If you have an intense passion for fashion, then you may be interested in becoming a fashion designer. Fashion designers attempt to create clothing and accessories that are "in." Some designers follow already-established fashion trends when developing clothing and accessories. These creative professionals take their sketches and turn them into reality, either adorned by a model strutting the catwalk or draped on a mannequin behind a department store window.National Salary
- The mean hourly wage for fashion designers was $35.78 in May 2009, and the mean annual wage, or average salary, was $74,410, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Median annual wages for fashion designers ranged from approximately $32,320 to $130,900. The lowest 10 percent of employees earn less than $32,320, and the top 10 percent of employees earn more than $130,900.
Experience
- The PayScale website lists the salary of fashion designers based on years of experience. As of October 2010, those designers with less than one year of experience earned anywhere from $30,521 to $44,219; one to four years, $38,168 to $53,425; five to nine years, $48,694 to $70,169; 10 to 19 years, $59,850 to $89,972; and 20 years or more, $67,202 to $109,203.
High Employment
- The apparel, piece goods and notions merchant wholesalers industries employed the largest number of fashion designers, with an average salary of $73,150 in May 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Other industries that employed large numbers were: cut-and-sew apparel manufacturing, $78,320; specialized design services, $80,720; management of companies and enterprises, $79,570; and performing arts companies, $53,270.
Top-Paying Industries
- Motion picture and video industries paid the highest average salary above all other industries to fashion designers at $92,850, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in May 2009. Other industries that offered high pay were: wholesale electronic markets and agents and brokers, $92,700; specialized design services, $80,720; management of companies and enterprises, $79,570; and miscellaneous durable-goods merchant wholesalers, $79,380.
Top-Paying States
- New Hampshire paid the highest average salary above all other states to fashion designers with an average annual salary of $85,460 in May 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Other states that offered high pay were: Maine, $81,540; California, $81,490; Connecticut, $81,070; and New York, $79,800.
Read more: What Is a Fashion Designer's Yearly Salary? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_7393578_fashion-designer_s-yearly-salary_.html#ixzz1gjKn8Zto
