Private
Top Skills For a Design Technician
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, 7.9% of design technicians listed revit on their resume, but soft skills such as reading skills and writing skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Design Technician Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Design Technician templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Design Technician resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Design Technician Demographics
Design Technician Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among design technicians, 28.2% of them are women, while 71.8% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among design technicians is White, which makes up 63.5% of all design technicians.
- The most common foreign language among design technicians is Spanish at 47.4%.
Work Experience Programs For Design Technicians
Virtual work experience programs replicate work at top companies and help you gain the skills to be successful when applying and working there. In only a few hours, learn the relevant tools necessary to complete a typical work day at that company. Virtual work experience programs are 100% free, open-access, and self-paced. No experience or application is required!
Company: John Holland Australia
Cost: Free
Duration: 5-6 hours
Company: Walmart India
Cost: Free
Duration: 3.5-4 hours
Company: Accenture North America
Cost: Free
Duration: 5-6 hours
Company: Accenture North America
Cost: Free
Duration: 4 hours
Company: Electronic Arts
Cost: Free
Duration: 4-6 hours
Company: Girls Who Code
Cost: Free
Duration: 5-6 hours
Online Courses For Design Technician That You May Like
Create 3D architectural models & achieve stunning design results in Blender - Interior 3D Scenes all inside Blender...
Learn how to design a professional quality website in Photoshop CC...
Design & Create Architectural Animations in Blender - 3D Graphics in Blender - Full project - 3D Modeling in Blender 3...
Best States For a Design Technician
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a design technician. The best states for people in this position are New Jersey, Massachusetts, California, and Washington. Design technicians make the most in New Jersey with an average salary of $88,043. Whereas in Massachusetts and California, they would average $83,485 and $79,954, respectively. While design technicians would only make an average of $79,435 in Washington, 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. Massachusetts
$83,485
Avg. Salary
2. Vermont
$78,847
Avg. Salary
3. Connecticut
$77,815
Avg. Salary
How Do Design Technician Rate Their Jobs?
Top Design Technician Employers
Most Common Employers For Design Technician
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amazon | $121,334 | $58.33 | 42 |
| 2 | AIG | $115,632 | $55.59 | 67 |
| 3 | Macy's | $115,129 | $55.35 | 20 |
| 4 | Caterpillar | $107,398 | $51.63 | 23 |
| 5 | Ralph Lauren | $102,110 | $49.09 | 35 |
| 6 | Boeing | $101,276 | $48.69 | 314 |
| 7 | Cummins | $95,258 | $45.80 | 31 |
| 8 | Vivint Solar | $91,039 | $43.77 | 34 |
| 9 | Tennessee Valley Authority | $89,799 | $43.17 | 18 |
| 10 | Jacobs Engineering Group | $86,834 | $41.75 | 18 |
Design Technician Videos
Becoming a Design Technician FAQs
How Long Does It Take To Become An It Technician?
It takes as little as 6 months to become an IT technician. While many IT technicians have 4-year degrees and some have associate degrees in computer science or networking, a large majority report being "self-taught." Almost half of IT technicians have gotten to be where they are through certifications and online courses.
How Much Do Cad Technicians Make?
CAD technicians make $47,000 a year, on average ($22.63 an hour). CAD technicians just starting can expect to make around $38,000 a year, while a CAD technician scientist with six or more years of experience averages $56,000 a year.
How Much Do Design Techs Make?
Design techs make $54,000 a year, on average ($26.41 an hour). Design techs just starting can expect to make around $38,000 a year. In contrast, a senior design tech with ten or more years of experience averages $77,000 a year. Other factors such as location and industry can also impact how much a design tech can earn.
How Much Do Techs Make A Year?
Techs make $44,588 a year, on average. However, there is a lot of variability in how much tech makes depending on the industry or type of tech (e.g., maintenance, IT) and location.
The range in a tech's yearly salary, for instance, can range from $28,000 to $70,000 a year. A more senior-level position as a technician can earn you upwards of $60,000 a year.
What Qualifications Do You Need To Be A Design Engineer?
The qualifications needed to be a design engineer are a college degree and practical experience using your craft. Becoming a design engineer requires hard work, and the discipline is competitive, so it is valuable to have relevant experience to showcase your ability.