Desktop Publishers

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Occupation snapshot

What does this snowflake show?
The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
JOB SCORE
2.0/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

Risk & user votes

Calculated automation risk

34% (Low Risk)

Low Risk (21-40%): This occupation has a lower risk of full replacement by AI, software, or robotic systems. Some tasks may be automated or assisted, but the role usually still relies on human judgement, communication, responsibility, physical adaptability, or practical decision-making.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Human strengths important in this job

These are human abilities and work contexts that are important in this occupation. They may help explain why parts of the role are harder to replace end-to-end, but they are not the only inputs into the automation score.

Thinking creatively

Very important
Why this matters
Coming up with original ideas and designs—creating new concepts, products, systems, or artistic work. This kind of open-ended invention and taste-based judgment is harder to automate end-to-end than routine, rule-based tasks.
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Social perceptiveness

Quite important
Why this matters
Noticing others’ emotions and reactions in the moment and adjusting what you say or do based on why they’re responding that way.
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Decision-making and problem solving

Quite important
Why this matters
Analyze information, weigh tradeoffs, and choose the best solution—especially when situations are ambiguous, high-stakes, or have real-world consequences.
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Coordinating others’ work

Quite important
Why this matters
Bringing people together, assigning tasks, and keeping a group aligned so work gets done.
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Communicating with people outside the organization

Quite important
Why this matters
Represents the organization to customers, the public, or government—handling questions, concerns, and relationship-building through conversations, writing, calls, or email.
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Show 2 more strengths

Developing objectives and strategies

Quite important
Why this matters
Sets long-term goals and chooses strategies and actions to reach them, weighing tradeoffs and adapting plans as conditions change.
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Active learning

Quite important
Why this matters
Keeps learning from new information and applying it to make better decisions now and in the future, especially when situations change.
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What users think

Based on 28 votes

56% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted they are unsure if this occupation will be automated. However, employees may be able to find reassurance in the automated risk level we have generated, which shows 34% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Desktop Publishers will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

View sentiment trend

Pay & outlook

Wages

Low paid relative to other professions

In 2024, the median annual wage for Desktop Publishers was $53,620 ($26 per hour).

The median annual wage for Desktop Publishers was 8.3% higher than the national median annual wage, which stood at $49,500.

View wage trend

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Growth

Very slow growth relative to other professions.

The number of 'Desktop Publishers' job openings is expected to decline 12.4% by 2034

View employment trend

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Volume

Significantly lower range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2024 there were 4,000 people employed as 'Desktop Publishers' within the United States.

This represents around < 0.001% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 38 thousand people are employed as 'Desktop Publishers'.

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What people are saying (2)

Richard (Highly likely)
21 Mar 2026 19:07
A lot of DTP work primarily revolves around proofing and making things print/press ready. While sure there is some requirement for originality and some design tasks, these alone wouldn't warrant an employer paying me a living wage in the face of AI domination of my field. It's a bit of an insight from this field. And it is going to sound incredibly cynical. But most clients don't want originality. 95/100 times they want something that 'pops' (nondescript). And they want it fast. Minimalistic imagery which is quick to generate on demand based on simple input. It's not at all outside of the realm of possibility that a future AI could easily be tasked with checking if it looks too much like a previously generated item, to avoid legal issues. Or include specific pantone colours. It pains me to say, but there aren't many tasks that I am assigned that could not be automated with a sufficiently trained AI. Especially if you don't have a lot of experience to tap into like me. I'm 28 and I got into the wrong field.
Jualkin nuñez 22-EISN-8-055 (Low)
27 Feb 2024 17:29
A data entry operator has the function of entering data electronically, whether in the form of text, numbers or other information, using devices such as keyboards or digital input systems. Their job involves transcribing, entering and organizing data accurately and efficiently.
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Job description

Format typescript and graphic elements using computer software to produce publication-ready material.

O*NET-SOC code: 43-9031.00