UX design: Upskill yourself with tech and soft skills

UX design is a growing field and the need for UX professionals is steadily rising. According to the Onward Search Digital, Creative and Marketing Professionals Salary Guide, UX designer came in as the second most in-demand role for 2019.

A career in UX is rewarding, as reports show that the average salary across 107 countries is $52,683. This number is higher in wealthier regions, such as in the US, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Australia, and Western Europe. The average salary for a career in UX is reportedly the highest in Switzerland at $100,890.

In the US alone, there are currently about 24,000 UX designers. The job growth projection for UX designers is expected to grow by 22% in the next 10 years.

According to a report published by global professional services recruitment consultancy Morgan McKinley, the number of UX jobs in the market has increased by 320% in the last five years.

What do UX designers do?

UX designers are responsible for the entire experience a user has when interacting with a website, digital application (app), or other products. These individuals may work on improving existing products or could be a part of developing new products from scratch.

In industry, UX designers are also sometimes referred to as User Experience Strategists or Information Architects. Regardless of title, professionals in charge of User Experience focus on the many areas of solutions, and product design and development.

These responsibilities include conducting user research, building personas, developing information architectures, drawing wireframes, conducting user and usability testing, and creating visual designs.

Upskilling yourself for a career in UX design

There are many ways for mid-career professionals to hop onto the UX design bandwagon. These programmes can be completed in a relatively short amount of time, completely online and do not cost that much.

UX designers require technical skills in front-end development, visual design, mobile integration, project management, information architecture, interaction design, copywriting, content strategy, and user research.

A UX designer will need to be able to code and have sound knowledge in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and jQuery to create consistent experiences through responsive layouts and input techniques.

Additionally, you will need to plan experiences through site mapping, modeling, and wireframes as well as design interactions by building flow, forming design as well as micro-interactions and transition animations.

You will also conduct research, usability studies, research synthesis, and data analysis and will be required to have a strong set of interpersonal skills as you will be expected to have stellar presenting skills as you are required to share design concepts with your peers and stakeholders.

You will have the opportunity facilitate design projects and foster a shared understanding between parties. This role also requires you to be able to receive and give criticism, as well as train your peers and stakeholders on constructive feedback.

One of the more important skills is the ability to lead projects by providing the right direction to your peers as well as a stakeholder.

One of the popular and preferred options for upskilling yourself in this field is through UX Bootcamps. CourseReport has listed top online boot camps for User Experience in Design in 2020. These online UX boot camps offered by course providers such as Bloc, Brainsation, Designation, General Assembly, and Thinkful can be completed on a part-time basis.

Online courses in this field are also offered by CareerFoundry, Designlab, General Assembly, Thinkful, and Springboard. Online boot camps and online programmes provide a general overview of the skills needed for an individual to start off a career in this filed.

It is also worthy to note that there are options for individuals who already hold a bachelor’s degree to obtain a Master’s in UX, on top of a pre-earned bachelor’s degree.