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Set designer vs scenic designer

The differences between set designers and scenic designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a set designer and a scenic designer. Additionally, a set designer has an average salary of $57,970, which is higher than the $54,503 average annual salary of a scenic designer.

The top three skills for a set designer include set design, art direction and photography. The most important skills for a scenic designer are theatre production, CAD, and adobe photoshop.

Set designer vs scenic designer overview

Set DesignerScenic Designer
Yearly salary$57,970$54,503
Hourly rate$27.87$26.20
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs49,10243,797
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Average age4242
Years of experience44

Set designer vs scenic designer salary

Set designers and scenic designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Set DesignerScenic Designer
Average salary$57,970$54,503
Salary rangeBetween $35,000 And $94,000Between $33,000 And $87,000
Highest paying CityNew Windsor, NY-
Highest paying stateNew Jersey-
Best paying companyStanley Black & Decker-
Best paying industryEducation-

Differences between set designer and scenic designer education

There are a few differences between a set designer and a scenic designer in terms of educational background:

Set DesignerScenic Designer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Most common majorFine ArtsTheatre
Most common collegeStanford UniversityCarnegie Mellon University

Set designer vs scenic designer demographics

Here are the differences between set designers' and scenic designers' demographics:

Set DesignerScenic Designer
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 49.5% Female, 50.5%Male, 45.9% Female, 54.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 2.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 11.4% White, 70.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 2.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 11.4% White, 70.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage12%12%

Differences between set designer and scenic designer duties and responsibilities

Set designer example responsibilities.

  • Develop UNIX shell scripts to automate file manipulation and data loading process.
  • Develop marketing and brand awareness initiatives through social media outlets; create and manage company Facebook and Houzz profiles.
  • Used PL/SQL for writing procedures and triggers.
  • Trouble-Shout, reload and reject records using DTS, SQL scripts.
  • Create stored procedures, functions, packages, views and triggers using PL/SQL.
  • Project entail building a Halloween store set for the movie team in Cleveland area.
    • Show more

Scenic designer example responsibilities.

  • Develop marketing and brand awareness initiatives through social media outlets; create and manage company Facebook and Houzz profiles.
  • Prepare PowerPoint documents for client presentation that include furniture and material selections.
  • Use architectural and structural-base external reference drawings files as backgrounds for communication, electrical, HVAC mechanical and structural revisions.

Set designer vs scenic designer skills

Common set designer skills
  • Set Design, 36%
  • Art Direction, 17%
  • Photography, 9%
  • CAD, 6%
  • Graphic Design, 6%
  • Concept Development, 5%
Common scenic designer skills
  • Theatre Production, 26%
  • CAD, 14%
  • Adobe Photoshop, 10%
  • Model Building, 8%
  • Scale Models, 7%
  • Scene Shop, 6%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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