senior designer pay
unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, im not at one of the big companies most on here are at. but, what does everyone feel a senior graphic designer that manages two juniors, only has creative director above them, handles productions, leads all design projects and has 12 years experience should be at for pay? charlotte, nc im under $70k right now.
Caveat that type of project work (eg scope, complexity, impact) matter significantly in context to YoE and responsibilities. Are you in product design for a tech company? Taking a look at a cost of living calculator between NC and CA, I’d say you’re about average. Perhaps underpaid if you’re in product design for a tech company. TC is higher in cities like SF, but so is everything else including taxes. Shoot for 15-20% more within your area. If you are open to relocating, then definitely refer to levels.fyi.
Is "designer" like graphic design or product design or what? UX/Product/any tech related design is paid a lot more than graphic design, and I would think that for 12 yoe if you are in tech then you are probably pretty underpaid. Source: I am UX designer with 1 yoe that searched all over the country for jobs before I landed at Walmart
You can check levels.fyi to see what designers make at big companies. With 12 yoe you probably compare to a level 5 or 6. I don't know if $70k base is low for NC, I never lived there. How is the cost of life? What's your TC? To collect more data, you can take a look at Glassdoor too, or check offers from companies with a transparent salary policy like GIT or Buffer. For info, also a designer here, similar yoe.