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Why is it so hard to break into UX?

Strategies to help you land your dream job

Meghan Wenzel
UX Collective
5 min readMar 12, 2021
Two people sketch out wireframes for an iPhone app.
Photo by Amélie Mourichon on Unsplash

Most people agree that it’s hard to land your first UX role. As the field has grown in popularity, aspiring UXers are often frustrated by the lack of entry level roles and stiff competition to land the few that do exist.

About three years ago, a former colleague mentioned how she had 200+ applications for a single UX Research summer internship. I hired two UX Research summer interns in the past two years and had 300+ applications each year. This summer, I’ve heard of over 700 applications for one UX Design summer internship.

So take heart, it isn’t just you struggling to break in.

Why is it so hard to get into UX?

Graphics list out the different types of UX roles: UX Designer, Product Designer, Visual Designer, UX Researcher, Content Strategist, and UX Unicorn
https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/the-ultimate-guide-to-understanding-ux-roles-and-which-one-you-should-go-for

UX is still having to prove its worth

Companies vary in maturity, but often leadership doesn’t fully understand UX or why they should invest in it. Many think it’s simply about visuals and layouts, not realizing the thoughtful research and problem solving that goes into crafting seamless experiences. Because of this, many UX teams have to constantly advocate for…

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Published in UX Collective

We believe designers are thinkers as much as they are makers. Curated stories on UX, Visual & Product Design. https://linktr.ee/uxc

Written by Meghan Wenzel

UX Researcher and Strategist — “It’s not the story you tell that matters, but the one others remember and repeat”

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