Is there a job in the UX/UI design field that pays better than others? UX/UI design jobs pay well in general, but there are several factors that influence salary. Amount of experience, where you live, and the size of the company you work for can all have an effect on the amount of money you can earn in the field of UX/UI design.
Below are some of the most popular job titles for UX/UI Designers with descriptions and salary amounts. The salary information is from the online job site Indeed.com and is based on average wages across the US.
User Experience Designer
The average yearly salary for a User Experience (UX) Designer is $94,000.UX Designers do a variety of tasks depending upon the situation. UX Designers need to find out what users want, then create a design that meets the needs of the users and the business or client the designer is working for. Designers create fictional 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.
Some qualities that successful UX Designers exhibit are empathy, curiosity, humility, attention to detail, meticulousness, organization, attentiveness, and the ability to communicate well. UX Designers need to imagine themselves in the users’ position so they can determine the best solutions for the particular problem.
As a UX Designer, you need to love solving problems and puzzles and be fascinated by people and why they do what they do. You need to be good at collaborating with others and working as a team to figure things out. You need to conduct research, analyze the data, and write reports as well as present your findings at workshops and meetings. You also need to be able to create wireframes and prototypes of websites and products.
User Interface Designer
The average yearly salary for a User Interface (UI) Designer is $78,000. User Interface (UI) Designers create the overall experience of using a product. They focus primarily on the visual portion of the product and how the user interacts with it. UI Designers often have backgrounds in art or graphic design and part of their job is to create or uphold the language of the design. This is the visual consistency across products or within one example. For instance, the different pages of a website should look similar and have buttons and drop-down menus in the same locations.
Because UI design is so visual, designers are concerned with subjects like typography, colors, style and branding, spacing, boldness, the number of items on a screen, icons or images that are part of the design. Successful user interfaces are predictable, simple and obvious to use, and forgivable, that is when users make a mistake, it is easy to see how to get back on track.
Qualities that successful UI Designers share are curiosity and a love of figuring things out. You also need to be a good communicator and a careful listener because UI Designers often work as part of a team. Empathy is an important quality for UI Designers because you need to be able to understand how the user feels and what they want. UI Designers also need to be analytical problem solvers and able to stick with a problem until they find a solution.
Some abilities that UI Designers need are knowledge of graphic design and typography, as well as knowing how to create wireframes and prototypes. An understanding of interactive design, branding, and color theory is also necessary.
Product Designer
The average annual salary for a Product Designer is $86,000. Product Designers consider the business aspects of the project such as cost, process, and brand identity. The position requires a combination of design and business skills. Product Designers are concerned with the appearance, functionality, and quality of the product they are assigned to work on. They strive to create successful products that meet the needs of customers and that sell well.
The skills a Product Designer needs are similar to those of a UX Designer, but Product Designers also need a background in business as well as some experience in project management. A Product Designer often starts out as a UX Designer and then moves into a position of more responsibility.
User Experience Manager
UX Designers at the manager level make $100,000 a year on average. As you advance in your career, you could become a UX Manager. Managers not only oversee projects but they work with people. The focus of UX management is to be sure that the right personnel are assigned to the right tasks. Managers need to have good listening and communication skills. In addition to Manager, possible job titles at this level are Creative Director, UX Director, and Chief Experience Officer.
User Experience Researcher
UX Designers who specialize in research make an average of $68,000 a year. UX Researchers conduct different types of tests to find out about users’ attitudes and behaviors toward the website or app under development. They conduct quantitative and qualitative research to test the product and then report on their findings. UX researchers conduct interviews, run surveys, and perform usability studies of various types, then analyze the data and report their findings to the design team.
Additional Factors Influencing Salaries
Job title is not the only thing that determines what a job pays. Where it is located, how much experience the company is looking for and the size of the firm all have an effect on the final number.
Location
Where you live also has an effect on how much money you can make as a UX Designer. Here is a list of the top cities for UX design jobs and the average salaries.
- San Francisco, California - $116,000
- San Diego, California - $100,000
- Seattle, Washington - $109,000
- Redmond, Washington - $103,000
- Boston, Massachusetts - $105,000
- New York, New York - $104,000
- Chicago, Illinois - $105,000
- Austin, Texas - $103,000
Experience
As with any field, the more experience you have at UX design, the higher salary you can command. Mid-level designers with three to five years of experience make an average of $20,000 more than entry-level designers, and senior-level designers even more.
Size of Firm
The size of the company you work for also has an effect on the salary. For example, small companies that are just starting can’t afford to pay as much as larger firms, but they often offer perks that some people feel make up for the money. Flexible hours, an informal working environment, and the excitement of creating a new product are valuable to some people.
Larger, more established companies usually pay more than smaller ones, but the environment is less flexible.
Freelancing
Many UX Designers start out as freelancers. The pay tends to be lower for freelancers, but you can control how much and how often you work. If you build a successful freelance business, you can set your own prices based on your reputation. You can also set up as a freelance UX Consultant if you have enough design and business experience.
Changing to a Career in UX Design
If you would like to learn more about UX/UI design in order to switch to a new career, 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 design software and other applications. 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 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 learn UX design and start a new career. Check out Noble Desktop’s UX design classes. Choose between in-person sessions in NYC at Noble’s location or sign up for live online UX design courses and attend from anywhere. Use Noble Desktop’s Classes Near Me to find other UX design bootcamps in your area.