Graphic design has grown in popularity in the recent years. Although it was considered a career for the media and print industry, more and more people are taking it up and are making a substantive amount of cash out of it. The fact that you can learn the art of graphic design on your own without necessarily attending classes has seen an increase in the number of people wanting to take up the much coveted skill.
Companies from all over the world are looking to hire these people for various reasons. All these factors have led to an influx in the number of people looking to become designers. The big question however is always about the pay. How much can one make out of graphic design? Well, we conducted a little research and came up with some numbers.
If you asked a senior graphic designer the amount of money they make, they will most probably ignore the question and tell you that it’s more about the passion than the money. In reality, these people are making lots of money. Depending on some factors (which we will look at later), graphic designers make good sums of money.
The average amount of money that Graphic designers make in America in a year is about $50,000. This means that the average salaries range from $40,000 to $60,000 per year. This does not mean that every graphic designer’s salary lies in this range. There are extremes in both the lower and high ends with people making as much as $120,000 a year from Graphic design; lucrative, isn’t it?
The amount of money a graphic designer makes depends on a few factors. Here are 5 factors that affect the amount of money that a graphic designer makes in a year;
1. Level of education
The amount of money you earn as a graphic designer depends on the level of your education and proficiency of your designing skills. There are people who have masters in Design while others are just freelance graphic designers who learnt the trade in some online platform. The former tend to earn higher amounts that the latter.
2. Type of Graphic Designer you are
Graphic design is a wide field and there are various jobs in this field each with a different salary range. Web designers for example make about $55,000 a year while senior designers in print industries can make up to $100,000 from their jobs,
3. Whether you are a full-time employee or a freelancer
People working as freelance graphic designers depend on online gigs and referrals to earn a living. Full-time employees on the other hand work with specific companies and agencies and are assigned specific duties which they carry out all year long. The latter have a job security while the former tend to ride on luck to earn jobs.
Freelance designers mostly earn their money per hour. This can range from $15 to $30 per hour depending on the client that they get. Permanent employees are on the other hand paid a specific amount of money per month. The average pay for such employees in the USA for example is $45,000. This depends on the place of work as well.
4. Experience
Your experience in the field will also determine how much you earn. People with a lot of years under their belts are considered seniors and tend to earn more that the newbies. This is because they have exposure and have the ability to handle many tasks within the design industry. Such experienced staff members most of the time work as head of departments in firms and can make as much as $120,000 a year. The real reason they earn such large amounts of money is because they possess more than just design skills but noteworthy management and leadership skills as well. People who have worked for more than a decade in a design firm tend to ascend to the helm of leadership at some point in their tenure.
5. Your reputation
Yes, trust me your reputation as a graphic designer can affect the amount of money you can potentially make. When you produce stellar work which the employers love, you will earn yourself a reputation which will come in handy at a later stage in your career. Owing to their good reputation, graphic designers get referrals and references by other clients. It does not matter whether one is working is a freelance designer or an employed one. If he/she can handle projects well enough, he will surely get a lot of work and more pay therefore.
Well, there you go, you have an idea of what amounts the graphic designers make in the world today. It is a lucrative industry that has lots of opportunities. If you were held back from joining the bandwagon because of salary uncertainties, then well, there you have the salaries of graphic designers.