Hello all, and happy new year!
If you are anything like most of us, you probably think about the future around this time of year.
Maybe you are simply making some half-hearted new years resolutions that you will abandon in a couple of weeks. However, you might be thinking about more important things, such as your career.
The problem with working in a relatively new field like user experience design or even digital marketing is that there isn’t a well-trodden path for progression. There is no clear UX design career path.
There is no well-established UX design career path
Starting on your UX design career path is relatively straightforward. You go from being a junior designer or marketer to a senior position. But then what?
I was recently asked about this subject by somebody I coach, and I know he is not alone. It has proved to be among the more popular subjects people have asked me to discuss.
Why people think I might have a magic answer, I don’t know. However, I have seen a couple of approaches that have worked for others and may also be relevant to you.
Do you need some help with your UX New Year’s Resolutions?
We all come back after the holidays with big ideas of what will be different this year in our work. However, making that a reality is brutal. If you would like some support through that process, give me a shout, as I offer one-to-one coaching that might help.
Become a UX consultant
Approach number one is the route I have taken in becoming a consultant. I went from being a junior UI designer to a senior position and then moved across into broader UX. Eventually, I reached a point where I started to spend more time consulting than I did researching, prototyping, or testing (although I still do a lot of all three).
When it comes to consulting, you have three options.
- First, like me, you can become an independent consultant. The downside of this approach (like any freelancer) is that you must be as confident selling your services as delivering them.
- Second, you could become a consultant as part of an agency. There is a high demand for people with the experience to fulfill this role, so you will find yourself in a strong position.
- The final option is to become an in-house consultant. These are often referred to as business analysts, who admittedly have more of an IT focus. However, that is changing, and I believe the demand for business analysts with UX experience will increase dramatically in the coming years.
But if the consultant route doesn’t appeal, there are other opportunities in-house.
Become a chief experience officer
I am beginning to see senior UX designers and digital marketers transition into a chief experience officer role.
This transition can be harder for a UX designer than a digital marketer, as many organizations want somebody with more commercial experience in the role. However, it is possible.
If you are a UX designer struggling to make that leap, then perhaps consider looking for a head of ecomm role. That will expose you to the commercial side of operations and make you appear a better candidate for the CXO role.
Finally, don’t forget about the UX marketer role I blogged about recently. That can be another helpful way into the CXO role too.
As you can see, many opportunities are available, even if they are not precisely well-trodden. However, I want to give you one final option – don’t bother progressing your UX design career path.
Don’t progress your career!
Many UX designers and marketers I know love their jobs. They don’t want to get stuck in meetings and elbow-deep in financial spreadsheets.
If that is you, don’t feel you have to progress in your career. Nobody is forcing you.
Sure, that might limit your salary potential, but even that is changing. A growing number of organizations recognize that promoting people out of the role they excel in does not make good business sense. So instead, they are tying salary to experience and expertise, not a role.
Whenever I give career advice, my number one question is, “what do you want out of life?” Don’t blindly pursue a UX design career path without first asking yourself if that is what you want.
