Prepress/Desktop Publishing

Types of Degrees Prepress/Desktop Publishing Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many prepress/desktop publishing & digital imaging design graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Basic Certificate	465
Associate Degree	455
Undergraduate Certificate	209
Bachelor’s Degree	8

What Prepress/Desktop Publishing Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to prepress/desktop publishing and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Prepress/Desktop Publishing Majors

Prepress/Desktop Publishing majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Skills for Prepress/Desktop Publishing Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to prepress/desktop publishing:

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Abilities for Prepress/Desktop Publishing Majors

As a prepress/desktop publishing major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Visualization - The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Visual Color Discrimination - The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
• Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Prepress/Desktop Publishing?

According to recent stats this major attracts about equal numbers of men and women. Roughly 50% of the graduates are women, and 50% are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of prepress/desktop publishing majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	0
Black or African American	0
Hispanic or Latino	2
White	3
International Students	3
Other Races/Ethnicities	0

Geographic Diversity

Prepress/Desktop Publishing appeals to people across the globe. About 37.5% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Prepress/Desktop Publishing

Some careers associated with prepress/desktop publishing require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for prepress/desktop publishing careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	1.3%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	24.6%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	13.1%
Some College Courses	19.0%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	25.0%
Bachelor’s Degree	13.8%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	3.3%

Online Prepress/Desktop Publishing Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	52	3
Certificate (2-4 Years)	2	0
Associate’s Degree	61	3
Bachelor’s Degree	0	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	0	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Prepress/Desktop Publishing

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to prepress/desktop publishing.

Major	Number of Grads
Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics & Special Effects	5,611
General Graphic Communications	480
Graphic & Printing Equipment Operator, General Production	262
Other Graphic Communications	170
Printing Management	55
Platemaker/Imager	10
Printing Press Operator	3
Computer Typography & Composition Equipment Operator	2

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Auburn University College of Architecture, Design and Construction under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.