Hi,
Wondering what the ballpark salary is for an associate accessories designer? I am currently an assistant who operates as an associate, and have been assisting for almost three years barely scratching 41000 annually but of course I am hourly. Anyone have any advice or just salary ranges I should be asking for? I would like to ideally start around $50000?
$45k to $55k sounds right for an Associate Designer. Keep in mind, employers will be squeezing job seekers on pay because they know jobs are scarce.
I’m in Apparel, I’m not sure if there’s a difference in pay between the two areas (I would hope not) - years back, I held Associate title at two different companies at 60k
I currently have Assistants who operate like Associates at 60k - given what you shared, I’d say you’re underpaid now. My experience has been true Assistants starting at 45-50k, Associates 55-60k (and can go higher, I think there’s often an unfortunate and misguided reluctance in the industry to promote Associates to Designer)
What market you’re in can affect what range and also the sz of the company. I’d say 60-65k for an Associate is good. If you are at a big company and or in a specialty it can go up to 70k as the high end.
I started as an Associate Designer at 60K - which I felt was really good at the time. I think youre being paid more of an assistant level. When I was assistant designer I was making about the same. But also hourly is tough! You deserve the benefits of full time especially now!
Thank you everyone! I am at a very large company, a name everyone would probably know. Hopefully I can negotiate a raise because this wage is no longer livable.
I agree that an associate level should be about 60-65K but I’ve seen an ad looking for senior level for 30-35$ an hour. Seems like the market is pushing down on salaries.
Pay ain’t what it used to be. I was doing mid-senior level work at a company and they refused to pay me over $42k a year. All the salespeople got at least 100k, benefits, and bonuses. The highest I ever made as an associate designer was $50k, and when broken down per hour (I worked 8am-3am A LOT.) it was basically minimum wage.
This is pretty common among younger employees, and especially with COVID they’ll be looking to squeeze every penny they can.
That place sounds like a nightmare, I hope your current situation is better than that!
Salary could be anywhere $45-$55. But I would aim for $60K. We as designers get underpaid. If everyone starts refusing low salary maybe will get somewhere
I’ve had friends who were below 30k…it was horrible, that’s not livable in LA. That was about 6 years ago but still…when I was an associate 3-4 years ago I made 44k-48k but I also worked 10-11 hour days routinely.
I’m in NYC and my 41k isn’t livable here so I can’t imagine below 30 in LA! I am fortunate to live with family but I want to live on my own…Ahhh the 10-11 hour days I’ve heard from many, I oddly am open to that for the right price, especially now while I’m young and only responsible to myself but it can not be working in fast fashion,
Hi! I’m in the Midwest, so salaries a little different than NYC (I read on the thread that is where you are). I worked for a largeish “family owned” company for 5 years right out of college. I started at entry level, not doing design, but prepping illustrator art for production. By the time I left, I had been promoted 5 times and my ending job title was Associate Accessories Designer. I left making $38,000 salary. From there, I went on to get a lead technical designer role and salary was bumped only to $45k. After 1 year in that role, I left for a Senior Designer role and that put me at $62,000. My assistant was making $30,000. Again, this is the Midwest, so salaries are lower here. After 3 years in that role, I moved companies again, and now making $85,000 as Director of Product Development. $50,000 for an Associate Design role seems fair, I hope you are able to get what you deserve. I felt like salaries were slowly getting better, but this downturn in economy has turned that trajectory around. 2 Weeks after getting my new role, Covid 19 happened, and the company cut all salaries by at least 10%. So that $85k quickly turned into $76,500 
I’ve been stuck at $40k - $44k salaries for 5 years while asking for raises and only getting laughable increases which were like my boss throwing pennies at me until I cried.
Can’t get anywhere, can’t afford a place to live in NYC (on my own), and have been frustrated trying to get anything higher than an Associate position. How do people just a year older than me get paid $90k at other companies for basically the same exact work I do? It’s baffling.
Also, what is the next position higher up than Associate? Can’t even search for jobs easily.
It depends where you live, too. Bigger cities pay more. I started at 43k at an associate level in Seattle and ended at 45k. SF, etc will pay higher.
Designer would be the next level and unless you get lucky, it’s typically a really hard jump to make. It took me about about 8 years 
Those people making higher salaries either have a golden star (some people get very lucky in this industry and can talk the talk to get promoted or hired) or they get hired in at the designer level. It’s very hard to be promoted to designer within a position I’ve found.
Yeah. I’m a senior level designer and have never even made it to 90.
I agree that a lot of people can talk the talk. I’m sure quite a few are actually talented, but I’ve seen some real idiots making 80-90K.
Are most senior designers in NY about at the 90 range??
So many people that can’t design! Super conceptual but no actual skills. I made 90k as a designer in SF.
This is so true! It’s very frustrating to see.
I am a professor advising design students. What I find is that the average starting salary for an assistant is between $58,000 - $65,000. Regardless of what city you are in. $58, 000 can be tough in LA, or NY due to cost of living. I would say present yourself on your skills and what contributions you can make to the company.