Also called: Product Designer (furniture)
Designs chairs, tables, sofas, and office furniture for manufacturers or as custom pieces.
They sketch, build scale models, and test full-size prototypes for comfort and strength. Some work for big manufacturers; others build their own studio brands and sell pieces directly. Trade shows like High Point and Milan matter a lot.
Estimate based on industrial designer wages.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in industrial design or furniture design; woodworking skills help.
Ways in: 4-year college, Self-taught. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Industrial Design, Furniture Design, Woodworking.
Growing about average. Steady niche demand.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. AI helps generate forms and renders; testing comfort, joinery and building prototypes stay hands-on design work.
Classes: Woodshop CTE, AP Studio Art 3-D Design, Geometry.
Official data: O*NET occupation 27-1021.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.