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The differences between designers and user experience 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 designer and a user experience designer. Additionally, a user experience designer has an average salary of $91,159, which is higher than the $66,347 average annual salary of a designer.
The top three skills for a designer include sketch, customer service and graphic design. The most important skills for a user experience designer are sketch, UI, and user research.
| Designer | User Experience Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $66,347 | $91,159 |
| Hourly rate | $31.90 | $43.83 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 52,433 | 52,582 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
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.
A User Experience (UX) designer is an individual who measures and optimizes applications to improve the experience of end-users. His/Her or her duties and responsibilities include considering a design's human-computer interaction element, defining interaction models, and working with creative directors and designers. The key skills for UX designers include strong mathematical and problem-solving skills and excellent information technology and programming skills. Having a bachelor's degree in a design or computing-related subject is an advantage to qualify for the UX designer position.
Designers and user experience designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Designer | User Experience Designer | |
| Average salary | $66,347 | $91,159 |
| Salary range | Between $45,000 And $97,000 | Between $65,000 And $127,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | San Bruno, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | Meta | BitGo |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a designer and a user experience designer in terms of educational background:
| Designer | User Experience Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between designers' and user experience designers' demographics:
| Designer | User Experience Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 56.9% Female, 43.1% | Male, 59.6% Female, 40.4% |
| 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% |