We surveyed 1,020 industrial designers to better understand the work environment and required skills of a typical industrial designer. Here are the results.
How much intelligence is required as an industrial designer?
Low
High
Working as an industrial designer typically requires higher levels of intelligence when compared with the average career. This means that industrial designers are required to actively learn new things related to their discipline and solve complex problems.
Can I learn to become an industrial designer?
Intrinsic Talent
Acquired Talent
A career as an industrial designer typically depends predominantly on qualities you can gain through experience, with a small aspect of skills you are born with.
Is it easy to get a job as an industrial designer?
Easy
Hard
It’s typically difficult to find a job as an industrial designer. If you’re curious about the numbers, check out the job market for industrial designers.
Do industrial designers work full-time or part-time?
68% of industrial designers work in full-time roles while 32% work part-time.
Is being an industrial designer stressful?
Low
High
Industrial designers tend not to find their jobs stressful, which likely contributes positively to career satisfaction.
Is being organized important as an industrial designer?
Low
High
Organization is not considered a particuarly important part of being an industrial designer.
How competitive is the workplace for industrial designers?
Low
High
Industrial designers tend to see lots of competition in the workplace, with desire to get ahead of co-workers being common.
Does being an industrial designer require frequent time pressure to complete tasks?
Low
High
Industrial designers will have to sometimes face time pressure on the job.
Are industrial designers allowed to express themselves creatively?
Low
High
Creativity is intrinsic to being an industrial designer, and a highly valuable part of the career.
Do industrial designers have control over the direction of their work?
Low
High
Industrial designers have high flexibility in the direction of their work, allowing them a lot of freedom in how they accomplish their goals.
Is being an industrial designer physically demanding?
Low
High
Work as an industrial designers is not the most physically demanding of careers, falling in the bottom half of all careers.
Are industrial designers exposed to a wide variety of work?
Low
High
While sometimes repetitive, industrial designers tend to have opportunities for variety in their work.
Does being an industrial designer require attention to detail?
Low
High
Attention to detail isn't necessarily required to be successful as an industrial designer.
Does being a good industrial designer require compassion and empathy?
Low
High
Being compassionate and empathetic is considered helpful to those looking to pursue careers as industrial designers.