Core77

What is the Highest-Paying Job an Industrial Designer Could Realistically Transition Into?

Based on Glassdoor's "25 Highest Paying Jobs in the U.S. for 2019"

By Rain Noe - October 22, 2019

in Design Business

None of us got into ID for the money. So I was not surprised to see, on the Glassdoor Economic Research Blog's list of "Highest Paying Jobs of 2019," that "Industrial Designer" was not one of the categories.

Here's their list, by the way:

From the Glassdoor Economic Research Blog

So I asked myself, which of these could your average industrial designer who wants to make a little more scratch transition into?

There's job #5, "Enterprise Architect," but I hear that Star Fleet has a toxic work culture. Plus who wants to be drawing these lame things all day:

No, your best bet would be job #18, "UX Manager," with that sweet median base salary of $102,489.

So how do you become a UX Manager? First you'd have to find work as a UX Designer (duh), to put the "experience" in "user experience." Luckily for you, the Coroflot Job Boards has dozens of job listings seeking UX people, in all parts of the country--as well as those coveted "remote" gigs. Click here to check 'em out.

And if you just want to see how your current salary stacks up against the salaries of your peers, be sure to check out the Coroflot Design Salary Guide.

o

Favorite This
Q
3

Comment

Comments

Jo Mo

5 years ago

Z

1Z

Reply

First of all I have to say this is a weird post. Are you actually asking us? I think if you (Rain Noe) were working as an industrial designer in New York City for as long as Core 77 has stated that, you would/should know that mid-level/managerial staff in NYC are going to make six figures minimum and director positions are going to make more, possibly over $200k. The problem with these VERY general salary charts is that they cover the entire country. So you're mostly going to see common jobs like physician and attorney and some tech jobs. Industrial design jobs are mostly in and around densely populated areas and the job market is much smaller so they will not show up on such chart. Another job title that is not on here is CEO or Business Owner.

My advice to industrial designers that want to make more money is start a business or firm (risky) or work for a company where you can move into managing the design team or managing/directing the design for said company. Mostly, be patient.

!Report as spam
Nirst Fame

4 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

Industrial design is dead, and when it was alive, it paid peanuts.

!Report as spam
Sean Horita

5 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

Dammit. I for sure thought when I did that Enterprise sketch that my career in Industrial Design would pay big space credits.

!Report as spam