Commercial and Industrial Designer Career Assessment
Designing the things people pick up and use
Welcome
Commercial and industrial designers decide how a product looks, feels, and works in your hands. The shape of a snow shovel handle, the layout of the controls on a skid steer, the lid on a coffee cup — somebody drew all of that.
This is a small career in North Dakota. Very small. You will learn what the work really is, where the jobs actually are, and whether it fits you.
This takes about 15 minutes.
What is a Commercial and Industrial Designer?
A commercial and industrial designer takes an idea and turns it into a real object people can use. You sketch it, build it in 3D software, print or carve a model, hold it, find what is wrong with it, and do it again. You work next to engineers, who make sure it works, and next to manufacturing, who have to be able to build it for a price. Your job is the part in between: the shape, the grip, the buttons, the way it feels the first time someone touches it.
The Reality: Be honest with yourself about the numbers before you fall in love with this. North Dakota had about 50 people in this job in 2024, and the state projects almost no yearly openings. There is also no industrial design degree anywhere in North Dakota. That does not make this impossible — people do it here — but it means you will probably study out of state or online, and you should look hard at graphic design, drafting, or engineering technology as a backup you would actually be happy doing.
Your Responsibilities:
- Sketch ideas by hand, fast, over and over
- Build the part in 3D design software
- 3D print or hand-build models to hold and test
- Pick materials, colors, and surface textures
- Work with engineers so the design can really work
- Work with manufacturing so it can be built for the price
- Watch real people use the product and write down what goes wrong
- Prepare drawings and files the factory can build from
You decide how a thing feels in someone’s hand before they ever think about it.
A Day in the Life
7:30 AM — Sketch six handle shapes on paper in twenty minutes. Most of them are bad. That is the point.
8:30 AM — Build the two best ones in 3D software.
10:00 AM — Send a model to the 3D printer and start the next part while it runs.
11:00 AM — Pick up yesterday’s printed model. Hold it. The thumb rest is too sharp.
12:00 PM — Lunch.
12:45 PM — Meet with two engineers. They say your wall is too thin to mold. You change it.
2:00 PM — Sand and paint a foam model so it looks like the real thing for Friday’s review.
4:30 PM — Photograph the model, write up what changed and why, and file the drawings.
Quiet focused work at a screen, broken up by standing at a bench with something real in your hands.
Training in North Dakota
There is no industrial design degree in North Dakota. Most industrial designers have a four-year degree in industrial design or product design. North Dakota does not offer one. NDSU’s School of Design, Architecture and Art is the largest design school in the region, but its programs are Architecture, Interior Design, Graphic Design and Illustration, Landscape Architecture, Art Education, and Apparel, Retail Merchandising and Design — not industrial or product design. So your realistic choices are a related two-year degree here, an out-of-state or online industrial design degree, or both.
Training Pathways:
- Two-year design degree in North Dakota first (2 years): A graphic design or architectural design associate degree teaches you drawing, layout, color, software, and how to build and present a portfolio. Those skills transfer. You then either transfer into a four-year design degree somewhere else or aim at a design-adjacent job here.
- Four-year industrial design degree, out of state or online (4 years): This is what most job postings ask for. You will need to leave North Dakota for it, or find an online program. Check that the program requires a real portfolio and includes shop or model-making time — a design degree with no hands in it is not worth much.
- Come in through making (2 to 4 years): Start with a machining, mechanical, or drafting associate degree and get hired at a manufacturer. Learn how parts are really made, build a portfolio of your own design work at night, and move toward the design side from the inside. This is slower, but it is a paid path and North Dakota has the manufacturers.
Where to Train in North Dakota:
- Bismarck State College (Bismarck) — Graphic Design and Communications, AAS, 63 credits, 2 years (48 program credits plus 15 general education). Covers digital illustration, layout, typography, imaging software, multimedia, and portfolio presentation — catalog.bismarckstate.edu
- Bismarck State College (Bismarck) — Graphic Design Technology, a shorter technical option in the same department — bismarckstate.edu
- ND State College of Science (Wahpeton) — Architectural Modeling and Design Technology, AAS. Teaches 3D modeling and design presentation for buildings rather than products, but the modeling and drawing skills carry over — catalog.ndscs.edu
- ND State College of Science (Wahpeton) — Precision Machining Technology, AAS or certificate, and Mechanical Systems, AAS. These teach you how parts are actually made, which is the single thing most young designers are missing — catalog.ndscs.edu
- NDSU (Fargo) — School of Design, Architecture and Art. Graphic Design and Illustration, Interior Design, Architecture, Landscape Architecture. No industrial or product design program, but the closest four-year design training in the state — ndsu.edu
- Out of state or online — for an actual industrial design degree you will be looking outside North Dakota. Ask any program you consider how many hours students spend in a shop, and ask to see recent graduate portfolios before you pay anything
Before You Start: High school diploma or GED. Draw constantly, even badly, starting now. Take art, drafting, shop, and geometry if your school has them. Learn one 3D program on your own — free versions exist. Start saving photos of everything you make in a folder; that folder becomes your portfolio, and your portfolio is what actually gets you hired.
Tip: Start with financial aid and scholarships. Fill out the FAFSA, ask the school’s financial aid office what you qualify for, and ask an employer whether they help pay for school. That is where the money starts. After that, a career counselor or Job Service North Dakota may be able to help with what is left over, like tuition, books, a laptop, or exam fees. What can be paid for depends on the program and on your own situation, so ask before you enroll rather than after. Worth asking about specifically: two-year degrees that train you for a job, like civil engineering technology, land surveying, mechatronics, electronics, or instrumentation. North Dakota two-year colleges also cost far less than a university. Ask about paid summer internships too — engineering firms, plants, and survey crews hire students while they are still in school.
