Fashion Designers
What Fashion Designers Do
Design clothing and accessories. Create original designs or adapt fashion trends.
See full salary breakdown & percentiles →
Career Outlook
National employment outlook, 2024–2034.
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- None
- Self-employed
- 20%
Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.
How Much Preparation Does This Take?
Job Zone 3 of 5Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Experience
- Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations.
- Education
- Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
- Job training
- Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Source: O*NET Job Zones.
Key Knowledge Areas
Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.
- Designimportance 4.4/5
- Computers and Electronicsimportance 3.4/5
- Production and Processingimportance 3.3/5
- Sales and Marketingimportance 3.2/5
- English Languageimportance 3.1/5
- Fine Artsimportance 2.7/5
- Administration and Managementimportance 2.6/5
- Personnel and Human Resourcesimportance 2.4/5
Work Environment
What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.
- E-Mail4.7/5
- Time Pressure4.1/5
- Spend Time Sitting4.0/5
- Contact With Others4.0/5
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams3.9/5
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled3.8/5
Careers With Similar Skills
Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.
- Art Directors98% skill match
- Dietitians and Nutritionists97% skill match
- Medical and Health Services Managers97% skill match
- Pharmacists97% skill match
- Financial Managers97% skill match
- Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary97% skill match
- Archivists96% skill match
- Administrative Services Managers96% skill match
Transferable Skills
Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.
- Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.8/5
- Coordinationimportance 3.8/5
- Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.8/5
- Time Managementimportance 3.8/5
- Persuasionimportance 3.6/5
- Negotiationimportance 3.6/5
- Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.6/5
- Instructingimportance 3.5/5
Software & Technologies
Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.
Hot Technologies
Other Software Used
- Autodesk AutoCAD Design Suite
- Autodesk SketchBook Pro
- C-DESIGN Fashion
- CLO Virtual Fashion Marvelous Designer
- Computer aided design and drafting software CADD
- Corel CorelDraw Graphics Suite
- Corel Painter
- Fashion Toolbox
Work Style
Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.
- Innovation
- Adaptability
- Attention to Detail
- Achievement Orientation
- Self-Confidence
- Initiative
- Social Orientation
Career Interests
This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.
- ArtisticHigh
- RealisticMedium
- EnterprisingMedium
- ConventionalLow
- SocialLow
- InvestigativeLow
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Where This Career Is Most Concentrated
Metro areas where fashion designers make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).
- 1Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA5.84× national avg
- 2New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ4.23× national avg
- 3Boulder, CO2.44× national avg
- 4Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA2.39× national avg
- 5Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT1.93× national avg
Possible Career Moves
A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.
- Art DirectorsAdvancement
- Medical and Health Services ManagersCareer Change
- Marketing ManagersCareer Change
- Financial ManagersCareer Change
Related Education Programs
Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.
Design and Visual Communications, General
- Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, GA)grads earn ~$45,923
- Fashion Institute of Technology (New York, NY)grads earn ~$45,096
- Southern New Hampshire University (Manchester, NH)grads earn ~$51,370
- Fashion Institute of Technology (New York, NY)grads earn ~$60,882
- The New School (New York, NY)grads earn ~$56,838
Musical Theatre
- New York University (New York, NY)grads earn ~$42,348
- American Musical and Dramatic Academy (New York, NY)grads earn ~$31,701
- American Musical and Dramatic Academy (New York, NY)grads earn ~$32,008
- Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, GA)grads earn ~$35,177
- Texas State University (San Marcos, TX)grads earn ~$48,502
Textile Science
- California State University-Long Beach (Long Beach, CA)
- Auburn University (Auburn, AL)grads earn ~$62,807
- Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, GA)grads earn ~$55,925
- Iowa State University (Ames, IA)grads earn ~$60,349
- Indiana University-Bloomington (Bloomington, IN)grads earn ~$77,520