Watch someone use the product
Spot where their grip slips or a motion turns uncomfortable, since that guides which parts you change.
Career profile
Industrial Designer
Industrial designers create the physical products people hold, use and buy.
Ever held a grip that looked right but felt awkward? You turn drawings into models, improving products for users and keeping them practical to manufacture.
A day in the life
Draw options, then model them
Sketch alternative forms by hand, compare them, then build a 3D version in a computer drafting program.
Build a cardboard mock-up
Test its size and hand reach, and reshape it if holding it reveals a flaw the sketch missed.
Talk materials with an engineer
Discuss materials and factory limits, then rework any feature that is too costly or hard to make.
Quick facts
Usually a bachelor’s degree
United States
$83,910 median yearly
United States · 2025
2.4% projected growth
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
Usually a bachelor’s degreeYou also need a digital portfolio of design projects.
Pay
$83,910 median yearlyAbout $40.34 an hour using 2,080 hours per year; 2025 employee wages.
Outlook
2.4% projected growthAbout 2,800 openings yearly on average during 2025–2035, including replacement openings.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You notice why everyday objects feel comfortable or frustrating.
- You enjoy moving between drawing and making physical models.
- You can explain a design choice and revise it after criticism.
Things to weigh
- A favorite shape may need to change because of production costs.
- Tight deadlines and shifting priorities can compete with the time you want for refinement.
Where AI may help
Some software can generate possible part shapes from goals such as lower weight and a chosen manufacturing method. This is called generative design.
What people still lead
You decide which user problem matters and test whether a proposed shape works for people.
What we can’t predict yet
How much shape exploration moves into software will depend on whether its results meet each product’s physical and human requirements.
Pay in context
Earnings
The national figures cover commercial and industrial designers across product specialties.
The middle and the spread
The 2025 median was $83,910: half earned more and half less. The lowest tenth earned $53,460 or less; the highest tenth earned $139,770 or more. These are not starting and senior salaries.
Workplace type matters
May 2025 annual medians were $79,920 in manufacturing, $90,360 in specialized design services, and $101,570 in management of companies and enterprises. These compare different groups of workers.
Openings exceed new jobs
Employment is projected to grow 2.4% during 2025–2035. The roughly 2,800 annual openings include replacing people who leave the occupation; they are not all newly created positions.
Getting started
Study industrial design as an undergraduate
- What the route involves
- Complete studio projects in drawing, materials, modeling, and prototypes that account for manufacturing.
- What it can lead to
- A bachelor’s degree and project portfolio provide the usual preparation for entry-level applications.
Move into design after another degree
- What the route involves
- Enter a graduate program designed for other undergraduate backgrounds. NC State’s Master of Industrial Design Track 3 begins with foundational study before advanced design work.
- What it can lead to
- You build professional industrial design preparation without already holding an industrial design bachelor’s degree.
- What to check
- This route requires an undergraduate degree. At NC State, a faculty review controls progression beyond the first year; other programs set their own requirements.
Plan for design training and a portfolio that shows your work.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization.
Get established
Make accurate design files and clear presentations that colleagues can use to review your ideas.
Carry ideas further
Deepen your knowledge of materials and finishes, and work with engineers to carry a concept into production.
Lead design work
Experienced designers may become chief designers or department heads.
- You could eventually establish your own design firm.
Where you can work
Consumer-product company
You work with engineering and marketing colleagues on the company’s products, connecting their look and feel with production requirements.
- Indoors
- Office
Your own design practice
You find projects and compete for contracts as well as design products. Client meetings may reach into evenings or weekends.
- Office
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
Choose a drawer handle you find awkward. Sketch two alternatives, then make one full-size paper-and-tape model. Ask someone to hold it and explain what feels uncomfortable. Revise it once. Notice whether you enjoy changing an object in response to another person’s experience.
Stay safe: Keep the model separate from the drawer; it is for checking shape, not pulling a load.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine. Commercial and Industrial Designers. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- O*NET OnLine / U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. National Wages: Commercial and Industrial Designers. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational projections and worker characteristics, 2025–2035. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Industrial Designers. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- Rhode Island School of Design. Industrial Design Bachelor’s Program. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- NC State University. Master of Industrial Design. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- Autodesk. Design criteria. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- SharkNinja. Fall 2026: Industrial Design Co-op. Accessed 2026-10-04.