Pathway: Marketing, Sales & Customer Service
Job: Designer

Job Description

Designers are people with a desire to create. They combine practical knowledge with artistic ability to turn abstract ideas into formal designs for the items we buy and use. Types of designers include commercial and industrial designers, fashion designers, floral designers, graphic designers, interior designers, merchandise displayers and window dressers, visual merchandisers, and set and exhibit designers.

Bachelor’s Degree for most entry-level design positions

Helpful High School Courses

English, Mathematics, Family and Consumer Sciences, Business courses, Computer applications, Computer-Aided Drafting/Design, Art

Working Conditions

• May work in a number of different industries, depending on the design specialty
• May work long hours, evenings, or weekends
• May travel frequently or extensively
• May experience stress to meet deadlines

Salary Range

• 2003, Delaware average annual salary, $25,680 - $49,610
• 2003, Delaware average hourly wage, $12.35 - $23.85
  (Varies, dependent on designer specialty)

Career Ladder Information

• Beginning designers usually receive on-the-job training, and normally need 1 to 3 years of training before they can advance to higher-level positions
  
• Experienced designers in large firms may advance to chief designer, design department head, or other supervisory positions
  
• Some designers become teachers in design schools and colleges and universities
  
• Some may consult privately, operate small design studies, or open their own firms; many are self-employed
  
• Candidates with a Master’s Degree hold an advantage
  
• A portfolio – a collection of examples of a person’s best work – often is the deciding factor in getting a job
  
• Interior design is the only design field subject to government regulation

Personal Qualities and Interests

      You:

• Have good business sense, sales ability, and problem-solving skills
  
• Are able to communicate your ideas in writing, visually, and verbally
  
• Are creative, imaginative, and persistent
  
• Have a strong sense of the esthetic – an eye for color and detail
  
• Are quick to react to changing trends
  
• Have sketching ability and a sense of balance and proportion

Did you know?

• Keen competition is expected for most jobs, despite projected faster-than-average employment growth, because many talented individuals are attracted to careers as designers.

Additional Information

• Occupational Outlook Handbook: http://www.bls.gov/oco
  
• National Association of Schools of Art and Design: http://www.arts-accredit.org/nasad/default.htm