Urban Designer
Impact: Community development, Environmental sustainability, Quality of life improvement
Shapes the physical setting for life in cities, towns, and villages, creating functional and aesthetically pleasing environments through design, planning, and community engagement.
What the day looks like
- People interaction
- Extensive
- Team vs solo
- 60% Team / 40% Solo
- Client facing
- Frequent
- Impact visibility
- High
- Travel
- 10-20% local travel for site visits and meetings
- Schedule flexibility
- Moderate
- Remote work
- Hybrid
- Typical work hours
- 40-50 hours/week
- Stress level
- Moderate
At a glance
- Median salary
- $83,720
- Entry-level
- $50,000 - $70,000
- Senior
- $120,000 - $150,000
- Growth by 2033
- 3% (as fast as average)
- Demand
- Stable
- Freelance potential
- Moderate
- Salary growth potential
- High to 100-150% growth from entry to senior
- Typical student debt
- $40,000 - $80,000
Skills you'll use
Hard skills
- GIS Software
- CAD Software
- Urban Planning Principles
- Policy Development
- Data Analysis
- Graphic Design
Soft skills
- Communication
- Problem-solving
- Creativity
- Collaboration
- Negotiation
- Analytical Thinking
Technical complexity: High
How to get there
- Minimum education
- Master's Degree
- Licensing
- No
- Years to mid-career
- 3-5 years
- Years to senior
- 7-10 years
- Career switching
- Moderate
Where this career leads
How people arrive here
Where you can go from here
Typical progression
- Junior Urban Designer
- Urban Designer
- Senior Urban Designer
- Project Lead/Manager
- Director/Partner
Future outlook
- Automation probability
- 15% to low risk due to creative, analytical, and social components
- AI disruption risk
- Low
- Demand trend
- Stable
How people feel about it
- Overall satisfaction
- 3.5/10
- Meaning
- 4/10
- Work-life balance
- 3.2/10
- Prestige
- 7.5/10
- Social perception
- High