User Experience Careers

This 90-page report explores what a UX career looks like today, including what UX professionals make of it, and how best to get a job in the field. The 2nd edition is based on several research studies carried out in 2019, with responses from 722 UX professionals around the world.

This report features a discussion of specialization in the UX field, it explores the unique backgrounds of practitioners, and it details the skills and responsibilities UX practitioners have working in the industry today.

Article on research findings: What a UX Career Looks Like Today

Topics

• The kinds of work UX professionals do
  • Industries in which they work
  • What they are working on
  • Activities performed on the job
• Education and backgrounds
  • Formal education
  • Most useful areas of study
• Differences between researcher and designer roles
• Changing careers
  • The various paths into UX
  • Transferable skills
  • The process of making the change to UX
• Skills needed for the job
  • What skills UX practitioners have, wish they had, and found useful
• Experiences with mentorship
  • Why mentorship is useful
  • Where to find a mentor
• How satisfying is a career in UX?
• What hiring managers look for in UX professionals
  • UX portfolios
• Advice for new practitioners

Methodology

This report is based on several research studies carried out in 2019. These research studies included a survey, 2 focus groups carried out in Hong Kong and Los Angeles, and 17 remote, semi-structured interviews with UX professionals from around the world.