Commercial and industrial designers
SOC Code: 27-1021
Commercial and industrial designers carries a 33% AI exposure score (Medium automation risk), with a median annual wage of $79,450 and +3.2% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 30,600 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 33% AI exposure, Commercial and industrial designers sits 4 points below the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 41% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
64/100
Commercial and industrial designers, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage B+ $79,450
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth C +3.2%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) C 33% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Commercial and industrial designers in the Medium band.
Credential × growth standing
Bachelor's band with mid-pack BLS pace
Commercial and industrial designers shares the Bachelor's gate with 178 peer occupations and lands in Average (378 of 832). Neither the rarest nor the most crowded growth shelf - use wage and AI desks on this page for the differentiator.
Where Commercial and industrial designers sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Commercial and industrial designers sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
33% Lower than most lower than 59% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Commercial and industrial designers vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Commercial and industrial designers is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Commercial and industrial designers's Medium automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score below 40% reflects tasks anchored in physical dexterity, unstructured environments, or high-touch human interaction that current AI cannot reliably replicate.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 27-1021) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Commercial and industrial designers be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Commercial and industrial designers. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Prepare sketches of ideas, detailed drawings, illustrations, artwork, or blueprints, using drafting instruments, paints and brushes, or computer-aided design equipment.
- 2. Modify and refine designs, using working models, to conform with customer specifications, production limitations, or changes in design trends.
- 3. Evaluate feasibility of design ideas, based on factors such as appearance, safety, function, serviceability, budget, production costs/methods, and market characteristics.
- 4. Confer with engineering, marketing, production, or sales departments, or with customers, to establish and evaluate design concepts for manufactured products.
- 5. Present designs and reports to customers or design committees for approval and discuss need for modification.
- 6. Develop industrial standards and regulatory guidelines.
- 7. Research production specifications, costs, production materials, and manufacturing methods and provide cost estimates and itemized production requirements.
- 8. Coordinate the look and function of product lines.
- 9. Direct and coordinate the fabrication of models or samples and the drafting of working drawings and specification sheets from sketches.
- 10. Investigate product characteristics such as the product's safety and handling qualities, its market appeal, how efficiently it can be produced, and ways of distributing, using, and maintaining it.
Key Skills Required
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Complex Problem Solving
- Speaking
- Operations Analysis
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Time Management
- Writing
- Monitoring
Knowledge Areas
- Design
- Engineering and Technology
- Production and Processing
- Mechanical
- Computers and Electronics
- Mathematics
- English Language
- Physics
- Sales and Marketing
- Administrative
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Commercial and industrial designers?
Commercial and industrial designers has an AI exposure score of 33%, indicating a medium level of automation risk. The majority of tasks in this role require human judgment, creativity, or physical presence that AI cannot easily replicate.
What is the job outlook for Commercial and industrial designers?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Commercial and industrial designers is projected to grow by 3.2% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 30,600 workers.
What skills are needed for Commercial and industrial designers?
Key skills for Commercial and industrial designers include Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, and others. Typical entry-level education is Bachelor's degree.
How much do Commercial and industrial designers earn?
The median annual wage for Commercial and industrial designers is $79,450, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Commercial and industrial designers?
The typical entry-level education for Commercial and industrial designers is Bachelor's degree. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves None. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Commercial and industrial designers?
Commercial and industrial designers roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
Medium automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. Most tasks require human judgment and are resistant to automation.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Commercial and industrial designers: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (33% here).
- Atmospheric, earth, marine, and space sciences teachers, postsecondary · AI exposure 33%
- Audio and video technicians · AI exposure 33%
- Bailiffs · AI exposure 33%
- Cooks, private household · AI exposure 33%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (+3.2% here).
- Anesthesiologists · growth +3.2%
- Brickmasons and blockmasons · growth +3.2%
- Counter and rental clerks · growth +3.2%
- Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers · growth +3.2%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 26 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Commercial and industrial designers' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Commercial and industrial designers side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).