Where can designers develop their careers?
How likely are designers to change jobs? And where should you go if you want to build and develop your career? Find out with the 2015 Design Week Salary Survey.
Nearly 40 per cent of designers think they are likely to change jobs in the next 12 months, according to the 2015 Design Week Salary Survey.
The 2015 Design Week Salary Survey saw more than 1,500 designers quizzed about their salaries as well as their work environments and attitudes to work.
It reveals that 38.6 per cent of designers think they are likely to change jobs within the next year, while less that 1 per cent think they will be in the same job in ten years’ time.
The main reason for wanting to change jobs is for better pay – with 64.9 per cent of those considering a change of job saying they were looking for better financial remuneration.
A desire for a new challenge was also a big driver, with 63.9 per cent of those looking for a new job citing this as a reason.
In addition, 40.3 per cent cited limited opportunities at their current company, 30.5 per cent said they were looking for promotion opportunities, 28.1 per cent said they wanted increased responsibility and 26.6 per cent said they wanted to broaden their experience.
Designers working in-house were more likely to be looking for a change, with 41.5 per cent saying they were likely to change jobs in the next year. By comparison, 35.4 per cent of designers working for consultancies said they were likely to change in the next year.
Designers working in the branding sector were the most settled, with 20.9 per cent saying they weren’t considering a change of job. The most unsettled sectors are architecture – where 50 per cent of respondents said they were considering a change of job in the next year – and retail – where the figure was 44 per cent.
| Discipline | Advertising | Architecture | Branding | Digital | Direct Marketing | Editorial | Exhibitions | |
| When do you expect to change jobs? | In the next year | 41.7% | 50.0% | 33.3% | 41.9% | 38.1% | 42.1% | 48.1% |
| 1-3 years time | 33.3% | 25.0% | 35.3% | 41.3% | 42.9% | 42.1% | 29.6% | |
| 4-6 years time | 12.5% | 8.3% | 8.8% | 5.0% | 4.8% | 10.5% | 3.7% | |
| 7-10 years time | 4.2% | 0.0% | 1.2% | 1.1% | 0.0% | 2.6% | 0.0% | |
| More than 10 years’ time | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.4% | 1.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | |
| I’m not considering a change of job | 8.3% | 16.7% | 20.9% | 9.5% | 14.3% | 2.6% | 18.5% |
| Discipline | Furniture | Graphics | Interior | Packaging | Product | Retail | ||
| When do you expect to change jobs? | In the next year | 40.0% | 37.0% | 31.7% | 32.9% | 43.6% | 30.8% | 44.0% |
| 1-3 years time | 20.0% | 35.3% | 34.9% | 38.4% | 35.8% | 49.2% | 30.0% | |
| 4-6 years time | 20.0% | 7.7% | 6.3% | 15.1% | 6.4% | 7.7% | 10.0% | |
| 7-10 years time | 10.0% | 2.0% | 0.0% | 1.4% | 0.5% | 1.5% | 0.0% | |
| More than 10 years’ time | 0.0% | 1.1% | 1.6% | 0.0% | 0.5% | 0.0% | 0.0% | |
| I’m not considering a change of job | 10.0% | 16.8% | 25.4% | 12.3% | 13.3% | 10.8% | 16.0% |
How much should you be earning? Find out with the Design Week Salary Calculator here.
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So where can designers develop their careers? And where should you go if you want to build and develop your career?