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Design

Product designer

Product designers create new products and improve existing ones.

Annual Salary

£22,000 to £45,000

Average UK salary in 2022 was £33,200
(source Office for National Statistics)

Working hours

40 to 42 a week

You could work: evenings / weekends; occasionally

0.5%
Future employment

There will be 0.5% more Product designer jobs in 2027.

Day to day tasks

In your day-to-day duties you could:

  • discuss what your client wants
  • investigate how existing products work or how services are used
  • develop ideas and make initial sketches or outline plans
  • decide on suitable materials or resources
  • use computer design software to produce detailed blueprints
  • make samples or working models, known as prototypes
  • test and refine designs

Working environment

You could work in a workshop, in a creative studio or in an office.

You can get into this job through:

  • a university course
  • an apprenticeship
University

You could do a foundation degree, higher national diploma or degree to get into this career. Useful subjects include:

  • design
  • product design
  • industrial product design
  • engineering

You could also do a course covering a particular industry, which has design options. Examples include automotive engineering and furniture design.

Getting work experience during your studies can improve your job prospects.

Your university careers service can help you to find suitable placements, internships and year in industry opportunities.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 1 or 2 A levels, or equivalent, for a foundation degree or higher national diploma
  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
For more information
Apprenticeship

You could do an engineering product design and development degree apprenticeship.

This typically takes 60 months to complete as a mix of workplace learning and academic study at an approved university.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a degree apprenticeship
For more information

More information

Career tips

Entering design competitions and exhibitions can be a good way of getting yourself noticed by employers.

You'll need to show employers that you have creative skills, technical knowledge and the ability to work to a design brief. This will usually involve presenting a portfolio of your design work to them.

Professional and industry bodies

You can join the Chartered Society of Designers for professional recognition, training opportunities and to make industry contacts.

Further information

You can get more information on working in creative careers from Discover Creative Careers.

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With experience, you could progress to senior designer, then creative director.

You could also move into project management or design management.

Skills required and how your skills match up

What skills are required?

You'll need:

  • design skills and knowledge
  • the ability to come up with new ways of doing things
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • understanding of technology, materials and manufacturing methods
  • analytical thinking skills
  • persistence and determination
  • thinking and reasoning skills
  • complex problem-solving skills
  • the ability to think clearly using logic and reasoning
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
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