{"id":8243,"date":"2023-03-31T14:04:21","date_gmt":"2023-03-31T14:04:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/?p=8243"},"modified":"2023-11-13T22:56:10","modified_gmt":"2023-11-13T22:56:10","slug":"ux-hiring-in-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/ux-hiring-in-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"UX hiring in 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Is now the right time to start a career in UX?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you only read the news headlines, you might not think so.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every day brings news of another tech giant laying off thousands of workers. US-based tech companies <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/news.crunchbase.com\/startups\/tech-layoffs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">cut 140,000 jobs in 2022<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. They cut another 94,000 workers by March 2023.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fortunately, when you dig into the data beyond the headlines, you\u2019ll find tech and UX job opportunities are as plentiful as they\u2019ve ever been.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To give you a more accurate picture of the current UX job market, we researched open UX roles and spoke to hiring managers to uncover:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"#why-the-big-tech-layoffs-are-misleading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why the big tech layoffs are misleading<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"#whos-still-hiring-in-tech-and-ux\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who\u2019s still hiring in tech and UX<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"#why-ux-roles-are-still-in-big-demand\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why UX roles are still in big demand<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"#tips-for-landing-a-role-in-the-current-ux-job-market\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tips for landing a role in the current UX job market<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s jump right in with the real story behind the layoffs.<\/span><\/p>\n<section id=\"promotion\" class=\"promotion-content-raw inlinepromo inlinepromo_professional-diploma-in-ux-designp-1 my-4\" style=\"\">\n\t<div class=\"w-container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row align-items-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-md-12 promotion-info\">\n                <a class=\"link-content\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/courses\/ux-design?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=blog_panel_pdux&amp;utm_campaign=blog_promo\" style=\"\">\n                    <p>[GET CERTIFIED IN UX]<\/p>\n                    <span>Take our Professional Diploma in UX Design course<\/span>\n                <\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<h2><b><a id=\"why-the-big-tech-layoffs-are-misleading\"><\/a>The big tech layoffs are overblown<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ca.news.yahoo.com\/big-tech-layoffs-what-companies-such-as-amazon-and-meta-have-in-common-183840705.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to Goldman Sachs research<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, most big tech layoffs are coming from tech companies with three things in common:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>They hired aggressively during the pandemic. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On average, the companies undergoing mass layoffs recently saw their headcounts grow by 41% between Q4 2019 and Q3 2022.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>They benefited from temporary pandemic-related trends<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> such as increased demand for goods or time spent online.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>They have seen sharper declines in their stock prices<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014an average of 43% lower than their peaks on average.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This graph from Yahoo Finance illustrates how small the recent layoffs are in contrast to the tech giants\u2019 pandemic headcount growth:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In reality, the tech unemployment rate is hitting record lows. <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8249\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Screenshot-2023-03-22-at-10.45.18.png\" alt=\"tech company hiring sprees\" width=\"1296\" height=\"814\" title=\"\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/news.release\/empsit.nr0.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">January job report<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) found the unemployment rate in the tech job market was only 1.5%\u2014even lower than the December rate of 1.8%.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This graph from an early 2023 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.comptia.org\/content\/tech-jobs-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CompTIA Tech Jobs Report<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> shows that tech\u2019s unemployment rate in the U.S. has been on a consistent decline since the peak of the pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8248\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Screenshot-2023-03-22-at-10.44.41.png\" alt=\"unemployment rate trending\" width=\"1342\" height=\"1038\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The same report shows the total number of tech roles is near its highest levels since 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-8247 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Screenshot-2023-03-22-at-10.43.57.png\" alt=\"tech occupation employment\" width=\"1310\" height=\"1036\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In fact, it\u2019s been a struggle to fill those roles. In January 2023, there were over 109,000 unfilled tech jobs due to a lack of qualified candidates (according to the same <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.comptia.org\/content\/tech-jobs-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CompTIA report)<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But if there are so many layoffs happening in big tech, how has the tech job market stayed consistently strong?<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b><a id=\"whos-still-hiring-in-tech-and-ux\"><\/a>Where are all the tech jobs coming from?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tech jobs have stayed consistent because there are many tech employers beyond the big Silicon Valley tech companies.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to a recent <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/12\/29\/business\/silicon-valley-tech-talent-mainstream-industries.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New York Times article<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, \u201ca majority of tech jobs are at companies outside the tech sector in industries like banking, retail, health care, and manufacturing whose operations are increasingly becoming digital.