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The differences between senior design specialists and design specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a senior design specialist, becoming a design specialist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a senior design specialist has an average salary of $96,923, which is higher than the $56,917 average annual salary of a design specialist.
The top three skills for a senior design specialist include sketch, SR and design solutions. The most important skills for a design specialist are customer service, sketch, and CAD.
| Senior Design Specialist | Design Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $96,923 | $56,917 |
| Hourly rate | $46.60 | $27.36 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 1% |
| Number of jobs | 45,603 | 68,347 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 41 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
A senior design specialist's main responsibility is managing design projects and delivering them within the deadlines. They have to also look after the junior designers and ensure that the quality of designs meets company standards.
A design specialist is responsible for creating engaging visual images and digital content to improve customers' brand awareness about the organization's products and services. Design specialists may also work for media production, creating graphic animations for viewers depending on production requirements and media demands. A design specialist must have excellent knowledge of utilizing various software tools and programs, coordinating with the whole design team on adjusting plans, improving layouts according to budget limitations, and submitting deliverables within the set deadlines.
Senior design specialists and design specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Design Specialist | Design Specialist | |
| Average salary | $96,923 | $56,917 |
| Salary range | Between $71,000 And $131,000 | Between $35,000 And $91,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Menlo Park, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | New York |
| Best paying company | McKinsey & Company Inc | BP America Inc |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | - |
There are a few differences between a senior design specialist and a design specialist in terms of educational background:
| Senior Design Specialist | Design Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Drafting And Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | Cornell University |
Here are the differences between senior design specialists' and design specialists' demographics:
| Senior Design Specialist | Design Specialist | |
| Average age | 41 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.9% Female, 25.1% | Male, 55.1% Female, 44.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 10.4% White, 72.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 1.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 7.6% Asian, 4.6% White, 82.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 23% |