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Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers vs Commercial and Industrial Designers

Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index

A factual, source-backed comparison of Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers and Commercial and Industrial Designers on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”

Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers Commercial and Industrial Designers
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$67,670
$79,450
Employment · BLS OEWS
2,860
30,250
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
26th pct
70th pct

At a glance

Dimension Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers Commercial and Industrial Designers
Median pay $67,670 $79,450
Employment 2,860 30,250
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection Declining (-10.2%) About average (+3.2%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 300 2,500
Typical education · O*NET Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
AI exposure · published exposure studies Low · 26th pct High · 70th pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 21st pct · 17% of tasks 65th pct · 35% of tasks
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index — Augmentation-leaning (43.8%)
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman Yes Yes

Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.

Skills

Shared: Design, Visualization, Near Vision, Mathematics, English Language, Production and Processing, Critical Thinking, Originality, Information Ordering, Written Comprehension, Oral Expression, Deductive Reasoning, Active Listening, Oral Comprehension, Category Flexibility, Judgment and Decision Making, Time Management, Fluency of Ideas, Problem Sensitivity, Inductive Reasoning, Selective Attention, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Mathematics, Monitoring, Written Expression, Flexibility of Closure, Speech Recognition, Speech Clarity, Writing.

Specific to Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers

  • Mathematical Reasoning
  • Number Facility
  • Finger Dexterity
  • Education and Training
  • Perceptual Speed
  • Active Learning
  • Quality Control Analysis
  • Arm-Hand Steadiness

Specific to Commercial and Industrial Designers

  • Engineering and Technology
  • Mechanical
  • Computers and Electronics
  • Complex Problem Solving
  • Operations Analysis
  • Visual Color Discrimination
  • Social Perceptiveness
  • Coordination

Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).

Tools & technology

Shared: Graphics or photo imaging software , Computer aided design CAD software , Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Desktop publishing software , Word processing software .

Specific to Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers

Specific to Commercial and Industrial Designers

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers or Commercial and Industrial Designers — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.

More comparisons

Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers vs Commercial and Industrial Designers." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/fabric-and-apparel-patternmakers-vs-commercial-and-industrial-designers

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers vs Commercial and Industrial Designers. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/fabric-and-apparel-patternmakers-vs-commercial-and-industrial-designers

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-fabric-and-apparel-patternmakers-vs-commercial-and-industrial-designers,
  title  = {Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers vs Commercial and Industrial Designers},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/compare/fabric-and-apparel-patternmakers-vs-commercial-and-industrial-designers}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.