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These traditional industries have upped their tech workforces after they were forced to modernize during the pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The New York Times cites Walmart as an example, which has hired over 20,000 engineers, data scientists, and product managers since the pandemic to build up its ecommerce and delivery services.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Who\u2019s hiring in UX?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tech jobs are clearly in demand, and hiring data suggests UX roles are some of the most in-demand tech jobs out there:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.glassdoor.com\/List\/Best-Jobs-in-America-LST_KQ0,20.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Glassdoor<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> listed UX Designer as the 24th best job to have in the US based on salary data, job satisfaction, and open roles. (Most of the top 20 were also tech jobs.)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/ooh\/computer-and-information-technology\/web-developers.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> projects Web Developer and Digital Designer roles (including UX roles) will rise by 23% between 2021 and 2023 (which it describes as \u201cmuch higher than average\u201d)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ga-public-downloads.s3.amazonaws.com\/GA_StateOfTechTalent.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">91% of recruiters<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are \u201cextremely, very, or somewhat concerned that recruitment and hiring methods will not be enough to fill their open software engineering, data analytics, data science, and UX design positions in today\u2019s labor market.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the time of writing this article in March 2023, a search for full-time <\/span><b>UX designer<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> jobs on Indeed, pulled up:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.indeed.com\/jobs?q=ux+designer&amp;l=united+states&amp;sc=0kf%3Ajt%28fulltime%29%3B&amp;vjk=89ed750ce7a117f1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3,292 open roles in the US<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/uk.indeed.com\/jobs?q=ux+designer&amp;sc=0kf%3Ajt%28fulltime%29%3B&amp;vjk=d311180149c81e8e\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">543 open roles in the UK<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ca.indeed.com\/jobs?q=ux+designer&amp;sc=0kf%3Ajt%28fulltime%29%3B&amp;vjk=19a275bdd54424bf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">548 open roles in Canada<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For <\/span><b>UX researcher <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">jobs, there are:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.indeed.com\/jobs?q=ux+researcher&amp;l=united+states&amp;vjk=1e2345e60ad5ebd5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">633 open roles in the US<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ca.indeed.com\/jobs?q=ux+researcher&amp;l=&amp;vjk=61825956fca26cf3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">87 open roles in Canada<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/uk.indeed.com\/jobs?q=ux+researcher&amp;sc=0kf%3Ajt%28fulltime%29%3B&amp;vjk=107db1f91e3c4828\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">120 open roles in the UK<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A broader search for any role with <\/span><b>\u201cUX\u201d<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the job title or description reveals:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.indeed.com\/jobs?q=ux&amp;l=united+states&amp;sc=0kf%3Ajt%28fulltime%29%3B&amp;vjk=ce997249e7b459cf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">7,067 roles in the US<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ca.indeed.com\/jobs?q=ux&amp;sc=0kf%3Ajt%28fulltime%29%3B&amp;vjk=3e3892b6458d8c2c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1,064 open roles in Canada<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/uk.indeed.com\/jobs?q=ux&amp;sc=0kf%3Ajt%28fulltime%29%3B&amp;vjk=8ef8a6d8f651c64c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1,098 open roles in the UK<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This includes roles such as product manager, product designer, frontend designer, conversion rate optimization, and more.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s take a closer look at which industries are hiring in UX.<\/span><\/p>\n<section id=\"promotion\" class=\"promotion-content-raw inlinepromo inlinepromo_ux-design-fundamentalsp-1 my-4\" style=\"\">\n\t<div class=\"w-container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row align-items-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-md-12 promotion-info\">\n                <a class=\"link-content\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/courses\/ux-design-fundamentals?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=blog_panel_text&amp;utm_campaign=blog_promo\" style=\"\">\n                    <p>[UX DESIGN FUNDAMENTALS COURSE]<\/p>\n                    <span>Get the Best Start in UX Design<\/span>\n                <\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<h3><b>Financial sector<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We asked Eoghain Cooper, former Technical Sourcing Specialist at Google and current Alumni Career Advisor at the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UX Design Institute<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> about which industries are hiring in UX right now.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He immediately brought up the financial industry.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThere\u2019s a bit of a panic within the financial and wealth management sector,\u201d said Cooper. \u201cThere\u2019s a big trend in banks going digital-first to insulate themselves from challenger banks like Revolut or transfer apps like CashApps.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cLooking at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/careers.bankofamerica.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bank of America<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, for example, they\u2019re hiring a lot more UX roles into their teams. A lot of what they do is more backend, but they might hire UX designers for dashboards for creators and analysts.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Open job listings on Indeed confirm that trend, as there are currently double-digit open roles at:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Accenture (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accenture.com\/us-en\/careers\/jobsearch?jk=ux&amp;sb=0&amp;vw=0&amp;is_rj=0&amp;pg=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">US<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accenture.com\/ca-en\/careers\/jobsearch?jk=ux&amp;sb=0&amp;vw=0&amp;is_rj=0&amp;pg=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Canada<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/jobs.citi.