20
Oct
UX Design Career Options Make It a Top Choice of the Year
It’s no surprise that UX specialists are in such high demand. With the explosion of connected, digital products, a.k.a. the Internet of Things (IoT), comes the ability for consumers to interact with products and services in ways never thought possible. The user experience has become the key differentiating factor setting one product or service apart from another and companies know this. Glassdoor placed the job of the UX Designer 18th on the list of the 25 best jobs of 2016 due to high demand by employers and $90K+ base salary. It’s also a very rewarding career with low stress and a creative, highly interactive working environment.
While user experience design is most often associated with the creation of web experiences, the field is much broader and encompasses product development across a multitude of industries. How you interact with your car, your appliances, your music, your travel and practically everything you encounter has UX research behind it. This ability to apply UX to so many areas makes it especially attractive as a career. You can apply your UX knowledge at a company or in a field that interests you. For example, in the case of the 75 UX jobs posted on Indeed.com by GE at the time of this article, only 50% were from GE Digital. The remainder were from divisions of GE that include healthcare, transportation, power and even renewable energy.
The companies listing the most UX jobs on Indeed.com include leaders in education, security, finance, retail and business intelligence. And this chart represents only 12% of the over 10,000 jobs posted in UX research, UX design and related fields as of October 2016.
In addition to enjoying high demand at some of the most innovative companies, a competitive salary and a great work environment, UX designers can find jobs in practically any city. The chart below from Indeed.com shows the top cities, major tech hubs, where 43% of the UX jobs posted are located. At the top are the locations of major companies like Amazon, Microsoft and Google. But the majority of UX jobs are located in smaller towns like Fargo, North Dakota (8), New Orleans, Louisiana (19) and Tucson, Arizona (8). There is a good chance that a job in UX design is located near you.
Explore a career in UX design. Learn more about the UX Research and Design MicroMasters from the University of Michigan and edX.