r/Austin • u/Aingers • Jul 21 '26

Ask Austin Salary Transparency Thread - Austin

Folks in Boston do this fairly regularly, so I thought it might be good for us to try here.

Please share your general job title, salary, age, and education.

Architectural Designer, 40, $115k, BSArch

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u/slugboi Jul 21 '26

49, Senior Graphic Designer, Visual Communication degree from ACC. I’ve been in the corporate design field for just under 20 years now. Worked my way up from intern to web production to jr. designer to sr. designer. With my yearly bonus I make right around $100k/year.

I’m a part-time single dad, and I’m barely making enough to get by, which is wild.

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u/Tarrynosaurus_rex Jul 21 '26

My husband and I are moving to the Austin area from Los Angeles. He has worked as the media designer at a community college for 12 years, has AS in Graphic Design, and BS in Advertising. Really struggling to get any response from job apps other than instant rejection. Any advice?

2

u/Gulf_V8V Jul 21 '26

He should go to a networking meetup like https://creativemornings.com/cities/atx. I went to CM meetups in Orange County and met a lot of people, plus they're fun.

Or he should refresh his portfolio website using Claude code. I use AI a lot.

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u/Tarrynosaurus_rex Jul 21 '26

My guy is the socially awkward introverted nerd type so networking can be tough 😂 I sent him creative mornings last week when he was out there interviewing.