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Graphic Designers vs Software Developers

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

A factual, source-backed comparison of Graphic Designers and Software Developers 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.”

Graphic Designers Software Developers
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$61,300
$133,080
Employment · BLS OEWS
214,260
1,654,440
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
75th pct
85th pct

At a glance

Dimension Graphic Designers Software Developers
Median pay $61,300 $133,080
Employment 214,260 1,654,440
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection About average (+2.1%) Growing fast (+15.8%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 20,000 115,200
Typical education · O*NET Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
AI exposure · published exposure studies High · 75th pct High · 85th pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 88th pct · 49% of tasks —
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index Augmentation-leaning (48.5%) —
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman 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: Computers and Electronics, Originality, Fluency of Ideas, Near Vision, English Language, Active Listening, Written Comprehension, Oral Comprehension, Customer and Personal Service, Oral Expression, Written Expression, Speaking, Writing, Critical Thinking, Active Learning, Deductive Reasoning, Speech Recognition, Speech Clarity, Reading Comprehension, Social Perceptiveness, Coordination, Complex Problem Solving, Judgment and Decision Making, Time Management, Problem Sensitivity, Inductive Reasoning, Information Ordering, Monitoring, Service Orientation, Category Flexibility.

Specific to Graphic Designers

  • Design
  • Fine Arts
  • Communications and Media
  • Sales and Marketing
  • Production and Processing
  • Visual Color Discrimination
  • Visualization
  • Persuasion

Specific to Software Developers

  • Programming
  • Mathematics
  • Systems Analysis
  • Technology Design
  • Systems Evaluation
  • Operations Analysis
  • Selective Attention
  • Instructing

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: Video creation and editing software , Graphics or photo imaging software , Desktop publishing software , Web platform development software , Document management software , Operating system software , Enterprise application integration software , Object or component oriented development software , Data base user interface and query software , Development environment software .

Specific to Graphic Designers

Specific to Software Developers

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Graphic Designers or Software Developers — 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. "Graphic Designers vs Software Developers." 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/graphic-designers-vs-software-developers

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Graphic Designers vs Software Developers. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/graphic-designers-vs-software-developers

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-graphic-designers-vs-software-developers,
  title  = {Graphic Designers vs Software Developers},
  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/graphic-designers-vs-software-developers}
}

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