Why you shouldn’t pursue a career in UX
You might be jumping into the product world for the wrong reasons.
With UX jobs on the rise and the digital product design world getting much more attention, there’s a lot of current and aspiring designers looking to make a big break into a UX career. I was one of those designers and I’ve been fortunate enough to understand then pursue that dream of working in product design — happily practicing as a UX designer for the past year and a half.
The question you have to ask yourself though is if you’re chasing after that UX career for the right reasons.
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One thing that has bothered me is that many designers I’ve come across over the past few years seem to be interested in product design for all the wrong reasons. Before jumping into my current role, even I had to take a step back to make sure I was truly passionate about this massive career change (and for the right reasons).
Not everyone will take that hard look in the mirror and ask “Is this really the move I want to make?”. Many people run into the trap of looking in the mirror and only thinking “This is the move I should make.”.
To help, I want to list reasons why you should not pursue a career in UX as an effort to encourage some self reflection and gain the right mindset going into the incredible product design world. I also want to save some of you from self-sabotaging your own already successful careers — whether that’s as a visual designer, psychologist, analyst, etc — this is something I think happens more often than we realize.
Side note: I am mixing “UX” and “product design” because often UX designers are asked to do what product designers do — it’s also what many of us associate UX with; products. Not to mention most companies don’t have the budget to hire separate UX designers, UI designers, researchers, etc.
To understand the true difference between the roles, do a search right here on Medium for countless articles explaining just that.
Now, let’s jump into this.
Reason 1: It’s a trend in the design industry
Kind of, but…
This is possibly the biggest trap for designers wanting to break into a full-time career in UX. I get it, we see the job postings, our friend’s titles changing, directors mentioning “UX” more and more in meetings — it’s a hot topic right now in the design industry and beyond. However, it’s not the main reason to get into this job. In fact, this reason shouldn’t be on your list at all.
The reality of the world we live in is that technology is changing our jobs so fast that we have to adapt in order to survive, but we need to adapt in the way that’s right for us — that’s right for you. Your next career move should be one that, yes, will make you relevant for the next 5–10 years, but it should be pursued because you feel genuinely excited and passionate about what that job entails.
We need to adapt in the way that’s right for us — that’s right for you.
Like many of you, I saw that the industry was moving in the direction of better experiences and going deeper than the visuals of design. It wasn’t until I saw product designers operate first-hand that I realized just how beautifully complicated (and rewarding) that world was. I had realized that I really did want to be doing that type of work.
You should understand what UX is, what UI design is, why research is critically important, and fall in love with the process from beginning to end. If you can’t fall in love with all of it, see if maybe one part of that process has a designated role you can pursue. Or you might find that none of that process is what you expected and want to stay on the career path you already have. Do it because you want to, not because the industry says so.
Reason 2: It’s basically just web design
No it isn’t.
I’ve heard this on several occasions, especially on Twitter and Instagram posts where designers are comparing UX design specifically to web design. Web designers are often tasked with some UX responsibilities and yes, lots of SAAS businesses operate fully through a web browser — but the product world operates much different than a marketing world that most web designers are familiar with.
For starters, marketing typically doesn’t operate in an agile environment like product does. I should know, I worked in marketing as a designer for over a decade and every company I was with operated in a classic waterfall workflow. You need to understand that your demands as a web designer are much different than product designers.
Research, for example, happens in a much deeper way and earlier in the process, then continues to happen in the form of testing until something is finally launched. After that, continued research is done to improve what you built. If research bothers you, find a place that has a dedicated research team you can partner with so you don’t have to do that yourself. Though, I would argue you should still be present in some of the process to build empathy with your users.
That’s just one example, but there are many differences between marketing design and product design right now. However…
Reason 3: Marketing doesn’t do UX
Bullshit.
Your marketing team may not, but there are plenty that do. UX is not exclusive to the product design world, despite me mixing those terms together earlier in the article. Like I said earlier, the reason I mix them is because most people think “product” when they think “UX”. Yes, it really shines in the product world, but marketing teams across the globe have been utilizing good UX practices for years in their digital marketing efforts.
UX is not exclusive to the product design world.
This comes down to really understanding if you want to get into the product world or not. I had to really understand what that world was before I made the leap myself. Once I truly understood what it took to create and launch digital products, something sparked in me — I realized that impact on peoples lives by creating what they were actually using every day was fulfilling to me. More importantly, the steps it takes to get to that launch equally excited me.
For some people though, what they really care about is the way those products get into peoples hands. Those are the people who are amazing marketers and brand architects. The truth is, marketing really needs excellent UX practices to make its campaigns stand out. When you get to know your customers on a human level and discover what their true needs and desires are, you’ll be able to market better to them.
Think about it — where does your passion lie: Do you get your kicks from the feel of a brand and response to a campaign, or do you get your kicks from the benefit a design has in someone’s life? Get to know product design as a whole.
Reason 4: It pays better
While that might be true…
Money should not be the primary reason to motivate you into this career path. It’s no secret that UX jobs tend to pay a little better than most other design jobs, but it’s for a good reason: it’s a lot more work. Are you up for that?
I get it, money is one of my motivators too and that’s perfectly fine. However, your happiness in your job is what matters a million times more. Think about it this way; a dentist probably makes way more money than you do, but is that really a field you want to pursue? Probably not. Find multiple career paths that makes you happy and excited first, then worry about the money later.
You will ultimately set yourself up for failure if your primary reason for getting into UX is that is pays more. You’ll either not have the passion to deliver good work, or you’ll never move up in your career because you simply don’t care about anything but the money.
I should also mention that a lot more is on the line when you’re designing products — there are direct consequences for bad product design that could be catastrophic. Anyone remember the false-alarm alert about the imminent ballistic missile threat in Hawaii last year? Yeah, that was essentially a result of bad design.
There are more reasons some of you seasoned designers could think of, but really what this all comes down to is one question:
Does UX truly excite you?
If you get pumped up about the process, research, empathy building, testing, UI components, partnering with product managers, working alongside developers and engineers — UX is probably for you. If you get that warm fuzzy feeling about directly designing the thing that people will use, potentially having a massive impact on their lives — UX is probably for you.
I’ll finish by saying that most people I’ve met that are interested in UX are interested for all the right reasons. They care about more than visuals and fall in love with the process & purpose. To those people I say keep at it and don’t give up — we need you and welcome you with open arms! We don’t need to be experts right away when we’re early in our UX careers, but need to at least be in it for the right reasons.
(Amazing cat photo cred: “Simone” by alessandrospadavecchia. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 )