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Commercial and Industrial Designers

Typical education: Bachelor's degreeModerate pressure

What they do

Design and develop manufactured products, such as cars, home appliances, and children's toys. Combine artistic talent with research on product use, marketing, and materials to create the most functional and appealing product design.

Kinds of work

  • Artistic: Creating, designing and expressing ideas through art, writing, music or performance.
  • Realistic: Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals, often outdoors.
  • Investigative: Science, research, figuring out how things work and solving complex problems.

Moderate pressure: How much pressure workers in this job report: deadlines, conflict, dealing with upset people, the cost of mistakes, responsibility for others' safety, competition and long hours. It varies a lot from one employer to the next. Source: U.S. Department of Labor worker surveys.

Pay, tasks and more

Salary

United States $83,910 Median per year · $40.34/hr Most earn $53,460–$139,770

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.

What you might do

  • Research production specifications, costs, production materials, and manufacturing methods and provide cost estimates and itemized production requirements.
  • Develop industrial standards and regulatory guidelines.
  • Coordinate the look and function of product lines.
  • Direct and coordinate the fabrication of models or samples and the drafting of working drawings and specification sheets from sketches.
  • Present designs and reports to customers or design committees for approval and discuss need for modification.
  • Evaluate feasibility of design ideas, based on factors such as appearance, safety, function, serviceability, budget, production costs/methods, and market characteristics.

Job outlook

United States
2% more jobs by 2035, slower than average · about 2,800 openings a year

Openings include new jobs and jobs left by workers who retire or change careers. Projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Bright Outlook": U.S. Department of Labor.

Where they work

  • Management of companies and enterprises10.0%
  • Engineering services8.4%
  • Specialized design services7.1%
  • Self-employed (their own business)6.5%
  • Merchant wholesalers, durable goods6.2%

Share of all workers in this career. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Employment Matrix.

Experience before this job: 2 to 4 years

Career path

How people usually get into this career, from school to their first job and beyond.

Typical education: Bachelor's degreeExperience before this job: 2 to 4 years

Commercial and Industrial Designer is not usually an entry-level job. Most people earn a bachelor's degree, then spend about 2 to 4 years in junior design roles before taking on this career. Your own pay and job outlook are on the career page near you, where you can see the full range.

  1. Bachelor's degree in industrial design or a related field

    4 years

    You learn sketching, 3D modeling, materials, and how products are made, and you build a portfolio of design projects that employers will ask to see.

  2. Junior Industrial Designer or Product Design Assistant

    2-4 years

    You support senior designers by making concept sketches, CAD models, and prototypes, and you learn how real projects move from idea to factory.

  3. Commercial and Industrial Designer

    Ongoing

    You lead design projects on your own, balancing how a product looks, how it works, what it costs to make, and what customers want.

Where it can lead

  1. Senior Industrial Designer

    3-5 years of experience first

    You take the lead on bigger products, mentor junior designers, and work directly with engineers and clients on final decisions.

  2. Design Manager

    5-8 years of experience first

    You manage a team of designers, set project priorities, and make sure work meets deadlines and business goals, with less time spent on hands-on design.

What you can do now

Ideas for high school and college students.

In high school

  • Take art and drafting classesSketching and technical drawing build the visual skills that design school and employers look for.
  • Take physics and geometryUnderstanding forces, materials, and measurements helps you design products that actually work.
  • Join a robotics, engineering, or design clubBuilding real things in a team teaches you how ideas become working products.
  • Use shop or woodworking class to make thingsHands-on making shows you how materials behave and gives you projects for your first portfolio.
  • Look for a summer job or volunteer roleWork at a store, a hardware shop, or a community makerspace shows you how people use products every day.

In college

  • Major in industrial design or a closely related fieldA design degree gives you studio practice, critiques, and the portfolio you need for junior design jobs.
  • Build a portfolio of real projectsEach class project you document well becomes evidence of how you think and solve problems.
  • Enter student design competitionsCompetitions give you experience working to a brief under deadlines and can strengthen your resume.
  • Work or volunteer in a campus makerspace or prototyping labHands-on prototyping and machine use make you more useful to employers from day one.
  • Pursue a design internshipInternships at product companies show you how real design teams work and often lead to job offers.

Tips for getting started

  • Start a portfolio early. Sketches, photos of things you built, and short write-ups of why you made each choice often matter more to employers than grades.
  • Learn basic 3D modeling software, such as Fusion 360 or SolidWorks. Many free versions or student licenses exist, and this skill shows up in nearly every junior design job.
  • Practice sketching every day. Quick drawings of everyday objects help you think through shape and use, which is the heart of this work.

Related jobs that often lead here

Related jobs a step up

Education, experience and related careers: U.S. Department of Labor. The step-by-step path, where it can lead and what you can do now were written by AI as typical examples; many people take other ways.

College majors that lead here

Majors: U.S. Department of Education and BLS (CIP–SOC crosswalk). Earnings and debt: College Scorecard, typical across U.S. colleges.

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