Commercial and Industrial Designers
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media · SOC 27-1021
AI exposure from the Anthropic Economic Index (2025); salary from BLS; skills from O*NET. See /sources.
Decision card
Career Evidence Passport
SOC 27-1021 evidence across exposure, wages, projections, postings, certified LCAs, skills, and transitions.
- SOC exposure
- 4.4%
- Medium · Anthropic AEI
- Automation friction
- 47/100
- Moderate friction; broad SOC seed ORS job-requirements coverage.
- Wages
- $83,910
- H-1B offered wage $91,000; LCAs are filings.
- Projected openings
- 4,600
- BLS EP 2024–2034; employment change +3.2%.
- Observed/proxy demand
- 823
- FY2025 certified LCAs; 6,146 postings in 2025.
Skill evidence
- H-1B values are certified Labor Condition Applications, not visa approvals.
- Job postings are seed-static / seed-derived; treat as provider-ready proxy coverage until observed provider data is wired in.
- Transition matches are directional skill-overlap context, not placement guarantees.
- This release is a FutureGrid broad-SOC seed derived from public BLS ORS requirement concepts and categories, not direct occupation-level ORS survey estimates. It describes job requirements, not worker ability, AI capability, or displacement probability. Automation friction is a FutureGrid derived score and should be read alongside exposure, demand, wage, and projection signals.
Best transitions from here
Explore all pathways→Lower AI-exposure roles that reuse your skills, ranked by a transition score (skills that transfer, safety gain, pay and retraining effort).
AI Exposure Analysis
Across AI measures
Multiple exposure lenses for this occupation.
AI could do ~46.6% of this role but only ~4.4% is currently done with AI — a large capability-vs-adoption gap.
Top Skills
H-1B Visa Sponsorship Demand
View full H-1B trends →Certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications naming this occupation, FY2016–FY2025. A descriptive high-skill labor-demand signal — employer filings, not visa approvals or individual outcomes. Note: one LCA can cover multiple worker positions.
O*NET occupation profile
What this work involves
Design and develop manufactured products, such as cars, home appliances, and children's toys. Combine artistic talent with research on product use, marketing, and materials to create the most functional and appealing product design.
Common titles: Design Engineer, Designer, Industrial Designer, Mechanical Designer, Mold Designer, Product Design Engineer
Representative Tasks
- •Prepare sketches of ideas, detailed drawings, illustrations, artwork, or blueprints, using drafting instruments, paints and brushes, or computer-aided design equipment.
- •Modify and refine designs, using working models, to conform with customer specifications, production limitations, or changes in design trends.
- •Evaluate feasibility of design ideas, based on factors such as appearance, safety, function, serviceability, budget, production costs/methods, and market characteristics.
- •Confer with engineering, marketing, production, or sales departments, or with customers, to establish and evaluate design concepts for manufactured products.
- •Present designs and reports to customers or design committees for approval and discuss need for modification.
Detailed Work Activities
- •Draw detailed or technical illustrations.
- •Develop artistic or design concepts for decoration, exhibition, or commercial purposes.
- •Evaluate characteristics of products.
- •Evaluate potential of products, technologies, or resources.
- •Evaluate quality of materials or products.
Tools & Technologies
Employment Projections & AI Exposure
Employment & Wage Trend
BLS OEWS, 2019–2025
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). See /sources.
Sector Comparison
| Metric | This Career | Sector Average |
|---|---|---|
| AI Exposure | 4.4% | 18.3% |
| Outlook | Average | 18% Bright |
| Median Salary | $83,910 | N/A |
| AI Resiliency | 96/100 | N/A |