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Graphic arts technician vs designer

The differences between graphic arts technicians and 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 graphic arts technician and a designer. Additionally, a designer has an average salary of $66,347, which is higher than the $53,758 average annual salary of a graphic arts technician.

The top three skills for a graphic arts technician include graphic design, adobe indesign and fine arts. The most important skills for a designer are sketch, customer service, and graphic design.

Graphic arts technician vs designer overview

Graphic Arts TechnicianDesigner
Yearly salary$53,758$66,347
Hourly rate$25.85$31.90
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs9,38252,433
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age3838
Years of experience1212

Graphic arts technician vs designer salary

Graphic arts technicians and designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Graphic Arts TechnicianDesigner
Average salary$53,758$66,347
Salary rangeBetween $35,000 And $81,000Between $45,000 And $97,000
Highest paying City-Seattle, WA
Highest paying state-Washington
Best paying company-Meta
Best paying industry-Technology

Differences between graphic arts technician and designer education

There are a few differences between a graphic arts technician and a designer in terms of educational background:

Graphic Arts TechnicianDesigner
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common majorGraphic DesignGraphic Design
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Graphic arts technician vs designer demographics

Here are the differences between graphic arts technicians' and designers' demographics:

Graphic Arts TechnicianDesigner
Average age3838
Gender ratioMale, 65.9% Female, 34.1%Male, 56.9% Female, 43.1%
Race ratioBlack 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 Percentage13%13%

Differences between graphic arts technician and designer duties and responsibilities

Graphic arts technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage external communications such as brochures and other sales collateral for direct mail from inception to circulation.
  • Plan and conduct professional development workshops on PowerPoint presentations.
  • Utilize a variety of creative media including illustration, photography and digital design to convey ideas beautifully and intelligently.
  • Create printed service menus in QuarkXPress for auto dealership service departments following the recommended maintenance schedules for each auto manufacturer.

Designer example responsibilities.

  • Lead & design all creative content stemming from apparel design to web identity.
  • Manage various PCB designs utilizing state of the art DFM techniques and comply with company standards.
  • Utilize CSS, DHTML, HTML, and JavaScript for cross browser, cross platform compatibility and consistency.
  • Develop different kinds of functions globally, locally for the development of forms using JavaScript, CSS.
  • Transform customer specifications into usable SolidWorks 3D models and assemblies from which all manufacturing are derived.
  • Process ECR's and ECO's using Windchill.
  • Show more

Graphic arts technician vs designer skills

Common graphic arts technician skills
  • Graphic Design, 33%
  • Adobe Indesign, 28%
  • Fine Arts, 21%
  • Typesetting, 10%
  • Protectors, 8%
Common designer skills
  • Sketch, 10%
  • Customer Service, 7%
  • Graphic Design, 6%
  • CSS, 5%
  • HTML, 4%
  • PowerPoint, 4%

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