I'm 44, I have been doing this for over 20 years. I've started agencies, I've raised venture capital for a startup I co-founded and exited, and my company (of one, me) comes in as the lone wolf designer on projects.

I prefer the lone wolf (freelancer) route.

In my opinion, the way compensation (earnings) is being discussed and thought of here - "salary" - is a mistake. It's an employee mindset.

There is nothing wrong with being an employee, however, even if you are working for a company, at the very least, many of today's company's need/ demand that employees function as your role as (UX, UI, digital product designer) ____________ coupled with intra-preneur.

You must have equal business thinking.

Yes, location can be important to some degree, however, there is one determining factor of earnings, which nobody has mentioned.

Specialization and industries you're serving or pursuing as a designer.

If you're working/ designing in Fintech, the desired economic impact and yield of your design efforts may be able to command higher earnings.

If you're working/ designing in Biotech, wahlah, you may earn more money because the stakes are higher.

If you're working for a poorly/ barely funded startup with a loose cannon founder who changes his mind every ten minutes, who is chasing the latest, greatest, gameified, mobile, social app, your compensation will likely reflect that fact.

Earnings is about table selection.

And, I know what many people's retort will be.

Buttttttt, but, I don't have experience in that industry.

That's permission based thinking. Stop asking for permission.

Often, in the case of design, there are very few people in some industries that have "experience". If there is "experienced" people in that industry, often, it's exactly what the company does not want. Old ideas.

Be a constant student and curious.

Challenge yourself to dig deep into industries you're drawn to - consume yourself with information about those industries, approach those in those industries with succinct, sharp angles and insights.

Sketch your ideas, "Sketch" your ideas, destroy them, build them up, rinse, repeat.

26 year old straight white cis male, (web) software engineer, four years out of college but ~10 years professional experience, NYC — 105k USD / year.

Question to everyone who says they can't discuss their salary, which apparently seems to be widespread: what's keeping you from doing so? Is it just because it's taboo, or is there actually a chance of reprisal from your company if you do?

The one thing that always hurts these discussions is how much where someone is located (or more importantly, where the employer is located for those of you that work remote) impacts what someone makes. I guess it also goes without saying that it matters what you are doing too.

I feel this is especially true with those with a half-dozen years of experience or less. As you climb the ladder, the salaries generally stay the same because that's the cost for your skill set. When you are newish, this is more in flux.

Thompson in San Francisco could say he makes 200K a year and Thomson in Detroit might only be making 100K. Cost of living, surrounding talent pool salaries, etc factor in huge.

For me the key has always been pushing myself. I had a goal - be a CD by a particular time. I then jumped positions over time with that end goal in mind. Would the next position not only offer more money, but would it offer the experience to help me get to where I wanted to be?

This was pretty insightful https://www.invisionapp.com/product-design-industry-report-2016 As for me I work at a fin tech startup as a product designer in Canada and I make 75k a year. my experience is 0 product design but 5 years of marketing.

This video is absolutely relevant to this thread. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xH7eGFuSYI

The social taboo of not discussing salary actually hurts everybody except the executives at your company. I understand not wanting to create awkward situations within family and social circles however.

Interaction Designer at a startup incubator in Central Pennsylvania, USA. $75k/year with 6 years experience.

Not allowed to disclose my current salary, but my previous position was £90k/year as a UI designer in central London. Been doing it roughly ten years.

I'm currently 26 years old and been in this industry for about 5 years. I've worked mostly in the Bay Area but my first gig was in Seattle.

First internship - Printern: Free (don't take free internships) Second internship - Interactive design intern: About $4,000-5,000/m Third internship - UX design intern: $5,0000/m

Seattle (corporate) First Job - UX Designer II: $110,000 raised up to $120,000

San Francisco (agency) Second Job - Mid-Level UX Designer: $100,000 I decided to take a pay cut to work with rad people on cool projects and also to wield my skillset with speed and efficiency.

Opinion: Don't make money the priority; make the quality of work and culture first priority. Figure out cost of living, cost of food etc and tax deductions — that will help you gauge your salary within a certain region. Also check glassdoor for the average within your industry. I usually tack-on an additional 10-15k to salary for negotiation purposes (to get closer to the glassdoor suggested salary). Also be aware that some companies have stock options that you should max our if they have an ESPP.

I started off as a graphic designer and worked my way into carving a niche into interaction design with strong visuals and knowledge of user research etc.

Brand Design Manager at TINT in San Francisco, just hit my 1 year mark, and I make $88,000/yr. On top of salary, we get a lot of perks, such as free lunch ($190/mo), commuting benefits ($80/mo), and self-improvement reimbursement ($100/mo).

Previously, I was working at a creative agency in Seattle for 1 year making $31,500/yr. No perks.

Chicago, IL

Lead Designer, Front End Developer

4 years experience

$82k

Freelanced for 2 years to learn web dev. Then joined a startup as my first ever role as a frontend dev/designer in London.

Started at £18K. 3 years later I'm over double. I'm going to be asking for an increase soon.

Since then I have become a 'Designer'.

My job is mostly UI design. But then I also do a little bit of print work and a lot more HTML&CSS job to help out the frontend devs.

There was a link posted on HackerNews a while back where people submitted their salaries to a Google Spreadsheet, could be useful;

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1a1Df6dg2Pby1UoNlZU2l0FEykKsQKttu7O6q7iQd2bU/htmlview?usp=sharing&sle=true

My advice is to go glassdoor.com and search for salaries. You will find a much higher range of results than asking here.

There must be a site out there for pure design / dev roles where people can submit their salaries anonymously right, then see the average in their area?

1 Year Experience UI Designer & Front-End Developer 35k USD South Carolina, US

30 Male, Chicago, IL Freelance Visual & Interaction Designer with 10 years of experience. I make 28,423.77 Boxes of Cracklin Oat Bran per year.

22K USD/year, Shenzhen, China

senior product design, toronto, startup, $110k

Big tech designer in the south: 95k, three years of concrete work. Soon 115k at a start-up.

US related, but still relevant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xH7eGFuSYI

Like others have said, I can't disclose my current salary, but my last perm role was as a senior product designer, in Central London, at £80k/year. 10 Years exp.

I can't say what I am on at my current role, as per my employers request to not disclose my salary, but my previous role as a full time Product Designer (UX, UI) was £65K - London, UK.. I have about 7 years experience as a designer, but have only been a product designer for about 3 years.. I was previously a Graphic / Motion Designer..