Embarking on a new career journey can be nerve-wracking, whether you are just entering the job market or are a seasoned professional looking for a change. For some, salary and job stability weigh most heavily in their new career choice; for others, it’s all about the personality fit and work-life balance.
With a high starting salary, room for creativity, and increasing job demand, user experience design checks off many boxes. Here are seven reasons why you should consider a career in UX design this year.
What is UX Design?
UX design is an interdisciplinary field focused on designing products, apps and tools, making everyday products, services and technology as user-friendly and accessible as possible.
UX design focuses on the structure behind the elements a user interacts with—for example, a UX designer is responsible for deciding how a button should perform when a user clicks it. Drawing upon user research, psychology and design, UX designers focus on more than usability—they also make products efficient and fun to use.
UX Design Jobs Are On the Rise
The importance of well-designed websites and applications became undeniable in 2020, as we relied more heavily on technology for work, entertainment and connection.
And as many of us found, if a site or app is unattractive and difficult to use, it’s less likely that someone will want to engage with it or buy from it. Employers understand this idea well, and so the demand for UX designers is increasing.
In fact, UX design ranked #13 on LinkedIn’s 2021 Jobs on the Rise list, a collection of the fastest-growing jobs currently in demand. Hiring for UX specialists in particular grew 20% between 2019 and 2020.
The UX Field Offers A High Salary
Even as a beginner in UX, there’s a lot of opportunity for a good salary! In the United States, entry-level user experience designers earn around $70,000 per year. With a few years of experience under their belt, the median senior UX designer earns $129,172 per year, according to Glassdoor.
UX Design Is Open to Many Backgrounds
Because UX design incorporates skills like problem-solving, communication, research and analysis, there is no one path to becoming a UX designer.
Yes, visual design can be part of your path to becoming a UX designer, but don’t let the word “design” scare you! While a design background will certainly help you in designing user interfaces, all the design skills you absolutely need in UX can be easily learned.
UX Design Offers Many Career Options
Once you enter UX design, you will have many career paths to explore. If you love connecting with others and learning about human behavior, you may enjoy UX research. If logic and data analysis excite you, information architecture could be your calling. If you’re great with words, UX writing might suit you. Know how to code? You’re halfway to becoming a UI/UX developer already! Whatever your strengths, you are likely to find your niche in UX.
You’ll Use Both Sides of Your Brain
As a UX designer, you will wear many hats. You may be researching users one day, designing interfaces the next, and presenting your ideas to stakeholders after that.
The wide scope of this dynamic work pushes you to think both strategically and creatively. While some tasks may require you to flex your analytical skills, others will call for artistic sensibilities. As a UX designer, no two work days will be the same!
It’s Women-Inclusive
It’s clear that tech has a diversity problem (in fact, we launched a $1MM scholarship fund to help address the gap). While the tech industry has long been predominantly male, UX may be changing that. As of 2020, 53% of UX designers in the US are women, making UX design one of the only women-led fields in tech!
You’ll Make an Impact
Who doesn’t love seeing the fruits of their labor? As a UX designer, you will design applications that thousands, sometimes millions, of people will use. At the heart of your work is improving human experiences, making human interactions with technology less stressful and more pleasant. You can feel good knowing that your work is truly impacting people’s lives—even if it’s just by making one part of their day a little easier.
Launch Your UX Career WIth DigitalCrafts
We recently announced our UX Design bootcamps, and our first full-time cohort begins in September 2021. We’re now accepting applications, so now’s the time to kick-start your new career!
