What Is the Standard Beginning Wage for a Graphic Designer?

Graphic designer salaries vary due to a variety of factors including job title, education, experience, geographic location and the size and type of company you are working for. As you progress, the job title may change from entry-level designer to designer, senior designer, art director and creative design director, then finally to owner, partner or principal in an art direction firm. Alternative positions can be web designer, print production artist or print production manager.

Entry-Level Graphic Design Requirements

• An entry-level graphic designer is generally required to have a bachelor's degree, and knowledge of current graphic design software. He is required to be creative and able to generate and manipulate graphic images and a variety of other media involving everything from text to multimedia programs including animations and even sound. At the entry level he may be working under senior-level designers or managers.

Entry-Level Designer Salaries

• According to All Art School, an entry-level designer can expect to earn an average of $36,000 per year. But this estimate may be a bit optimistic since the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says that as of May 2009, the lowest 10 percent of graphic designers earns an average of $26,440, while the lowest 25 percent earns an average of $33,130. Additionally, the median salary for all graphic designers is $43,180.

The Lowest 10 Percent Earnings

• The Salary website leans more toward the position of All Art School and says that as of November 2010, the lowest 10 percent of graphic design specialists earned $35,541, which is fairly close to All Art School's $36,000 starting salary.

Graphic Designers Salary Survey

• As of November 2010, there are a variety of graphic designer positions surveyed at GlassDoor. These positions include some that would be classified as entry level, such as an associate or assistant graphic designer, who generally earn between $38,000 and $42,000. But some assistant graphic designers are paid as much as $57,000 or as little as $33,000.

Entry-Level Designer Prospects

• Over the period of 2001 through 2010, an entry-level designer's salary increased by an average of 2.1 percent per year, according to the 2010 AIGA salary survey. AIGA is the professional association for design. According to the survey, salaries in 2001 for an entry-level designer were $31,000, rising the next year to $32,000 before falling in 2003 back to $31,000, then climbing steadily through 2010 to the $37,500 level.