Looking for a career that’s creative and well paid? Listen up.
UX, which is short for User Experience, could be the answer.
The boom in the digital sector means that typically, UX jobs pay well. UX Designers can earn $74,022 annually. While UX Researchers can earn $84,327 annually.
UX has its origins at Apple Computers in the nineties and was devised by legendary author and academic Don Norman.
Norman now heads up the The Design Lab at University of California and has written several books on design thinking.
Norman defines UX as every part of the experience that someone has while interacting with your product or service.
When buying an Apple computer, that could be everything from your experience of buying it in the store to getting the item into your car or unpacking it.
Now, when many people refer to UX, they refer to it as the way that users interact with websites. And UX is a broad field that encompasses design, research, data analytics, design and coding.
Top Soft Skill
Relationships/Empathy
Top Hard Skill
JavaScript
So what do we mean by UX?
“When you open a website and no one has to explain to you how it works, that’s because there’s someone like me behind it,” explains Emanuele Nicolella, UX developer and co-founder of brand building consultancy, Coco & Jay.
UX (User Experience) is an interdisciplinary and fast-paced sector to work in; it’s at the core of every product.
What are the different job roles in UX?
- UX Researcher
The researcher’s role is to ask WHY. Their job is to tell you why something has to look and work in a certain way. This person will mainly work with research, data collection and analytics. The researcher is trying to determine how people are interacting with the website and/or app.
According to UX agency Toptal “A good UX researcher must have the ability to find out what consumers need from a product. They must be able to conduct research in the following areas: primary, secondary, quantitative and qualitative, market, and ethnographic. UX researchers understand consumer motivation and behavior and work with cross-functional teams such as Product Design, Product Management, and Product Development.”
- UX Designer
The designer’s role is to ask WHAT. What will this website actually look like? The designer is a creative individual. The role naturally touches upon UI (User Interface) ensuring that everything looks good.
The designer considers the user’s experience. That is, a particular action/function must be completed within a minimal number of clicks while still looking good.
The designer is often bringing together elements of market research, product development, strategy and design in order to create a seamless experience for the user.
- UX Developer
The developer’s role is to ask HOW. This person will make the designs happen. By software engineering, the developer is responsible for taking the researcher’s and designer’s work and turning it into a reality.
Nicolella explains: ‘the easier it is on the front end [for the user to complete a task], the harder the developer has to work’.
Getting into the sector
UX can offer something for everyone. From humanistic roles and scientific roles, which require data management skills, to technical roles which focus on software engineering.
It is not uncommon for people to progress and switch roles within the area itself. More often than not, designers learn how to code and work on the engineering side of UX a bit more.
In terms of getting into the sector, Nicoella explains: ‘It’s the creative part of you that makes the difference’.
Interested in going down the UX developer route? Nicoella suggests learning JavaScript.
Everything in today’s digital world is now written in JavaScript. This programming language allows each website/app to run easily on servers, IOS and Android devices.
He specifically recommended the Udemy courses for learning JavaScript as he believes that they are the most ‘hands-on course’ at an affordable price.
Build a Portfolio
As with so many jobs in tech, the best thing you can do right now is work on a portfolio. Offer to work on UX projects for clients – initially for free if you’re completely new.
This is essential. You want to show your clients examples of your work so that they understand why they should hire you over someone else.
You don’t need previous employment to create one. Use your own initiative and create ‘dummy’ pieces of work.
Get started by creating a piece of work for one of your favorite brands.
Build websites or tools for hypothetical brands. Once you’ve got some great looking projects, work on a portfolio using a tool like Dribble or Behance.
What You Need to Get Started
1. Work out which area of UX you want to specialize in.
Here are some job titles from the world of UX:
- UX designer
- UX copywriter
- UX researcher
- UX developer
- UI Designer
- Visual Designer
Get your first client
We’ve all heard the saying ‘it’s not about what you know, but who you know’. So get networking. Websites such as LinkedIn allow you to connect and strike up a conversation with anyone.
Michael Burns, a successful freelance copywriter (and speaker at a Start Me Up Career Kickstarter event), initially found clients by ‘listing companies [he] wanted to work for [and] knocking on their office doors’ with his CV.
While times have changed, and personally delivering a hardcopy of your CV to potential employers is impossible during these circumstances, LinkedIn can allow you to virtually replicate this method.
Make your LinkedIn profile stand out
You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. Ensure that every section on your profile is complete. There must be no gaps.
Use keywords in your headline, summary and experience sections. This allows potential employers to find you. And always upload a profile picture.
Connect with people… and interact with them
It’s easy to just request connections on LinkedIn. But it’s what you do with these connections that counts.
When you’re sending connection requests, always send personalized notes with them.
A little introduction to yourself and explaining why you want to connect will help start a proper relationship instead of just bumping up your numbers.
Once your requests have been accepted, you must continue to build these relationships. Interact with the content your connections post by liking and commenting on it.
Post engaging content
While interacting with other peoples’ content is good, it is great to post your own content too. It helps to present yourself as an expert in your industry.
There are two main ways to do this: posting an interesting article you have read on the internet, or writing your own.
Join LinkedIn groups
This will help you connect with relevant people in your industry. For this strategy to work, you need to interact with people in the group.
Get involved with the discussions that are taking place and answer questions. This will allow you to showcase your expertise.
Check out these useful websites for freelancers
- Upwork – no matter what type of freelancer you are, Upwork has you covered.
- LinkedIn – gives you the opportunity to post examples of your work and connect with the pros in your industry directly.
- Toptal – finds the top 3% of freelance talent. They have a very rigorous screening process so you might need to skill up in order to be accepted.
- TheDots – a great space to find creative freelance gigs with specific job postings and the ability to connect with employers and other creatives.
- Designhill – aimed at helping employers find designers specifically.
About the author
Rebecca Emery
Content Creator and Producer @ Start Me Up.