Graphic Designer Salary
The graphic designer salary has numerous variables making it either one of the least paid professions or the most paid professions around. This top career requires that you go back to college to earn at least an Associates degree in graphic design. If you want to make as much as possible, a Bachelors or even an online Masters degree will get you the education you need for various positions that will take you to the top. In addition, there are many fields you can enter as a graphic designer which will also determine your graphic designer salary. You can choose to enter retail, advertising and graphic arts or design, or you can choose to work as a freelance graphic designer. All of these fields offer varying, but similar salaries for the graphic designer.
Advertising
The advertising graphic designer salary will depend greatly on your education and experience, although the median pay range for the graphic designers in the advertising industry is generally in the range of $28,000 to start up to $65,000 per year once you gain experience with the corporation and in the field. In addition, in the advertising field, you will most likely work for a company meaning you will be eligible for any benefits package offered, adding medical, dental and vision insurance as well as paid time off to your graphic designer salary. In advertising, you will be responsible for developing and implementing various designs as ordered by the company’s client for their advertising campaigns. These designs will be your responsibility from start to finish. Depending on your experience, you may work for a supervisor who will approve each design, or once you have proven yourself to your company, you may also work on your own with little to no supervision on your designs that you will take to the client.
Retail
Retail is another field for the graphic designer. The graphic designer salary in the retail field is about $30,000 to $70,000 per year, making this one of the top careers for graphic designers to enter into. The graphic designer in retail will be responsible for various graphics that may be put into clothing, corporate logos or advertising campaigns. The quality of your work is what will make the company successful, which is why the pay is a bit higher than the other fields for graphic designers. Like the advertising market, you will most likely be working for a company who may or may not offer a benefits package; the ones who do will boost your overall salary with the value of the benefits they offer.
Freelance
In freelance, the graphic designer salary will fluctuate dramatically depending on the jobs in which you choose to do and how extensive your portfolio is. While this type of job may not have a large salary to start, once you build your cliental, you can expect to earn up towards the six figure mark. Since as a freelance graphic designer you can choose your jobs, your salary and your work schedule, this is the route that many graphic designers choose.
