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Fashion & Fabric Consultant

Types of Degrees Fashion & Fabric Consultant Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Fashion & Fabric Consultant can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	9
Associate’s Degree	18
Bachelor’s Degree	14

What Fashion & Fabric Consultant Majors Need to Know

Coursework for Fashion & Fabric Consultant build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Fashion & Fabric Consultant graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing Fashion & Fabric Consultant emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Design — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Production and Processing — Importance 3.2 / 5; level 3.4 / 7.
• Sales and Marketing — Importance 3.2 / 5; level 3.0 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 3.1 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills developed in a Fashion & Fabric Consultant program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Coordination — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Judgment and Decision Making — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Fashion & Fabric Consultant careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Originality — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Fluency of Ideas — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Near Vision — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Fashion & Fabric Consultant graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Thinking Creatively	4.8 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.6 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.2 / 7
Getting Information	4.2 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.2 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.1 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.1 / 7
Working with Computers	3.9 / 7
Scheduling Work and Activities	3.8 / 7
Coaching and Developing Others	3.7 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Fashion & Fabric Consultant professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
C-DESIGN Fashion	Computer aided design CAD software	—
Patternmaking software	Computer aided design CAD software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Autodesk AutoCAD Design Suite	Computer aided design CAD software	—
Trimble SketchUp Pro	Computer aided design CAD software	—
Adobe Photoshop	Graphics or photo imaging software	✓
Corel Painter	Graphics or photo imaging software	—
Autodesk SketchBook Pro	Graphics or photo imaging software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Financial accounting software	Accounting software	—
Fashion Toolbox	Computer aided design CAD software	—
Adobe Creative Cloud software	Graphics or photo imaging software	✓

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Fashion & Fabric Consultant graduates include:

• Furrier Designer
• Fur Stylist
• Textile Designer
• Costume Designer
• Product Designer
• Apparel and Accessories Designer
• Denim Designer
• Shoe Designer
• Jewelry Designer
• Footwear Designer
• Women’s Designer
• Design Manager
• Product Developer
• Wardrobe Consultant
• Fur Designer

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Fashion & Fabric Consultant graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	50.7%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	44.0%
High school diploma or equivalent	3.6%
Some college courses	1.1%
Less than a high school diploma	0.6%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Fashion & Fabric Consultant?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 90.2% of Fashion & Fabric Consultant degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	37	90.2%
Men	4	9.8%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Fashion & Fabric Consultant graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	14	34.1%
Asian	1	2.4%
Hispanic or Latino	6	14.6%
Black or African American	4	9.8%
Two or More Races	3	7.3%
Race Unknown	8	19.5%
International Students	5	12.2%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Fashion & Fabric Consultant Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of Fashion & Fabric Consultant graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$36,627
4 years	$47,471
5 years	$55,819

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $55,819 — roughly 52% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Fashion & Fabric Consultant Programs

Online study are documented by IPEDS for Fashion & Fabric Consultant. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	1	0
Bachelor’s	1	0

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Fashion & Fabric Consultant Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, Fashion & Fabric Consultant graduates earn a median of $47,471 four years after completion — roughly 25% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Apparel and Textiles	19.09
Apparel and Textile Manufacture	19.0902
Apparel and Textile Marketing Management	19.0905
Apparel and Textiles, General	19.0901
Apparel and Textiles, Other	19.0999
Textile Science	19.0904

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.