Career change as a graphic designer

Career change paths

• Online marketing specialist

  Also: Marketing officer

  With on-the-job training

  As a marketing officer or online marketing specialist, you plan campaigns, steer agencies, look after social media, newsletters and the website, and evaluate results.

  What you bring:

  You know brand appearances, campaigns and advertising materials and work closely with marketing departments.

  How to get there:

  Companies hire designers with a sense for marketing and train them on the job in planning and evaluation. Courses in online marketing and web analytics take a few weeks. A permanent position in a company often brings more predictability than working at an agency or freelancing.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Mostly no weekendsFixed daytime hoursPhysically lightLittle customer contactIn an officeHome office possible

  €5,385gross per monthMedian salary

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• Creative director

  Also: Head of marketing communications

  With on-the-job trainingPromotion

  As creative director or head of marketing communications, you are responsible for the whole appearance of a brand, lead a creative team and steer agencies.

  What you bring:

  As a designer or art director, you have developed campaigns, led teams and freelancers and won over clients.

  How to get there:

  You usually make this step in your own agency or company after some years as an art director. Courses on leadership and project management help. In companies, experience in marketing strategy is often also expected for management positions.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Mostly no weekendsFixed daytime hoursPhysically lightIn an office

  €7,900gross per monthMedian salary

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• Lecturer in graphic design

  Also: Course leader at an adult education center (Volkshochschule)

  With on-the-job training

  At private design schools, academies or adult education centers (Volkshochschulen), you teach design, image editing or layout and supervise final projects.

  What you bring:

  You master design, typography and software and can show and explain work steps well.

  How to get there:

  Training providers and design schools mostly use practitioners as freelance lecturers. A trainer course or a course in teaching methods lasting a few weeks helps you get started. This route fits well as a second source of income, but there are also permanent positions.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Mostly no weekendsFixed daytime hoursPhysically light

  €4,155gross per monthMedian salary

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• Social media manager

  Also: Public relations officer

  With on-the-job training

  As a social media manager or public relations officer, you plan content for associations, authorities or companies, create posts and look after the community.

  What you bring:

  You can prepare content visually and know visual language, video and formats for different channels.

  How to get there:

  Organizations hire designers with a feel for texts and topics. Courses in social media and press work take a few weeks. At authorities and associations, working hours are often more predictable than at agencies.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Fixed daytime hoursPhysically lightIn an officeHome office possible

  €5,318gross per monthMedian salary

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• Web designer

  Also: Web content manager

  With on-the-job training

  As a web designer or web content manager, you design and maintain websites and online shops, build pages in content management systems and optimize them for search engines.

  What you bring:

  You know design, visual language and user guidance and already work with digital media.

  How to get there:

  Agencies and companies train graphic designers on the job in content management systems and the basics of HTML and CSS. Courses on these take a few weeks. Programming skills are an advantage.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Mostly no weekendsFixed daytime hoursPhysically lightLittle customer contactIn an officeHome office possible

  €3,305gross per monthMedian salary

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• UX designer

  Also: Usability engineer

  With further training

  As a UX designer, you study how people use websites, apps and software, develop prototypes and test them with users.

  What you bring:

  For years you have designed interfaces, layouts and user guidance and think visually from the user's point of view.

  How to get there:

  Further training in user experience design usually takes a few months, often with a certificate. A portfolio with your own UX projects matters more for an application than a degree. Employers include, for example, software companies, agencies and digital departments of large companies.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Mostly no weekendsFixed daytime hoursPhysically lightIn an officeHome office possible

  €4,893gross per monthMedian salary

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• Teacher of media design at a vocational school

  Also: Teacher of design technology

  With a degree

  At a vocational school, you teach future media designers, design technology assistants or upper secondary technical school students (Fachoberschüler) in design and media technology.

  What you bring:

  You know media design, printing and digital media from practice and know what agencies expect from junior staff.

  How to get there:

  Some states allow the alternative route into teaching (Seiteneinstieg) with a Diplom or master's degree in design. You then complete a preparatory service (Vorbereitungsdienst) alongside work, usually lasting 18 to 24 months. Each state decides whether your degree is recognized and whether a second subject is needed.*Regulated by law (State law: teacher education acts and alternative-route regulations of the German states).

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Mostly no weekendsFixed daytime hoursPhysically lightLittle customer contact

  €5,140gross per monthMedian salary

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• Technical writer

  Also: Information designer

  With further training

  As a technical writer, you create instructions, manuals and online help with illustrations and videos for machines, software or devices.

  What you bring:

  You can make complex content understandable with images, graphics and clear structure.

  How to get there:

  Part-time further training in technical writing with a certificate, for example to the standard of the professional association tekom, usually takes a few months. There are jobs in mechanical engineering, medical technology and software, for example. An interest in technology and good English are expected.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Mostly no weekendsFixed daytime hoursPhysically lightLittle customer contactIn an officeHome office possible

  €4,728gross per monthMedian salary

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Salary: median of all full-time employees in the job, gross per month excluding special payments, as of April 2025. Half earn more, half earn less. Source: Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis), table 62361-0030, license dl-de/by-2-0. Assigned to the jobs by quereinsteiger.de. No guarantee of accuracy.