How To Become A Die Designer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a die designer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a die designer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $35.72 an hour? That's $74,294 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -3% and produce -6,700 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreDie DesignerUS Average

Salary

5.8

Avg. Salary $74,294

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.3

Growth rate -3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.16%

Asian 5.73%

Black or African American 3.03%

Hispanic or Latino 13.06%

Unknown 4.14%

White 73.89%

Gender

female 7.69%

male 92.31%

Age - 45

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 45

Stress level

5.3

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.2

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.7

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a die designer

Explore die designer education requirements

Most common die designer degrees

Associate

57.1 %

Bachelor's

31.2 %

High School Diploma

5.2 %

Start to develop specific die designer skills

Skills	Percentages
CNC	16.51%
Stamping Dies	12.90%
NX	10.93%
Autocad	9.68%
Pro-E	6.76%

Complete relevant die designer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New die designers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a die designer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real die designer resumes.

Research die designer duties and responsibilities

Sketch design ideas, create technical packets and manage the product development process from concept to creation.
Complete 3D graphics with SOLIDWORKS and draw the orthographic views of fixture with AUTOCAD.
Design fixtures in Solidworks which properly secure parts to be weld using ABB robots for mass production.
Develop test solutions to assist manufactures to quickly and accurately analyze, troubleshoot and identify root cause failure analysis.

Prepare your die designer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your die designer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a die designer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable die designer resume templates

Build a professional die designer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your die designer resume.