How To Become A Toy Designer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a toy designer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Abby Guido

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a toy designer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $25.39 an hour? That's $52,809 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 900 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a toy designer?

Abby Guido

Assistant Professor, Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University

We've all heard the buzz about networking, and there is so much buzz because it works. Make sure your LinkedIn profile is both up to date and active. Connect with all of your past professors, classmates, and anyone and everyone you meet in a professional setting. I often tell students to get into the habit of searching for any classroom guests, or guest lecturers, to connect, thank them for their time, and build their network. Share content. Write articles, or reshare those you find interesting.

Every job I have ever received in my career has been through someone else I know. I share this with students to help them see the value in relationships. I always remember the students that took the time to write a handwritten thank-you note. And I think of them when I get an email asking if I know any students are looking for work.

ScoreToy DesignerUS Average

Salary

4.1

Avg. Salary $52,809

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.5

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.38%

Asian 10.07%

Black or African American 1.12%

Hispanic or Latino 7.28%

Unknown 4.48%

White 76.67%

Gender

female 44.21%

male 55.79%

Age - 38

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38

Stress level

7.5

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.5

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a toy designer

Explore toy designer education requirements

Most common toy designer degrees

Bachelor's

81.4 %

Associate

12.8 %

Master's

3.5 %

Start to develop specific toy designer skills

Skills	Percentages
CAD	19.07%
Design Concepts	17.25%
Prototyping	16.81%
Product Design	12.25%
Graphic Design	8.82%

Complete relevant toy designer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New toy designers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a toy designer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real toy designer resumes.

Research toy designer duties and responsibilities

Develop marketing and brand awareness initiatives through social media outlets; create and manage company Facebook and Houzz profiles.
Produce designs, sketches, production patterns, hand samples, sourcing, specifications., technical drawings for printing and embroidery.
Utilize PowerPoint presentation and photo simulation.
Refine the initial concept into a functional high fidelity prototype capable of meeting design objectives verifiable through user testing.

Prepare your toy designer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your toy designer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a toy designer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable toy designer resume templates

Build a professional toy designer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your toy designer resume.