Certification & Licensing
There is no license and no required certification for this work. Your portfolio is your credential. The Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) is the main professional group for this field in the United States. It is a membership organization, not a licensing board — it does not certify or license designers, and nothing on its site offers a credential you can earn (idsa.org). Nobody can stop you from calling yourself an industrial designer. What they can do is ask to see your work.
What Employers Actually Look At:
- No state license — North Dakota does not license commercial or industrial designers, and neither does any other state
- No national certification — IDSA offers membership, professional and student chapters, a job board, awards, scholarships, and its INNOVATION magazine, but not a certification exam (idsa.org)
- Your portfolio — this is the real test. Ten to fifteen projects, each one showing the sketches, the models, the failures, and the final object. Employers want to see how you think, not just the pretty picture at the end
- Software you can prove — 3D modeling and rendering software, plus image editing. Some vendors sell their own certifications. They are cheap and they look fine on a resume, but no employer will hire you on one instead of a portfolio
- IDSA Student Merit Awards — a real, national line on a resume for a student, judged on design work (idsa.org)
- A shop skill — machining, welding, woodworking, or 3D printing. Not a credential, but it makes you far more useful and far more employable in North Dakota
The Exams: There is no exam. The closest thing is a portfolio review, and it is harder than an exam. Expect to walk someone through your work out loud and answer why you made each choice.
Cost: IDSA membership has student and professional rates — check idsa.org for current amounts. Your real costs are school, a computer that can run 3D software, and materials for models.
Keeping It Current: Nothing to renew. But a portfolio more than two years old reads as stale. Keep making things, even small ones, and keep swapping the weakest project out.
Salary & Job Outlook
United States Commercial and Industrial Designer Pay (May 2025) — North Dakota figures are not published:
- Starting out (bottom 10–25%): $25.70–$31.95/hour ($53,460–$66,450/year)
- Middle (median — half earn more, half earn less): $40.34/hour ($83,910/year)
- Experienced (top 25–10%): $52.43–$67.20/hour ($109,050–$139,770/year)
What that means: Read this one carefully. These are national numbers, not North Dakota numbers. North Dakota has too few people in this job for the government to publish a state wage without risking identifying individual workers, so no ND figures exist. The national middle is about $40.34 an hour, or about $83,910 a year. Expect North Dakota pay to land below that national middle, the way most North Dakota office and design pay does — but understand that is an educated guess, not a published figure. Ask for real numbers from real North Dakota employers before you plan around anything.
Jobs in North Dakota: About 50 people do this work in ND today. By 2034, that should be about 60 (about 6% growth). Expect fewer than 5 job openings every year in ND from growth and people retiring or changing jobs. Across the U.S., the change is about 3% growth — average.
Outlook: Thin. This is the smallest career in this group by a wide margin. About 50 people do this work in North Dakota, and the state projects fewer than 5 openings a year — the count rounds to zero. The percentage growth looks fine only because the starting number is so small. If you want design work with real North Dakota numbers behind it, look at graphic designer: about 590 people in the state, roughly 40 openings a year, and you can train for it at Bismarck State College without leaving. That is not a consolation prize. It is the honest better bet, and a lot of product design work in this state is done by people whose title says something else.
Who Hires in ND: Equipment manufacturers are the real story here. Bobcat and Doosan are headquartered in West Fargo and run an Acceleration Center for design, testing, and training. Beyond that: other ag and construction equipment makers, medical device and lab equipment companies, sign and display shops, packaging companies, furniture and cabinet makers, and small product startups. Many designers here work for one manufacturer for a long time, or freelance for several.
Work Setting: A design studio or an office inside a manufacturing plant. A desk with a big screen, plus a bench or shop area with 3D printers, foam, and hand tools. Some plant floor time, some travel to suppliers or to watch customers use the product.
Physical Demands: Low to moderate. Mostly sitting at a screen, with time standing at a bench cutting, sanding, and gluing. Eye strain and wrist strain are real — a good chair and setup matter. You need to be able to see fine differences in shape and color.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, United States, May 2025 (SOC 27-1021); North Dakota and U.S. long-term employment projections 2024–2034, via O*NET OnLine. Numbers are rounded.
Where This Leads
Path 1: Junior or Associate Designer — Your first job. Lots of sketching and modeling, someone else picks the direction.
Path 2: Industrial Designer — You own a product from sketch to production.
Path 3: Senior Designer — Harder products, and you guide the junior people.
Path 4: Design Manager — You run the design team and talk to the rest of the company.
Path 5: CMF Specialist — Color, material, and finish — a real specialty in equipment and consumer goods.
Path 6: Freelance or Your Own Studio — Design for several companies at once. Feast and famine, but it is yours.
The Real Talk
What's Great:
- You hold the thing you drew
- Sketching, modeling, and making all in one job
- Work next to engineers and machinists
- Every project is a different problem
- Skills carry to graphics, packaging, and UX
- Your portfolio travels anywhere
What's Hard:
- Almost no openings in North Dakota
- No industrial design degree in the state
- Portfolio matters more than grades
- Most of your ideas get thrown out
- Deadlines set by the factory, not by you
- Small field means few people to learn from here
Be Honest: Can you draw a lot of bad ideas fast without getting precious about them? Can you take hard criticism of work you care about, weekly? Are you willing to study out of state or online, or to come in sideways through making? And would graphic design or drafting make you happy if this does not open up?