The most comprehensive survey of compensation for the communication design profession in the United States has just been released. More than 6,400 design professionals participated. More than 280 participants were from the greater Boston area.
What Designers Do
The top four production areas for design professionals are as follows:
- advertising/marketing/sales materials | 70%
- corporate identity | 65%
- web design | 63%
- brand/packaging design | 50%
Where Designers Work
Design professionals work in many settings. Here are the top three descriptions for the type of organizational work setting:
- in-house design department | 29%
- design studio or consultancy | 21%
- freelance or self-employed (solo designer) | 16%
The vast majority of respondents (87%) work in a for-profit environment. One in ten work in a not-for-profit environment. Only 3% work in a government setting.
What Designers Earn
Median salaries for various design-related titles in the greater Boston area are as follows:
- Designer (entry level) | $40,000
- Designer | $47,000
- Web Designer | $60,000
- Senior Designer | $65,000
- Web Developer | N/A
- Web Programmer | N/A
There were not enough survey respondents to calculate Boston salaries for Web Developers and Web Programmers. (These professionals typically do not affiliate with the organizations that the survey drew respondents from.) However, assumptions and projections can be made.
A Web Designer in Boston earns an $8,000 premium over the national average ($60,000 vs. $52,000). Applying this $8,000 premium to the national averages for Web Programmer ($62,400) and Web developer ($65,000) yields the following projected median salaries for these job titles in the greater Boston area:
- Web Programmer | $70,400
- Web Developer | $73,000
A website has been set up to review the The AIGA|Aquent Survey of Design Salaries. Access the Salary Calculator to benchmark the compensation for your job title and region of the country. Download a copy (pdf) of the entire 2008 survey to review the detailed findings.
