Commercial and Industrial Designers
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.
Also called: Design Engineer · Designer · Industrial Designer · Mechanical Designer · Mold Designer · Product Design Engineer
Median pay (national)
$79,450
$49,390–$134,840 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
30,250
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+3.2%
~2,500 openings/yr
Typical entry
Bachelor's degree
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for commercial and industrial designers shows an unusually wide range: the top 10% earn $134,840 versus $49,390 at the bottom 10% — 2.7x. The median of $79,450 leaves roughly 70% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change +3.2% from 2024 to 2034 — about as fast as the 3% all-occupation average. Even so, BLS projects about 2,500 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 42 states with released data, Washington pays the most for this role (median $106,720, +34% vs the national median), while North Dakota sits lowest at $51,310 — a 108% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list. On the tools side, O*NET flags Adobe Creative Cloud software, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Dassault Systemes SolidWorks as in-demand technologies for this role.
Tailor your resume to Commercial and Industrial Designers
Honest tailoring
See how your resume lines up with Commercial and Industrial Designers
Refit re-angles your real experience toward this role using the skills above — and never invents skills you don't have. A no-fabrication gate checks every change before you see it.
Free. No account needed to see your first re-fit.
Top skills employers ask for
Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Speaking
- Writing
- Monitoring
- Active Learning
- Mathematics
- Learning Strategies
- Science
What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- Prepare sketches of ideas, detailed drawings, illustrations, artwork, or blueprints, using drafting instruments, paints and brushes, or computer-aided design equipment.
- Modify and refine designs, using working models, to conform with customer specifications, production limitations, or changes in design trends.
- Evaluate feasibility of design ideas, based on factors such as appearance, safety, function, serviceability, budget, production costs/methods, and market characteristics.
- Confer with engineering, marketing, production, or sales departments, or with customers, to establish and evaluate design concepts for manufactured products.
- Present designs and reports to customers or design committees for approval and discuss need for modification.
- Research production specifications, costs, production materials, and manufacturing methods and provide cost estimates and itemized production requirements.
- Direct and coordinate the fabrication of models or samples and the drafting of working drawings and specification sheets from sketches.
- Participate in new product planning or market research, including studying the potential need for new products.
- Read publications, attend showings, and study competing products and design styles and motifs to obtain perspective and generate design concepts.
- Fabricate models or samples in paper, wood, glass, fabric, plastic, metal, or other materials, using hand or power tools.
Tools & technology
- Adobe Creative Cloud software
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe Photoshop
- Dassault Systemes SolidWorks
- Figma
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Adobe After Effects
- Adobe InDesign
- Apache Maven
- Apple iOS
- Autodesk AutoCAD
- Autodesk Revit
- C
- C#
Knowledge areas
- Design
- Engineering and Technology
- Production and Processing
- Mechanical
- Computers and Electronics
- Mathematics
- English Language
- Physics