Changing to a career in user experience (UX) design isn’t difficult, but it does take some time, resources, and effort. To change jobs and become a US Designer, take an inventory of your skills, get some training, and build a great-looking portfolio to demonstrate your design skills.
What Do UX Designers Do?
UX Designers do a variety of tasks depending upon the situation. They need to find out what users what and the problems they face, then create a design that meets the needs of the users and the business or client the Designer is working for. Designers create personas of users and mockups of products or websites. They analyze data they have collected, and they also give presentations and workshops to other members of the design team and to clients. Finally, Designers test the product or website to see if it works the way it was expected to, and the process begins again. Designers are always looking to create the best user experience possible.
Important Skills for UX Designers
If you have any of the skills listed below, that could be a plus for you in terms of changing careers.:
- Project management
- Group Facilitation
- Writing
- Public Speaking
- Visual Design
- Data Analysis/analytics
- Data visualization
- Market research
- Content strategy
- Instructional design
Other skills that are useful for UX Designers are what are considered soft skills like:
- Communication
- Empathy
- Listening
- teamwork/collaboration
- Problem-solving
- Design
- Technical expertise
- Business understanding
How to Get a Job as a UX Designer
UX design is a growing field and there are many ways to change from your present career and become a UX Designer. How difficult that is depends upon what skills you already have and how much time and resources you have to gain the skills you don’t yet possess. Here are some ideas for shifting to a career in UX design.
Check with Your Current Company
Most UX Designers come from varied backgrounds outside of the field. Some of the most common switches are from graphic design, interior design, architecture, web development, marketing, and psychology. See if there is some way to shift from your current position to a job as a UX Designer within your present company. Take a look at your abilities and see if there is a way to use some of your current skills in a new way. Many employers are looking for people who are curious and engaged to fill UX design jobs. Include other information about interests and experience when you apply for jobs, even if it is not directly related to design.
Build a Strong Portfolio
Getting hired as a UX Designer depends upon the quality of your work, and that involves putting together a portfolio of examples to show to prospective employers. Degrees and certificates are great, but having a strong portfolio will take you farther than formal education. Check out the portfolios of other designers on Dribbble and follow your favorites on Instagram. Pay attention to how others lay out their portfolios and present their work.
Teach Yourself
There are many resources available to learn UX design, including online classes and books. Become familiar with the theory and practices of UX design and study the way the design process works. Watch online tutorials, practice design sprint exercises, and attend some design hackathons to help build your portfolio.
Start Freelancing on the Side
As you learn more about UX design, you can begin to look into freelance design jobs. Once you have a resume and portfolio together, you can start answering ads on platforms like Craigslist, UpWork, or Thumbtack. Sign up on employment sites like Indeed.com and Glassdoor.com, and you can get job notices daily in your email.
Join a Professional Organization
It can be helpful to join professional groups because of the opportunities for networking. One of the professional organizations that UX Designers can belong to is the Interaction Design Foundation, which can be found on LinkedIn. The User Experience Professionals Association (UXPA) is another useful group. Professional organizations often hold conferences and job fairs, and this is a good way to make connections with people who may be hiring designers. Membership in professional organizations can also help you find internships. You can also access these opportunities through a school or training program.
Get a College Degree
You can study UX design in college, but it is expensive and time-consuming. Not only does it take four to five years to get a bachelor’s degree, but it can also cost between $20,000-$100,000, depending upon the school, when you are finished. Of course, a degree includes many other classes in subjects like English, psychology, math, science, and social studies, in addition to the classes in the major area of study.
Sign up for a Bootcamps or Certificate Program
UX design bootcamps and certificate programs are intensive classes held over a span of a few days to several months in which participants learn the principles of design and how to use software products for digital design. You don’t need to have any prior experience in order to take the courses.
For example, in Noble Desktop’s UX Design Bootcamp you will learn the fundamentals of conducting user research, creating user scenarios and personas, and building user flows. You’ll sketch, wireframe, prototype, and test with user interviews, then present findings to the class. This intensive UX class prepares you to understand the basics of user experience practice with class assignments designed to help you compile a professional portfolio.
Bootcamps and certificate programs provide hands-on experience that can help you get a job after the program is over. Some schools even give tuition refunds if you don’t get a job within several months. Some programs also provide a mentor to help students prepare for the job search.
How to Learn UX Design
If you would like to learn how to use software like Adobe XD in order to switch to a career in UX design, one of the best ways to do that is to sign up for classes. You can choose classes that meet in-person or online to learn XD, Photoshop, and Illustrator. Some people prefer to attend brick-and-mortar sessions when learning new information, but that isn’t always available. Live online classes have a similar set-up with a real-time, remote instructor who can answer questions and take control of your monitor—with permission—to show you how to do things. Training is part or full-time and available weekdays, weeknights, or weekends.
The best way to prepare for a career shift to a field like UX design is to enroll in a bootcamp or certificate program. These are intensive training courses that run from a few weeks to a few months and will cover the design process and software in much more depth than tutorials can. Another plus of training is that you will leave class with a professional-quality portfolio that you can show to prospective employers.
Conclusion
It’s easy to take UX design classes and start a new career. Choose between in-person sessions in NYC at Noble’s location or sign up for live online UX design courses and attend from anywhere. Find UX bootcamps in your area and get started in a new direction today.