Careers in Tech: Steps on how to Begin a UX/UI Design Career

Starting a career in a tech field such as User Experience Design is a big decision. There's a lot of jargon surrounding this new and ever-changing field. That's why Avoacedemy is here to guide you through it no matter which path you take.

User experience design is a rapidly growing field concerned with the experience a consumer has while using a product. The field is in demand with a high national average salary. The average salary of the grads from Avocademy is $85,000.

You’ll find that UX Design is a rewarding, creative, and high-paying career within your reach.

How to begin a UX/UI design Career?

Here are a few easy steps to help you kickstart your career.

Step 1: Identify your strengths and do your research:

When undergoing a career change, it is helpful to know your skill set and what makes you unique. You don’t have to be a tech wiz or coding genius to have a successful career in UX/UI Design. You do not even need coding for a career in UX Design!

There are a plethora of transferable skills that are helpful as you pivot into UX Design. Those with experience in Psychology, the Humanities, Copywriting, and Marketing can make great candidates for UX designers.

Some skills that make an amazing UX designer include empathy, creativity, problem-solving, and communication. The rest can be learned!

Step 2: Find what approach to learning UX is best for you:

Now that you know the top skills of great UX designers, you can explore methods to learn the design process.

Luckily, we’ve researched them for you. There are three main ways people learn UX Design:

1. Formal University

A formal university can be a good fit for those who have not started a career or had a formal education. However, you can get a UX design job without a degree.

Universities are often very expensive, time-consuming, and have varying amounts of job support. If you go the university route, you will get an in-depth education in UX Design as well as many other topics.

If you want to cut to the chase, save money, and get right into UX Design, you may consider one of the next options.

2. A Bootcamp

 Bootcamps have become increasingly popular due to their ease of entry, strong support network, job assistance, self-paced options, efficiency, cost, and mentorship. Bootcamps are an extremely viable option for those who already work a full-time job and need to take learning at their own pace while maintaining the structure of formal education. 

Bootcamps can range in cost from around $300-$15,000. Make sure you research and read our article on the best UX design bootcamps.

3. Self Taught

While some consider self-paced bootcamps to be self-taught, there is always the option to learn completely on your own. This option is best for those with a lot of time and a strong work ethic. Teaching yourself an entirely new career can be worthwhile if you have the right resources and want to save some money. There are a lot of free materials online to help you learn UX Design, although it can be tricky to cover everything yourself.

The high salary and growing demand for UX designers combined with affordable boot camps make this option less desirable. That being said, the self-taught route is completely what you make of it

Step 3: Familiarize yourself with UX Design software. 

The final step you need is to familiarize yourself with a UX Design Software of your choice. To land a job in UX design, you will need a portfolio showing off some digital prototyping/wireframing skills. After learning all the fundamentals of UX design you can begin to learn tools such as Figma, Sketch, Invison, or Adobe XD.

These require a little bit of dedication to learn (or at least a youtube tutorial). There are plenty of resources out there for these applications making them something anyone can understand. 

If you feel that the prototyping applications aren't for you, you can always opt to be a UX researcher.

Need more guidance?

Career changes can be intimidating, but you deserve a career you enjoy doing. 

Start your UX design journey today! Schedule a free mentoring session with a UX designer today!

Author
Brynn is an aspiring UX designer who loves the beach, cooking, drawing, and meeting new people. She loves her avocados on a big salad or in a breakfast burrito.