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Industrial Designer Job Outlook
Employment is expected to grow about as fast as
average. Keen competition for jobs is expected; those with strong backgrounds in
engineering and computer-aided design and extensive business expertise will have
the best prospects.
Employment change. Employment of
commercial and industrial designers is expected to grow 7 percent between 2006
and 2016, about as fast as average
for all occupations. Employment growth will arise from an expanding economy and
from an increase in consumer and business demand for new or upgraded products.
Increasing demand for commercial and industrial
designers will also stem from the continued emphasis on the quality and safety
of products, the increasing demand for new products that are easy and
comfortable to use, and the development of high-technology products in consumer
electronics, medicine, transportation, and other fields. But increasingly,
manufacturers have been outsourcing design work to design services firms to cut
costs and to find the most qualified design talent, increasing employment in
these firms and reducing it in others, such as manufacturing. Additionally, some
companies use design firms overseas, especially for the design of
high-technology products. These overseas design firms are located closer to
their suppliers, which reduces the time it takes to design and sell a product—an
important consideration when technology is changing quickly. This offshoring of
design work could continue to slow employment growth of U.S. commercial and
industrial designers.
Despite the increase in design work performed
overseas, most design jobs, particularly jobs not related to high-technology
product design, will still remain in the U.S. Design is essential to a firm’s
success, and firms will want to retain control over the design process.
Job prospects. Competition for jobs
will be keen because many
talented individuals are attracted to the design field. The best job
opportunities will be in specialized design firms which are used by
manufacturers to design products or parts of products. Designers with strong
backgrounds in engineering and computer-aided design and extensive business
expertise will have the best prospects.
As the demand for design work becomes more
consumer-driven, designers who can closely monitor, and react to, changing
customer demands—and who can work with marking and strategic planning staffs to
come up with new products—will also improve their job prospects.
Employment of designers can be affected by
fluctuations in the economy. For example, during periods of economic downturns,
companies may cut research and development spending, including new product
development.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor,
Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-09 Edition
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Industrial Designer Income
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