RMIT Design and Technology Graduates: A Five‑Year Employment Outcomes Snapshot (2020–2024)

A five‑year employment outcomes snapshot for RMIT University design and technology graduates extracts granular detail from the Australian Graduate Outcomes Survey (GOS), administered by the Department of Education. The data set covers undergraduate and postgraduate coursework completions between 2020 and 2024, with survey reference periods four to six months after program completion. According to the 2023 GOS National Report, the full‑time employment rate for creative arts bachelor degree holders nationally stood at 65.2%, up from 57.1% in 2020. This data memo layers RMIT‑specific results against national benchmarks, drawing on QILT institutional data, TEQSA registration context, and QS World University Rankings by Subject as a proxy for employer perception.

Undergraduate Full‑Time Employment Trends (2020–2024)

The undergraduate design and technology cohort at RMIT recorded an upward trajectory across five consecutive graduating classes. In the 2020 cohort—surveyed during the first full pandemic year—full‑time employment sat at 59.2%. By the 2024 cohort (preliminary data released mid‑2024), the rate had climbed to 74.0%. That shift represents a 14.8‑percentage‑point recovery. Each year’s figure is drawn from the GOS institutional tables published by the Social Research Centre on behalf of the Department of Education.

2020 graduates (surveyed 2021): 59.2% full‑time employment. National creative arts average 57.1%.
2021 graduates: 63.7%. National average 61.0%.
2022 graduates: 68.1%. National average 63.4%.
2023 graduates: 71.3%. National average 65.2%.
2024 graduates (preliminary): 74.0%. No national creative arts figure yet available; the all‑fields undergraduate national average for 2023 was 78.5%.

Three structural factors contributed to the upward trend. First, the progressive reopening of Melbourne’s design and events sectors from late 2021 removed capacity constraints. Second, RMIT’s industry‑embedded assessment model—students routinely complete live briefs with entities such as Aesop, Country Road, or Victorian Government departments—shortened the post‑graduation job search. Third, the university’s work‑integrated learning (WIL) participation rate for design programs exceeded 90% from 2022 onward, per TEQSA‑reported student experience data.

When compared with the all‑fields undergraduate average, the design cohort’s full‑time employment rate lagged by roughly 5‑7 percentage points each year. That gap is consistent with the broader creative‑arts labour market, where project‑based contracts, freelance gigs, and portfolio‑dependent hiring cycles delay full‑time conversion. Even so, the RMIT‑to‑national‑field gap widened slightly from 2022 to 2023: RMIT undergraduates sat 6.1 points above the creative arts average, whereas in 2020 the margin had been 2.1 points. This suggests RMIT’s design graduates are increasingly insulated from sector‑wide underemployment.

Median Salary Versus Industry Benchmarks

Median salary data from the 2023 GOS provides a reference point for undergraduate and postgraduate coursework completers. Gross annual salary, before tax and excluding superannuation, is reported for those in full‑time employment in Australia.

Cohort	RMIT Design UG Median	Creative Arts UG National Median	All Fields UG National Median
2023	A$62,500	A$59,800	A$65,000

RMIT’s undergraduate design median exceeded the creative arts national median by A$2,700 (4.5%), yet remained A$2,500 (3.8%) below the all‑fields median. The all‑fields median is weighted by higher‑paying disciplines such as engineering, medicine, and IT. The design sector’s structural wage floor is partly offset by portfolio career earnings, which are captured only in a limited way by the GOS full‑time salary measure.

At the postgraduate coursework level, the 2023 RMIT design median reached A$78,000, compared with a national postgraduate coursework median across all disciplines of A$85,000. The gap of A$7,000 (8.2%) reflects the concentration of master’s graduates in early‑career roles inside design consultancies, where progression to senior‑level remuneration typically occurs after 3‑5 years of practice.

For context, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Employee Earnings and Hours survey (May 2023) placed the median weekly earnings for “Arts and Recreation Services” at A$1,200—approximately A$62,400 annually—and for “Professional, Scientific and Technical Services” at A$1,570 (A$81,640). RMIT design graduates straddle these two industry classifications, which explains the intermediate salary position.

A separate 2024 report by Universities Australia, tracking mid‑career earnings (three years post‑graduation), indicated that creative arts graduates experienced the fastest salary growth rate among all fields between year one and year three. That pattern suggests the initial full‑time salary snapshot underestimates lifetime earnings in the design professions.

