Web Design Confidential

(Ann) #1

15 Who’s Designing Websites Anyways?


lot of flexibility in their work environment, but it also can be a chal-
lenge for professional designers looking for traditional employment.

All Respondents Full-time Respondents

Not as big of a shift as you might have expected. There was just
slightly more than a $10,000 difference between full-time and part-
time designers. Keep in mind that benefits, insurance, and other
compensation are not included in that reported income. Nonethe-
less, you’d think full-time employment would be worth a lot more
than $10,000!

Looking closer at the data, we can see that the average full-time
salary was skewed downward by a large amount of low paying
full-time jobs. Frequently, those who reported low pay in full-time
positions also indicated that they were students, they had not
completed a college degree, or that web design was only a small
portion of their typical work duties.

One of the early decisions you’ll have to make as a web designer is
whether to pursue full-time work as an employee, work as an inde-
pendent freelancer, or arrange a combination of the two. There are
benefits to all three arrangements, and it can help to take a look at
the numbers. We asked our respondents what their current work
situation was:

What’s your work situation?

$27,312.44 $38,225.


2011 3.8%
6.0%

36.9% 31.0% 13.2% 9.1%
Fr eelance or self-employed
Employed in a job relevant to web design
Employed in a job not relevant to web design, but creating
websites on the side
Student, volunteer or worker in uncompensated role
Partner in a business or organization
Unemployed or looking for work
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