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Creative & Media

Fashion Designers

Design clothing and accessories. Create original designs or adapt fashion trends.

Median salary (BLS)

$80,960

10th–90th percentile (BLS)

$39k – $147k

Job outlook

+2% (about average)

AI exposure

Early-career check: graduates of the matching programs below typically earn $91,000 ten years after starting college — an early-career figure, vs. the all-experience BLS median above. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard.

Plan a path to Fashion Designers

Qualification costsStack incomeBest cities/statesSchool ROIJob-posting fitTailored resume

Education

Typical entry: Associate degree

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How to qualify

Estimate

Cost to qualify

$8,000–$22,000

Time to qualify

2 yr

Renewal

—

  1. 1

    Associate degree (community college)

    Degree

    Two years at in-district rates — average published tuition & fees ≈ $4,050/yr, plus ~$1,200/yr books & supplies.

    $8,000–$22,000 · 2 years source

Estimated typical U.S. route for "Fashion Designers" — built from BLS education requirements and College Board 2024–25 average published prices (public, in-state tuition + fees + books). Not yet verified against a specific state's licensing rules — confirm with your state licensing board or program.

Typical progression

  1. Junior Fashion Designers

    Entry / Junior

    $39,490

    ~2 yrs to advance

  2. Fashion Designers

    Established

    $80,960

    ~3 yrs to advance

  3. Senior Fashion Designers

    Senior

    $113,915

Key skills

A typical day

  • •Sketch rough and detailed drawings of apparel or accessories, and write specifications such as color schemes, construction, material types, and accessory requirements.
  • •Examine sample garments on and off models, modifying designs to achieve desired effects.
  • •Confer with sales and management executives or with clients to discuss design ideas.
  • •Select materials and production techniques to be used for products.
  • •Provide sample garments to agents and sales representatives, and arrange for showings of sample garments at sales meetings or fashion shows.

Fields of study

Any field

Top colleges for Creative & Media

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Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.