What Degree Do You Need to Become a Digital Designer?

Starting a new career means heading into uncharted territory, and as you prepare to do so, you’ll likely want to make sure you’re headed in the right general direction. Luckily for you, hiring managers care far more about the quality of your design portfolio than anything else in your job application. Consequently, just about any college degree can count toward your design career, even if the degree is in a different field, such as business. Picking a design degree over others simply comes with more direct career benefits. If college’s enormous time and monetary commitments present a significant obstacle, you’ll also be relieved that not all Digital Designers earn a college degree before launching their career. 

What is a Digital Designer?

The simplest way to describe a Digital Designer is as a visual media creator who emphasizes interactivity. These designers are distinguished from other classes of designers by their focus on how people experience their designs. Rather than focusing solely on what their designs communicate visually, Digital Designers spend considerable time perfecting components like information architecture and accessibility. To improve user-friendliness even more, digital design projects often include prototyping and preparatory phases that include demographic research. 

Digital Designers are best known for their digitally generated graphics, animations, and visual effects, but many Digital Designers also create full-scale websites and apps. If one type of project piques their interest more than others, a Digital Designer can specialize in a unique aspect of digital design. Some Digital Designers choose to highlight primarily digital projects, while others work exclusively on preparing interactive print designs for marketing. 

Because digital design is an umbrella term that includes many different design niches, most digital design professionals collaborate with a team. Their team may include fellow Designers, Project Managers, Product Designers, and IT professionals. 

Do I Need a Degree to Become a Digital Designer?

By and large, most hiring managers expect digital design job candidates to hold a Bachelor of Art (B.F.A) degree in a design subject (such as digital design, UX/UI design, graphic design, or web design). However, a degree won’t mean anything if not accompanied by real skills. For this reason, many aspiring designers find it valuable to attend a design bootcamp or certificate class. In these career-focused classes, students learn practical skills by applying them to hands-on projects. With the right digital design bootcamp, it’s possible to start building experience for a design career before completing an expensive college program.

After completing your initial training, be prepared to continue learning throughout your career. Like any industry, digital design changes over time, and it pays to stay up-to-date on the latest design trends, tools, and techniques. 

Some digital design jobs may require specialist certifications that can be attained through a proctored exam. Regardless of whether your job requires certification, however, getting certified can reward you with more opportunities and a higher salary. Throughout the United States, certified workers earn almost $400 more per week than they would without a certification. Following the same market rules, college graduates also earned an additional $500 each week and saw less unemployment as of 2020. 

Common Degrees for Digital Designers

There’s no one specific degree that’s required for all Digital Designers to hold. Rather, it’s possible to build a digital design career from a variety of common design degrees, meaning that if you got a degree in Computer Science ten years ago and don’t want to spend four additional years in school, you can still become a Digital Designer. Following a similar logic, many designers successfully pivot to digital design from a different niche in the design and tech industries. 

As of 2024, the most popular college degrees held by Digital Designers include: 

• Graphic Design
• Web Design
• UX Design
• UI Design

• Interaction Design
• Animation
• Game Design
• Multimedia Design
• Communication Design
• Product Design

Even though Master of Art (M.F.A) degrees are available in many of these subjects, most Digital Designers only earn a B.F.A degree and some only earn an Associate of Art (A.A.) degree. Still, others choose not to pursue a college degree at all. 

Statistics from Data US Census Bureau illustrate this point well, showing that in America, only around 48% of all professional Designers have a BA degree. Close behind them, roughly 30% are working with an A.A. degree or lighter college experience. Meanwhile, 12% never attended college. While 12% seems small in comparison to the other two numbers, it’s a massive chunk when you realize that’s over 90,000 people. Not to state the obvious, but if 90,000 people can build design careers on zero college experience, you likely can too. 

Tips for Starting a Digital Designer Career Without a Degree

Becoming a Digital Designer without attending college might be harder, but there are ways to make it happen. If you want to set yourself up for success, experts recommend the following strategies. 

Get the Right Training

Attending a digital design bootcamp or certificate course is one of the most effective strategies you can employ at the start of your digital design career. If you choose your training program carefully, you can knock out each of the other tips listed here in one stroke. Design bootcamps often incorporate specialized portfolio workshops, one-on-one mentorship, and professional experience alongside hands-on skills training. 

Build a Stellar Portfolio

Your portfolio is perhaps the most important factor that determines whether you can get a job in digital design. You can even make up for not having a design degree by building a strong collection of projects that highlights skills like Figma, Photoshop, and design theory. For best results, make sure your portfolio is viewable online and looks flawless on a variety of screen types. 

Network up A Storm

Have you ever heard the saying, “It’s not what you know, but who?” In a utopian world, people might only get jobs on merit, but in reality, connecting with the right people can do just as much to help you climb the career ladder. This is great news if you’re trying to start a digital design career without a college degree because it means you have a chance to get your foot in the door based on good impressions. Networking is often associated with boring networking events, but some of the best networking actually happens in other places. 

For example, you may make an important connection through:

• One-on-one mentorship, peer projects, or another facet of a training course.
• A volunteer design project. 
• A local design community meetup or gathering. 

For online networking, be sure to learn the top strategies for using digital designer job sites like LinkedIn, Beyonce, and Dribbble. Even if you think you’re using these platforms to the max, you may learn some new tricks. 

Gain Professional Experience

When you’re new to digital design, you’ll be limited to entry-level jobs. Even these typically require two years of professional digital design experience. As a result, building experience is key to qualifying for a wider selection of digital design jobs, including senior positions. While college is one way to gather experience, there are also many other ways, including: 

• Certificate-granting classes and bootcamps.
• Internships.
• Volunteer design projects in your community.

Learn the Skills to Become a Digital Designer at Noble Desktop

Want to learn design in a supportive environment? Noble Desktop offers highly-rated design classes covering a range of digital design topics for students at all levels. In addition to shorter classes, you’ll find a variety of career certificates that provide comprehensive training, complete with one-on-one mentorship and professional experience opportunities. Start your journey now by signing up for training live online or participating in face-to-face classes at the school’s NYC campus. 

With the hands-on training you’ll get in the Digital Design Certificate, preparing for a digital design career isn’t hard. Even if you start with no experience, you can learn the UI design and graphic design skills you need to launch your career in a matter of weeks. Instead of sitting through dull lectures, this program will teach you practical skills through activities and projects. In addition to mastering tools like InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, and Figma, you’ll gain the expertise necessary to apply design principles for truly stunning results. 

Learn the skills to make websites and apps that are truly user-friendly in UX & UI Design Certificate. Working with a team, you’ll create your own interactive digital interfaces from start to finish, resulting in work you can proudly display in your portfolio. Rather than focusing only on aesthetics, you’ll learn how to research your target users and prototype to improve accessibility. This course also includes a job preparation segment designed to help you workshop your resume and create the perfect portfolio website. 

If websites are your jam, you can make it into a career by joining Noble Desktop’s Web Design Certificate program. Work toward an impressive portfolio with hands-on assignments that will help you learn a combination of design, coding, and software skills. Quicker than you know, you’ll acquire a versatile skill set that includes UI design theory, Figma, WordPress, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Before you’re through, you’ll also have the chance to build a high-quality portfolio website with help from your expert mentor.