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The differences between level designers and production 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 level designer and a production designer. Additionally, a level designer has an average salary of $96,455, which is higher than the $54,760 average annual salary of a production designer.
The top three skills for a level designer include unreal engine, unity and maya. The most important skills for a production designer are sketch, graphic design, and adobe creative suite.
| Level Designer | Production Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $96,455 | $54,760 |
| Hourly rate | $46.37 | $26.33 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 45,696 | 96,682 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A level designer is an expert at designing and developing gameplays, including its characters and obstacles. Their responsibilities revolve around coordinating with the creative and development teams, conceptualizing plans and diagrams, performing extensive research and analysis, studying client feedback and current market trends, constructing prototypes, and performing tests to ensure the efficiency of the game. Furthermore, as a level designer, it is essential to monitor the entire production process, coordinating with staff every step of the way for quality end products.
A production designer is responsible for monitoring the visual presentation of a media or theatre production, ensuring the set's adherence to the theme, and presenting visual elements according to the production requirements. Production designers research the current industry trends for creative ideas that would attract the audience, creating outstanding visual pictures throughout the production. In most cases, production designers also operate software systems and tools to suggest graphic effects and support the artistic team for deliverables. A production designer develops all visual plans within the budget goals and discusses adjustments to the production management team as needed.
Level designers and production designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Level Designer | Production Designer | |
| Average salary | $96,455 | $54,760 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $148,000 | Between $36,000 And $82,000 |
| Highest paying City | Novato, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Internet |
There are a few differences between a level designer and a production designer in terms of educational background:
| Level Designer | Production Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between level designers' and production designers' demographics:
| Level Designer | Production Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.2% Female, 12.8% | Male, 55.4% Female, 44.6% |
| 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% |