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The differences between freelance 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 freelance designer and a user experience designer. Additionally, a user experience designer has an average salary of $91,159, which is higher than the $57,260 average annual salary of a freelance designer.
The top three skills for a freelance designer include sketch, CSS and HTML. The most important skills for a user experience designer are sketch, UI, and user research.
| Freelance Designer | User Experience Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $57,260 | $91,159 |
| Hourly rate | $27.53 | $43.83 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 45,914 | 52,582 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
Freelance designers are creative, independent contractors who create visual and graphic designs for their clients. They develop text and illustrated versions of brands, messages, and communications with strong visible influence with their clients. Typical activities include networking, seeking projects, and negotiating prices to their customers. They manage client proposals, develop concepts, present solutions, and ensure the timely completion of projects. Freelance visual and graphic designers are creative, self-motivated as well as result and deadline oriented.
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.
Freelance designers and user experience designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Freelance Designer | User Experience Designer | |
| Average salary | $57,260 | $91,159 |
| Salary range | Between $39,000 And $83,000 | Between $65,000 And $127,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Bruno, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | Washington |
| Best paying company | - | BitGo |
| Best paying industry | - | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a freelance designer and a user experience designer in terms of educational background:
| Freelance Designer | User Experience Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | 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 freelance designers' and user experience designers' demographics:
| Freelance Designer | User Experience Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 48.0% Female, 52.0% | 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% |