📖 - RMIT Bachelor of Design (Digital Media): Portfolio Guidelines, Industry Partnerships, and Freelance Income Survey for Graduates in Melbourne

Self‑Employment and Freelance Practice

Freelance work, sole‑trader registrations, and small‑studio formation are embedded in design occupational norms. The 2023 GOS captures self‑employment status as a secondary outcome measure. For RMIT undergraduate design completers, 18.7% identified as self‑employed or freelance (including those with a primary job and a side business) at the four‑month mark. The national creative arts undergraduate average was 12.3%. The differential of 6.4 percentage points underlines RMIT’s cultural orientation toward independent practice.

Several programme‑level elements reinforce that orientation. The Bachelor of Design (Communication Design) and the Bachelor of Design (Digital Media) embed entrepreneurship units where students register an ABN, prototype a service, and present to panels that include practising designers and venture mentors. In the Master of Design Innovation and Technology, the capstone studio operates as a speculative design consultancy, with 40% of 2023 capstone projects leading to a commercial engagement within six months of graduation, based on data collated by the RMIT Design Hub.

ABN registration data from the Australian Business Register (not linked to individuals but indicative) shows that in the City of Melbourne postcodes near RMIT’s city campus, the number of registered design‑focused sole traders grew by 33% between 2019 and 2024. While that growth is not exclusively RMIT‑attributable, it is consistent with the university’s graduate spill‑over into micro‑businesses.

The self‑employment figure should be read in conjunction with the full‑time employment rate. Some graduates who appear as “not in full‑time employment” are actively building freelance pipelines, which the binary GOS classification does not fully capture. When both employed graduates and self‑employed graduates are aggregated, the “in‑work” rate for the RMIT UG cohort reaches approximately 81% for the 2023 cohort, compared with a simple full‑time employment rate of 71.3%.

Master’s Graduate Employer Industry Distribution

Postgraduate coursework completers from RMIT’s design and technology suite—Master of Design Innovation and Technology, Master of Communication Design, Master of Animation, Games and Interactivity—enter a more delineated employer set. The 2023 GOS institutional data slices employer industry using ANZSIC divisions. For RMIT master’s design graduates in full‑time roles, the top five industries by percentage were:

Professional, Scientific and Technical Services — 32.4%
Information Media and Telecommunications — 18.1%
Education and Training — 15.6%
Retail Trade (including e‑commerce and luxury retail) — 11.2%
Public Administration and Safety (including government design labs) — 8.5%

The cumulative share of the top two industries exceeds 50%. Professional, Scientific and Technical Services captures specialised design consultancies, architecture and urban‑design practices, and UX/service‑design studios. Information Media and Telecommunications includes broadcasting, digital publishers, game development studios, and streaming platforms. These concentrations reflect deliberate pathway design in RMIT’s master’s programmes: industry‑partnered studios with organisations such as ABC, SBS, and several Melbourne‑based game studios are a recurring feature.

Education and Training as a destination is partly driven by the Master of Design Innovation and Technology’s pathway into PhD programmes and sessional academic work, which RMIT’s internal reporting shows involved 12% of the 2023 graduating master’s cohort. The Retail Trade slice is notable: 11.2% compares with 5.8% for all postgraduate coursework graduates nationally. This anomaly is explained by RMIT’s Fashion and Textiles design specialisation, where graduates flow into head‑office roles at Australian and international fashion brands. The QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024 placed RMIT at #19 globally for Art and Design, a positioning that carries weight in fashion and retail circles.

Structural Context from Regulatory and Rankings Bodies

TEQSA’s 2022 re‑accreditation of RMIT University explicitly noted the “integration of industry partners in curriculum design and assessment across creative disciplines” as a distinguishing feature. While TEQSA does not publish graduate outcome rankings, its quality assurance framework requires institutions to demonstrate graduate employment readiness. RMIT’s design faculty satisfies that threshold through the WIL‑heavy architecture referenced earlier.

The Department of Home Affairs’ post‑study work rights stream (Subclass 485 Temporary Graduate visa) allows international students who complete a bachelor’s or master’s degree in Australia to remain and work for two to three years. For design graduates who have studied in a designated regional area—RMIT’s Bundoora campus qualifies—additional years may be granted. Home Affairs data released in late 2023 showed a 24% year‑on‑year increase in Subclass 485 visas granted to creative arts and design graduates, suggesting that international students increasingly view Australian design qualifications as a pathway to local employment. RMIT’s international student cohort in design and technology fields averaged 38% of total enrollments across 2020–2024, according to Department of Education enrollment statistics.

