The booming UX design industry
You go to a job site and see job titles such as UX designer, UX architect, user experience designer, and experience designer. So it becomes clear that a UX designer position is becoming a highly sought-after profession, and it is also profitable. I am excited to see this because all companies need the best designers. And by the best, I don’t mean that we need someone who can follow a design thinking process or design an aesthetically pleasing user interface. But it does mean that you are a problem solver and problem preventer as a designer. You are great at communicating things, and you are a great collaborator. Then you need to possess the drive to make things better and get things done. Also, you really would like to create value for an organization. So if this is something that interests you, then you have a place in user experience design 🚀
The job might sound fantastic, and the salary seems super appealing to most people. However, before venturing into this field, you must determine whether or not this is something you wish to pursue, and if this job is for you in the long term. Because being an efficient designer requires a significant amount of time, effort, and practice. As a result, you must be confident that this is the field you want to specialize in. I’d also suggest finding someone who already has this job and speaking with them. Talk to designers at all levels, not just juniors. Speak to intermediates and seniors, because your role will change throughout your career.
Is the UX designer job for you — take the test!
Pause and think after each question. You might want to write down your notes as well.
Questionnaire
- Do you frequently find yourself in meetings? Do you like them? What do you like about them? What do you like about the meetings you do attend? If you don’t like them, why don’t you like them?
- What is your approach to dealing with people who have a different opinion from yours? Do you paraphrase to help the conversation communicate better within a team?
- Do you like to write? How is your writing? Is it precise and clear? Verbose or to the point? Do you enjoy writing? Would you like to write as part of a job?
- How comfortable are you working independently? Can you work without a lot of direction?
- Do you think about designing a lot? If not, what else occupies your mind?
- How many articles do you consume in a week about design?
- When there is a new design tool, how often do you try it out?
- When you download an app or go to a website, how often do you look at how you can improve the behaviour?
- When there is a conflict, do you find that you can maintain a neutral or balanced position and see both sides of the argument?
- How comfortable are you facilitating?
- How comfortable are you drawing on a whiteboard?
- Does it bring you joy when you see people aligning on an idea?
- How much do you like problem-solving and solution ideating?
- How much do you like to learn about new domains, systems & processes and understand how they work?
- Which part of a design project do you enjoy the most (if you haven’t done any design project, which sounds the most enjoyable)?
- Do you like to come up with ideas and possibilities?
- How comfortable are you with uncertainty and the unknown?
- Do you like to ask questions?
- Do you ask questions before you judge an idea?
- Do people at work ask your opinion about design?
- Do you frequently participate in problem-solving questions?
- Do you have a vision for a product?
- Are you a self-motivated person who can set up their own deadlines to achieve productivity?
- Do you like to present? Do you want to create presentations?
- Do you enjoy public speaking? If not, how comfortable are you with public speaking?
- Do you like learning? How often do you learn new things? Do you want to learn new things?
- How much do you like to support other people you work with?
- Are you a detail-oriented person?
- Do you invite people to conversations?
- How empathetic are you towards other people? Can you think of an example of when you exercised empathy in your life?
- Do you consider yourself a compassionate person?
- Can you see things with an analytical mindset?
- Are you interested in technology?
- Do you consider yourself a patient person?
- Do you like working with data?
- Do you like to work with others, share ideas, and collaborate on things, even if your idea doesn’t win?
- Are you prepared for life-long learning?
- How good are you at explaining complex ideas to children without using jargon?
- Do you think about what-ifs a lot?
- Do you like to keep up with trends in your field?
If your answer is mainly yes to most of these questions, then user experience design is probably the right career for you. You might find the career fulfilling, although there is no guarantee.
What did you answer to the open-ended questions? Do your answers support your idea of becoming a product designer?
If you couldn’t answer yes to most of these questions. Then the user experience design career is possibly not for you. But it might only mean that you need to gain a little more professional experience to know for sure.
Disclaimer: This questionnaire is based on my experience and what I like about my role and its challenges.
If you found this article useful, you'd likely enjoy my UX Design book as well.
