What Can You Do With a Graphic Design Degree?

Below are 14 occupations that graphic design graduates commonly move into, most common first. Graphic Designer leads at $62,960 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025); across the whole list the middle occupation pays $82,435 and 0 of 14 typically need a graduate degree. A major is a body of study, not a job assignment, so treat every entry as a common destination rather than a promise.

What the degree actually involves: Typography, colour, layout, brand systems, and critique sessions on your own work.

Design is judged on a portfolio, so the destination you reach depends heavily on what you made during the degree rather than on the degree itself. The list runs from print and brand work through digital product and web design to the moving-image and environmental specialisms.

Common destinations: 14
Median pay range: $44,660–$133,660
Projected to grow: 13 of 14
Need a graduate degree: 0 of 14

How this list was built

The destinations are the occupations graphic design graduates commonly move into. They are ordered by how common the destination is, not by what it pays, so the ordinary outcomes sit at the top where they belong rather than being buried under the flattering ones.
Every destination is matched to a real occupation in the 923-occupation NueCareer career bank. A destination that does not resolve to a bank occupation is dropped rather than shown without data.
All pay, growth, openings and education figures come from that bank: BLS OEWS May 2025 for wages, BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 for projected change, annual openings and the typical education needed for entry, and O*NET 30.3 Database for what the work involves. Nothing is estimated and no figure here is generated by an AI model.
Destinations whose BLS typical entry education is a master’s or a doctoral or professional degree are marked Graduate study on the list. That flag is read from the federal data, not asserted by us.
What this list is not: a ranking of which destination you should pick, a statement of how many graduates reach each one, or a promise that the degree entitles you to any of them. Read the full methodology.

14 careers a graphic design degree commonly leads to

Most common destination first. Every card carries the national median annual wage, projected employment change and openings over 2024–2034, and the typical education people already in the job hold.

1. Graphic Designer
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Median pay
$62,960
Growth
+2.1%
Openings/yr
20,000
Education
Bachelor's
Design or create graphics to meet specific commercial or promotional needs, such as packaging, displays, or logos.
Graphic Designer salary & outlook →
2. Web Designer
Computer and Mathematical
Median pay
$104,000
Growth
+7.0%
Openings/yr
9,100
Education
Bachelor's
Design digital user interfaces or websites.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
3. Special Effects Artist and Animator
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Median pay
$102,030
Growth
+1.6%
Openings/yr
5,000
Education
Bachelor's
Create special effects or animations using film, video, computers, or other electronic tools and media for use in products, such as computer games, movies, music videos, and commercials.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
4. Film and Video Editor
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Median pay
$75,420
Growth
+4.0%
Openings/yr
3,600
Education
Bachelor's
Edit moving images on film, video, or other media.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
5. Photographer
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Median pay
$44,660
Growth
+1.8%
Openings/yr
12,700
Education
High school
Photograph people, landscapes, merchandise, or other subjects.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
6. Commercial and Industrial Designer
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Median pay
$83,910
Growth
+3.2%
Openings/yr
2,500
Education
Bachelor's
Design and develop manufactured products, such as cars, home appliances, and children's toys.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
7. Video Game Designer
Computer and Mathematical
Median pay
$104,000
Growth
+7.0%
Openings/yr
9,100
Education
Bachelor's
Design core features of video games.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
8. Interior Designer
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Median pay
$67,190
Growth
+3.2%
Openings/yr
7,800
Education
Bachelor's
Plan, design, and furnish the internal space of rooms or buildings.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
9. Set and Exhibit Designer
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Median pay
$75,240
Growth
+2.3%
Openings/yr
2,500
Education
Bachelor's
Design special exhibits and sets for film, video, television, and theater productions.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
10. Fashion Designer
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Median pay
$80,960
Growth
+2.0%
Openings/yr
2,300
Education
Bachelor's
Design clothing and accessories.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
11. Craft Artist
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Median pay
$46,080
Growth
+2.1%
Openings/yr
1,000
Education
No formal credential
Create or reproduce handmade objects for sale and exhibition using a variety of techniques, such as welding, weaving, pottery, and needlecraft.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
12. Producer and Director
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Median pay
$90,360
Growth
+4.9%
Openings/yr
12,800
Education
Bachelor's
Produce or direct stage, television, radio, video, or film productions for entertainment, information, or instruction.
Producer and Director salary & outlook →
13. Art Director
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Median pay
$114,850
Growth
+4.2%
Openings/yr
12,300
Education
Bachelor's
Formulate design concepts and presentation approaches for visual productions and media, such as print, broadcasting, video, and film.
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.
14. Advertising and Promotions Manager
Management
Median pay
$133,660
Growth
-2.2%
Openings/yr
2,100
Education
Bachelor's
Plan, direct, or coordinate advertising policies and programs or produce collateral materials, such as posters, contests, coupons, or giveaways, to create extra interest in the purchase of a product or service for a d…
Full page coming in the next tranche. Data shown here is from the same bank.

Does a graphic design degree decide your career?

For most people, no. Federal survey data has consistently found that only a minority of US graduates work in a job closely related to their degree field, and that share falls further with each year after graduation. The exceptions are the fields where a licence sits at the end of the degree, and they are exceptions precisely because the route is fixed.

The practical reading of the list above is this: every destination on it lists a bachelor's degree or less as the typical entry requirement (BLS Employment Projections, 2024–2034), so the decisions that matter after the degree are about experience rather than more study.

Not sure this is the right major in the first place? Take the free college major quiz — fifteen questions that score what you like doing against what each major actually asks of you, and show the same real occupations underneath every match.

Graphic Design degrees: FAQ

Do you need a master's degree after a graphic design degree?

Not for the destinations on this page. BLS Employment Projections (2024–2034) list a bachelor's degree or less as the typical entry requirement for all 14 of them. Individual employers can still ask for more.

What is the highest-paying career a graphic design degree leads to?

Of the 14 destinations on this page, Advertising and Promotions Manager has the highest national median wage at $133,660 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), against $50,980 for all US occupations. Typical entry education for it is bachelor's. A median is the midpoint of everyone in the job today, so a first salary normally sits well below it.

Which of these careers hires the most people each year?

Graphic Designer, with about 20,000 projected openings a year (BLS Employment Projections, 2024–2034). Across all 14 destinations on this page the combined figure is roughly 102,800 openings a year. Openings include replacing people who leave, not just new jobs, which is why a slow-growing occupation can still hire heavily.

Is a graphic design degree worth it?

That depends on the price you pay for it, which this page cannot know. What it can tell you is where the destinations sit: the middle occupation on this list pays $82,435 a year against $50,980 for all US occupations, the range runs $44,660–$133,660, and 13 of the 14 are projected to grow over 2024–2034 (BLS OEWS May 2025, BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034).

How was this list of careers put together?

The destinations were curated as the occupations graphic design graduates commonly move into, ordered by how common rather than by pay, then matched against the 923-occupation NueCareer career bank. Every figure shown comes from that bank: wages from BLS OEWS May 2025, projected change and annual openings and typical entry education from BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, and occupation descriptions from O*NET 30.3 Database. Nothing is estimated, and no figure on this page is generated by an AI model.

How this list was built

14 careers a graphic design degree commonly leads to

1. Graphic Designer

2. Web Designer

3. Special Effects Artist and Animator

4. Film and Video Editor

5. Photographer

6. Commercial and Industrial Designer

7. Video Game Designer

8. Interior Designer

9. Set and Exhibit Designer

10. Fashion Designer

11. Craft Artist

12. Producer and Director

13. Art Director

14. Advertising and Promotions Manager