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Graphic technician vs freelance designer

The differences between graphic technicians and freelance 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 technician and a freelance designer. Additionally, a freelance designer has an average salary of $57,260, which is higher than the $42,632 average annual salary of a graphic technician.

The top three skills for a graphic technician include graphic design, adobe illustrator and adobe photoshop. The most important skills for a freelance designer are sketch, CSS, and HTML.

Graphic technician vs freelance designer overview

Graphic TechnicianFreelance Designer
Yearly salary$42,632$57,260
Hourly rate$20.50$27.53
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs8,85045,914
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Average age3838
Years of experience1212

Graphic technician vs freelance designer salary

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

Graphic TechnicianFreelance Designer
Average salary$42,632$57,260
Salary rangeBetween $30,000 And $60,000Between $39,000 And $83,000
Highest paying CityPhoenix, AZ-
Highest paying stateWashington-
Best paying companyVentura County Community Foundation-
Best paying industryTechnology-

Differences between graphic technician and freelance designer education

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

Graphic TechnicianFreelance Designer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Most common majorGraphic DesignGraphic Design
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Graphic technician vs freelance designer demographics

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

Graphic TechnicianFreelance Designer
Average age3838
Gender ratioMale, 58.3% Female, 41.7%Male, 48.0% Female, 52.0%
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 technician and freelance designer duties and responsibilities

Graphic technician example responsibilities.

  • Create spec sheets, perform mathematical typesetting, proofread comps and color separations, and manage file archive.
  • Apply graphics to vehicles, windows and billboards.
  • Typeset new jobs, printing and bindery work.
  • Maintain print files for digital retrieval on PC and Macintosh computers.
  • Operate copy center, run bindery equipment, and basic typesetting.
  • Maintain Macintosh and PC network with associate output devices (plotters, printers etc . )
  • Show more

Freelance designer example responsibilities.

  • Lead the transition from paste-up, typesetting, pasting up page layout to digital ad/page building and web printing.
  • Hand-Code HTML, CSS, JS and PHP for custom design solutions and form processing, validation, and animations.
  • Provide identity and stationery design, web design, HTML / CSS development and WordPress integration (content management system).
  • Image manipulation in platforms such as Photoshop and illustrator as per assign.
  • Develop high-qualityshop drawings for all casework to be build by in-house woodshop.
  • Design websites, landing pages, banner ads, pop-ups, and HTML emails.
  • Show more

Graphic technician vs freelance designer skills

Common graphic technician skills
  • Graphic Design, 16%
  • Adobe Illustrator, 14%
  • Adobe Photoshop, 9%
  • PC, 7%
  • Windows, 6%
  • Computer Graphics, 5%
Common freelance designer skills
  • Sketch, 11%
  • CSS, 7%
  • HTML, 6%
  • Adobe Photoshop, 6%
  • Adobe Illustrator, 6%
  • Photography, 5%

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