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Graphic designer internship vs designer

The differences between graphic designer interns 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 designer internship and a designer. Additionally, a designer has an average salary of $66,347, which is higher than the $35,800 average annual salary of a graphic designer internship.

The top three skills for a graphic designer internship include graphic design intern, adobe photoshop and blog posts. The most important skills for a designer are sketch, customer service, and graphic design.

Graphic designer internship vs designer overview

Graphic Designer InternshipDesigner
Yearly salary$35,800$66,347
Hourly rate$17.21$31.90
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs93,29252,433
Job satisfaction25
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age3838
Years of experience1212

What does a graphic designer internship do?

In a graphic design internship, one of the primary responsibilities is to accomplish tasks while under the supervision of more experienced colleagues. An aspiring graphic designer may use this opportunity to observe and participate in designing for various industries, handle different clients, participate in creative meetings, and learn strategies from experts. Furthermore, there may also be technical tasks involving research and analysis, gathering materials, coordinating with vendors, and producing reports and other necessary documentation. They may also be responsible for maintaining a database and responding to calls and inquires.

What does a designer do?

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.

Graphic designer internship vs designer salary

Graphic designer interns and designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Graphic Designer InternshipDesigner
Average salary$35,800$66,347
Salary rangeBetween $26,000 And $47,000Between $45,000 And $97,000
Highest paying CitySeattle, WASeattle, WA
Highest paying stateWashingtonWashington
Best paying companyRiverbed Holdings, Inc.Meta
Best paying industryProfessionalTechnology

Differences between graphic designer internship and designer education

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

Graphic Designer InternshipDesigner
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common majorGraphic DesignGraphic Design
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Graphic designer internship vs designer demographics

Here are the differences between graphic designer interns' and designers' demographics:

Graphic Designer InternshipDesigner
Average age3838
Gender ratioMale, 40.6% Female, 59.4%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 designer internship and designer duties and responsibilities

Graphic designer internship example responsibilities.

  • Manage the company's Joomla website with content & design updates.
  • Attend various B2C and B2B brand trade-shows identifying new distribution channels and sales leads
  • Create, implement and manage customer activation campaigns and loyalty programs tracking ROI and retention.
  • Manage all aspects of the creative process with includes; sketch formation, client collaboration, production coordination.
  • Manage an in-house advertisement/mailer for a vendor.
  • Manage data migrations and SharePoint integration for corporate Intranet with external consultants.
  • Show more

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 designer internship vs designer skills

Common graphic designer internship skills
  • Graphic Design Intern, 11%
  • Adobe Photoshop, 6%
  • Blog Posts, 6%
  • Adobe Creative Suite, 6%
  • Adobe Illustrator, 5%
  • Photography, 5%
Common designer skills
  • Sketch, 10%
  • Customer Service, 7%
  • Graphic Design, 6%
  • CSS, 5%
  • HTML, 4%
  • PowerPoint, 4%

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