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The differences between senior design specialists and junior designers 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 junior designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a senior design specialist has an average salary of $96,923, which is higher than the $53,349 average annual salary of a junior designer.
The top three skills for a senior design specialist include sketch, SR and design solutions. The most important skills for a junior designer are sketch, graphic design, and adobe creative suite.
| Senior Design Specialist | Junior Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $96,923 | $53,349 |
| Hourly rate | $46.60 | $25.65 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 45,603 | 58,152 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Average age | 41 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 12 |
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 junior designer is an entry-level professional who is responsible for creating high-quality designs according to the requirements of clients. Under the supervision of senior designers, junior designers must understand project requirements and projects and use various techniques to create drafts, models, and prototypes. They collaborate with team members to pitch in creative ideas and produce final design solutions that can include banners or logos. Junior designers must also take on specially design tasks and use feedback from other designers to improve.
Senior design specialists and junior designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Design Specialist | Junior Designer | |
| Average salary | $96,923 | $53,349 |
| Salary range | Between $71,000 And $131,000 | Between $43,000 And $65,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Santa Rosa, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Alaska |
| Best paying company | McKinsey & Company Inc | Nike |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Technology |
There are a few differences between a senior design specialist and a junior designer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Design Specialist | Junior Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Most common major | Drafting And Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between senior design specialists' and junior designers' demographics:
| Senior Design Specialist | Junior Designer | |
| Average age | 41 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.9% Female, 25.1% | Male, 50.4% Female, 49.6% |
| 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, 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 | 5% | 13% |