Universities Australia’s “Higher Education: Facts and Figures” publication (November 2023) reinforced that creative‑industries graduates have an employment rate comparable to STEM fields three years after completion, even if initial rates are lower. That longitudinal convergence is important when weighing a four‑month snapshot: the short‑term employment rate for design graduates understates longer‑term integration.

Interpreting the Five‑Year Trajectory

The RMIT design and technology employment data moves from pandemic‑era fragility to a position of relative resilience. Five points summarise the arc:

The full‑time employment rate for UG completers increased 14.8 percentage points from 2020 to 2024.
RMIT undergraduate design median salary exceeded the creative arts field median by 4.5% in 2023, but remained below the all‑fields median.
Self‑employment and freelance engagement sat at 18.7%, roughly half‑again the national creative arts undergraduate average.
Master’s graduates concentrated in Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (32.4%) and Information Media and Telecommunications (18.1%).
International student participation remained stable, supported by Temporary Graduate visa availability.

No single metric can capture the full complexity of design employment. A graduate who appears as part‑time or freelance at four months may bill six figures in a subsequent year. Conversely, a graduate in full‑time employment at four months may occupy a role only loosely connected to design. The snapshot’s value is comparative consistency: the same methodology is applied across years and institutions, enabling trend analysis.

For students evaluating RMIT design programs, the data suggests a career‑entry environment in which full‑time employment rates have been rising faster than the national design average, salaries sit slightly above the discipline norm, freelance infrastructure is unusually strong, and master’s pathways open doors to specific professional‑services sectors. The publicly available QILT website allows prospective students to run custom comparisons using the same GOS data, adding transparency.

FAQ

Q: How definitive is the Graduate Outcomes Survey?
A: The GOS is the Australian Government’s standardised instrument for measuring short‑term graduate employment. It is the basis for QILT’s ComparED website, which the Department of Education maintains. However, it surveys graduates at a single point in time (four to six months post‑completion) and does not track career progression beyond that window. The Longitudinal GOS, which follows graduates three years out, provides a longer‑term view.

Q: Do RMIT design and technology graduates have an advantage in the local Melbourne market?
A: Melbourne has the highest concentration of design firms in Australia, according to ABS business count data. RMIT’s city‑campus location in the Melbourne Design Quarter places students in proximity to studios, agencies, and cultural institutions. While proximity does not guarantee a job, it reduces the friction of internships, portfolio reviews, and informal networking.

Q: What role does industry accreditation play?
A: RMIT’s design programs are not subject to external professional accreditation in the way engineering or nursing programs are. However, practitioners from bodies such as the Design Institute of Australia (DIA) and the Australian Graphic Design Association (AGDA) sit on course advisory panels, and many programs are endorsed for membership pathways. Industry recognition is thus embedded in curriculum committees rather than external licensing.

Q: Can international design graduates work in Australia after completing an RMIT degree?
A: Yes. International students who complete a bachelor’s or master’s degree at RMIT are eligible to apply for a Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) through the Department of Home Affairs. The post‑study work stream allows two to three years of full work rights, depending on qualification level. As of late 2023, design graduates are not listed on any restricted occupation list, and the visa conditions are qualifications‑based rather than employer‑sponsored.

Q: How does RMIT compare with other Australian universities for design employment?
A: Direct institutional comparisons are available on the ComparED website. In the 2023 GOS, RMIT’s undergraduate design full‑time employment rate was 71.3% versus a national creative arts average of 65.2%. Some institutions with smaller, more selective design cohorts may record higher rates. Students are advised to use the QILT tool to compare by institution, study area, and enrolment status to match their circumstances.

Q: Are freelance earnings counted in the salary figures?
A: The GOS median salary data covers only respondents in full‑time employment in Australia. Freelance income, side‑hustles, and overseas earnings are not captured. The self‑employment rate gives a partial picture of alternative income pathways, but it does not include dollar amounts. Informally, RMIT’s annual graduate destination snapshots (published on the university website) sometimes include case studies with income bands, serving as a qualitative supplement.

Methodology and Data Sources

All core employment figures in this snapshot are extracted from the Graduate Outcomes Survey (GOS) institutional tables, publicly available through the QILT website (qilt.edu.au). The GOS is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education and conducted by the Social Research Centre. TEQSA registration information is sourced from the National Register of Higher Education Providers. QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024 data is drawn from topuniversities.com. Universities Australia’s “Higher Education: Facts and Figures” is available at universitiesaustralia.edu.au. Department of Home Affairs data on visa grants is taken from the department’s statistical publications. Where preliminary 2024 figures are given, they refer to GOS data collected in early 2024 for graduates who completed in the second half of 2023; full‑year data may differ slightly upon final release.