Average Architectural Designer Salary in Dubai, United Arab Emirates for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Architectural Designer salary for 2024 in Dubai and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the United Arab Emirates dirham. To keep things simple, we are using the AED currency code instead of the currency symbol د.إ.

How Much Does an Architectural Designer Make in Dubai?

An Architectural Designer working in Dubai will typically earn around 305,600 AED per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 159,100 AED to the highest average salary of 464,900 AED.

Average Annual Salary
305,600 AED
Average Monthly Salary
25,466 AED

Lowest Annual Salary
159,100 AED
Lowest Monthly Salary
13,258 AED

Highest Annual Salary
464,900 AED
Highest Monthly Salary
38,741 AED

These are average salaries for an Architectural Designer in Dubai and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for an Architectural Designer to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Architectural Designer salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Architectural Designer Salaries in Dubai

So we've looked at the average salaries an Architectural Designer will earn in Dubai. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that an Architectural Designer can earn between 159,100 AED and 464,900 AED on average in Dubai. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for an Architectural Designer in Dubai is 292,000 AED. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 292,000 AED, and 50% of the population earn more than 292,000 AED.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Architectural Designer salary in Dubai, 25% of the population are earning less than 204,700 AED while 75% of the population earn more than 204,700 AED.

75% of the population earn less than 365,400 AED, and 25% of the population earn more than 365,400 AED.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Architectural Designer Salary by Experience Level in Dubai

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average architectural designer salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. An Architectural Designer in Dubai that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 180,500 AED.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Architectural Designer salary would increase to 239,300 AED.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as an Architectural Designer, the average salary would be 314,500 AED.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 378,800 AED.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. An Architectural Designer with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 415,900 AED.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For an Architectural Designer with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 437,300 AED.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
180,500 AED
2-5 Years +34%
239,300 AED
5-10 Years +30%
314,500 AED
10-15 Years +21%
378,800 AED
15-20 Years +9%
415,900 AED
20+ Years +5%
437,300 AED

Architectural Designer Salary by Education Level in Dubai

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for an Architectural Designer in Dubai based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • Bachelor's Degree. An Architectural Designer in Dubai with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 252,300 AED.

  • Master's Degree. An Architectural Designer in Dubai with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 351,900 AED.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Bachelor's Degree
252,300 AED
Master's Degree +39%
351,900 AED

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in United Arab Emirates is around 97,900 to 294,000 AED and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Architectural Designer Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In Dubai, a male architectural designer will earn an average of 282,300 AED, while a female architectural designer will earn around 265,000 AED.

This means that a male architectural designer earns approximately 7% more than a female architectural designer for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Dubai

Male
282,300 AED
Female -7%
265,000 AED

Architectural Designer Average Pay Raise in Dubai

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for an Architectural Designer in Dubai is around 11% every 18 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in United Arab Emirates is around 8% every 17 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 11 ÷ 18 ) × 12  = 7%

What this means is that an Architectural Designer in Dubai can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 7% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Dubai for 2024

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in United Arab Emirates.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking
2%
Energy
4%
Information Technology
6%
Healthcare
8%
Travel
1%
Construction
3%
Education
5%

Architectural Designer Bonus and Incentive Rates in Dubai

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

An Architectural Designer is a moderate bonus based job, with 54% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

46% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 5%.

Received Bonus
54%
No Bonus
46%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in United Arab Emirates earn approximately 5% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector
239,300 AED
Private Sector -5%
228,500 AED

Salaries for Jobs Similar to an Architectural Designer

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to an Architectural Designer in Dubai.

Job Title Category Salary
Architect Architecture 279,400 AED
Architectural Drafter Architecture 111,240 AED
Architectural Manager Architecture 417,200 AED
Architectural Technician Architecture 161,300 AED
Architectural Technologist Architecture 159,400 AED
Architecture Consultant Architecture 426,700 AED
Architecture Estimating Manager Architecture 320,500 AED
Architecture Specifications Writer Architecture 103,440 AED
Assistant Architectural Manager Architecture 409,000 AED
CAD Drafter Architecture 115,520 AED
CAD Manager Architecture 275,500 AED
Design and Decoration Assistant Architecture 115,940 AED
Design Manager Architecture 377,200 AED
Drafter Architecture 111,240 AED
Drafting Supervisor Architecture 197,600 AED
Facilities and Project Manager Architecture 404,600 AED
Facility Planner Architecture 221,500 AED
Interior Architect Architecture 240,500 AED
Interior Decorator Architecture 207,800 AED
Interior Design Assistant Architecture 104,500 AED
Interior Designer Architecture 225,300 AED
Kitchen Designer Architecture 138,200 AED
Landscape Architect Architecture 335,100 AED
Landscape Artist Architecture 194,600 AED
Landscaper Architecture 157,600 AED
Mapping Technician Architecture 99,340 AED
Mechanical Drafter Architecture 136,100 AED
Photogrammetrist Architecture 115,560 AED

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in United Arab Emirates, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

City Average Salary
Abu Dhabi 292,000 AED
Ajman 281,500 AED
Al Ain 273,300 AED
Fujairah 245,300 AED
Ras Al Khaimah 265,000 AED
Sharjah 273,300 AED
Um Al Quiwain 253,400 AED

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  • Average Architectural Designer Salary in Dubai, United Arab Emirates for 2024. World Salaries. Retrieved from https://worldsalaries.com/average-architectural-designer-salary-in-dubai/united-arab-emirates/.