Sentiments: career progression
Most designers have made career progress, but employer support is mixed. Over half are open to new opportunities.
Sentiments: career progression
Career levelling progress
Over half of respondents reported making formal progress on job levelling this year. A substantial minority saw no such progress, and a smaller group were not in a position to answer.
Chart proof
Job levelling progress vs last year
Respondents reporting formal job levelling progress vs the previous year (N=323, all markets).
Bar chart showing whether respondents made formal progress on job levelling compared with last year. Just over half answered Yes.
View data table
| Response | Respondents (N=323) | Share (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 174 | 53.9 |
| No | 96 | 29.7 |
| N/A | 53 | 16.4 |
Pay movement over the same period was bimodal rather than evenly spread. A quarter of respondents saw an increase of more than 20%, likely driven by job changes, while nearly as many saw no increase at all, effectively a pay cut once inflation is accounted for.
Chart proof
Pay increase vs last year
Share of respondents by pay increase bracket (N=216, Singapore). One in four received a more than 20% increase, likely driven by job changes. One in five received no increase at all.
Pay increases are bimodal: a quarter received over 20% growth while nearly as many received nothing.
View data table
| Increase bracket | Respondents (N=216) | Share (%) |
|---|---|---|
| No increase | 43 | 19.9 |
| 0.1–5% | 41 | 19.0 |
| 6–10% | 34 | 15.7 |
| 11–15% | 23 | 10.6 |
| 16–20% | 20 | 9.3 |
| More than 20% | 55 | 25.5 |
Read together, the two charts show that career progress and pay growth do not always move in step. Levelling up and a bigger pay cheque overlap for some, but plenty of designers who progressed on paper still saw only modest pay movement.
Company support for growth
Chart proof
Career progression support
Distribution of responses to the career progression support statement (N=323) on a 1–7 Likert scale, where 1 - Strongly disagree and 7 - Strongly agree.
Responses on the 1-7 Likert scale lean positive, led by 5, 4, and 6; 1 - Strongly disagree and 7 - Strongly agree.
View data table
| Rating | Respondents | Share (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 - Strongly disagree | 11 | 3.4 |
| 2 - Disagree | 29 | 9.0 |
| 3 - Somewhat disagree | 36 | 11.1 |
| 4 - Neutral | 69 | 21.4 |
| 5 - Somewhat agree | 79 | 24.5 |
| 6 - Agree | 50 | 15.5 |
| 7 - Strongly agree | 39 | 12.1 |
Sentiment around company support for career growth averaged 4.54 out of 7. Just over half (52.1%, ratings 5–7) rated their company supportive, while roughly a quarter (23.5%, ratings 1–3) felt actively unsupported, and the rest sat neutral. That split points to career development investment being inconsistent rather than a company-wide standard.
Learning and development
Designers showed more appetite for exploring different disciplines and picking up new skills than for switching career tracks entirely: 51.2% leaned towards exploring a new area of work (ratings 5–7).
Chart proof
Switch primary area of work
1–7 Likert response distribution for switching primary area of work in the coming year (N=312, mean 4.34), where 1 - Strongly disagree and 7 = Strongly agree.
Bar chart showing responses about switching primary area of work in the coming year. The mean response is 4.34 on a 1-7 Likert scale, where 1 = Strongly disagree and 7 - Strongly agree.
Mean: 4.34 / 7
View data table
| Response | Respondents (N=312) | Share (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 - Strongly disagree | 23 | 7.4 |
| 2 - Disagree | 31 | 9.9 |
| 3 - Somewhat disagree | 38 | 12.2 |
| 4 - Neutral | 60 | 19.2 |
| 5 - Somewhat agree | 74 | 23.7 |
| 6 - Agree | 56 | 17.9 |
| 7 - Strongly agree | 30 | 9.6 |
The pattern flips for switching tracks entirely. Half (49.8%, ratings 1–3) leaned against it, and 30.8% were open to the idea.
Chart proof
Switch IC-management track
1–7 Likert response distribution for switching between IC and management track in the coming year (N=309, mean 3.46), where 1 - Strongly disagree and 7 - Strongly agree.
Bar chart showing responses about switching between IC and management tracks in the coming year. The mean response is 3.46 on a 1-7 Likert scale, where 1 - Strongly disagree and 7 - Strongly agree.
Mean: 3.46 / 7
View data table
| Response | Respondents (N=309) | Share (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 - Strongly disagree | 70 | 22.7 |
| 2 - Disagree | 40 | 12.9 |
| 3 - Somewhat disagree | 44 | 14.2 |
| 4 - Neutral | 60 | 19.4 |
| 5 - Somewhat agree | 42 | 13.6 |
| 6 - Agree | 33 | 10.7 |
| 7 - Strongly agree | 20 | 6.5 |
Curiosity about new disciplines is common; abandoning a chosen track is not.
Job search activity
Treating a neutral-or-better response as at least open to a move, 65.5% of respondents (ratings 4 and above) were open to switching jobs or changing companies in the coming year. Narrowed to clear agreement (ratings 5–7), that share drops to 49.2%. The single largest response band on the chart is the top one: 21.7% strongly agreed that they were actively looking.
Chart proof
Switch jobs or companies
1–7 Likert response distribution for switching jobs or companies in the coming year (N=313, mean 4.34), where 1 - Strongly disagree and 7 = Strongly agree.
Bar chart showing responses about switching jobs or companies in the coming year. The mean response is 4.34 on a 1-7 Likert scale, where 1 = Strongly disagree and 7 - Strongly agree.
Mean: 4.34 / 7
View data table
| Response | Respondents (N=313) | Share (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 - Strongly disagree | 44 | 14.1 |
| 2 - Disagree | 31 | 9.9 |
| 3 - Somewhat disagree | 33 | 10.5 |
| 4 - Neutral | 51 | 16.3 |
| 5 - Somewhat agree | 42 | 13.4 |
| 6 - Agree | 44 | 14.1 |
| 7 - Strongly agree | 68 | 21.7 |
Sentiment findings reflect aggregate responses across 10 markets; 69.4% of respondents are Singapore-based.
Where this sits in the conversation
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Overview
2023 report -
Landscape
Demographics -
Landscape
Roles and experience -
Landscape
Compensation -
Landscape
Company landscape -
Sentiments
Sentiments: negotiations and pay -
Sentiments
Sentiments: work setup -
Sentiments
Sentiments: career progression you are here -
Singapore deep dive
Analysis: gender 🇸🇬 -
Singapore deep dive
Analysis: experience 🇸🇬 -
Singapore deep dive
Analysis: company 🇸🇬 -
Singapore deep dive
Analysis: education 🇸🇬 -
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