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Citi<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/careers.db.com\/professionals\/search-roles\/#\/professional\/results\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deutsche Bank<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/careers.jpmorgan.com\/global\/en\/home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">JP Morgan Chase<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/jobs.natwestgroup.com\/search\/innovation-and-digital-design-and-delivery\/jobs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NatWest<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwc.com\/us\/en\/careers.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PwC<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/santander.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com\/en-US\/SantanderCareers?q=design%20ux\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Santander<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/jobs.td.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TD Bank<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wellsfargo.com\/about\/careers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wells Fargo<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Manufacturing<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/ronan-costello-10818970\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ronan Costello<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Director of Digital Customer Experiences at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.analog.com\/en\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Analog Devices<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, says that UX is a big focus in the manufacturing industry right now.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cTogether with our customers, we are solving society&#8217;s toughest challenges (think: space tech, sustainable energy, electric vehicles, and digital healthcare),\u201d said Ronan. \u201cSo it makes sense that we are doubling down on our customer focus.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe team has doubled in size over the last four months alone and will continue to scale up throughout the year.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.analog.com\/en\/about-adi\/careers.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Analog Devices<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, other manufacturing companies like <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eaton.com\/ca\/en-gb\/company\/careers.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Eaton<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/jobs.coxenterprises.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cox Enterprises<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.xylem.com\/en-us\/careers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xylem<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> all have UX job openings on Indeed.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Retail &amp; Ecommerce<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As of the end of 2022, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.census.gov\/retail\/mrts\/www\/data\/pdf\/ec_current.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">14.7% of total retail sales<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the US come from ecommerce. This is up over 50% from pre-pandemic levels and nearly 300% from a decade ago.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8245\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Screenshot-2023-03-22-at-10.41.38.png\" alt=\"estimated retail and ecommerce earnings\" width=\"1336\" height=\"528\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This has pushed brick-and-mortar retailers to become tech companies. They are increasingly hiring in-house UXers to work on mobile shopping app design, website conversion rate optimization, and more.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Retailers like <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/talent.lowes.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lowes<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/uk.indeed.com\/jobs?q=Tesco+Ux+Design&amp;from=mobRdr&amp;utm_source=%2Fm%2F&amp;utm_medium=redir&amp;utm_campaign=dt&amp;vjk=b283478f89950301\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tesco<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en-global-jobs.about.ikea.com\/search-jobs\/ux\/22908-35577-41066\/1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ikea<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/careers.walmart.com\/technology\/ux-design\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Walmart<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> have lots of open UX roles, as do many ecommerce companies, such as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/careers.chewy.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chewy<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Digital Marketing Agencies<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to Eoghain Cooper, the largest UX growth area he sees at the moment is in the digital marketing space:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAgencies are scaling up their teams massively. They have team sizes of 30+ with no slow-downs in hiring. These are notable design firms like <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.criticalmass.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Critical Mass<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dentsu.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dentsu<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThey are mostly hiring qualified junior talent and then training them up in-house with the goal of retaining staff long-term. They hire UX generalists who do a lot of design work and some research. It\u2019s where we find most graduates are looking.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We talked to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/helen-willmot-527a1120\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Helen Willmot<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Director of UX &amp; Optimisation at Dentsu, who said there are lots of marketing-focused roles emerging for UXers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe\u2019re more commercial than a lot of UX teams. We tend to focus on pre-purchase journeys. We care more about persuasion, behavioural design, emotional design\u2014what makes people purchase.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Other agencies with open roles on Indeed include <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alludo.com\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alludo<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hippodigital.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hippo Digital<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Tech Companies<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of course, there are also many tech companies outside the big giants hiring for UX.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usebraintrust.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Braintrust<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vmware.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">VMware<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Autodesk<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/getjerry.com\/careers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jerry<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and many others have double-digit UX positions open.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b><a id=\"why-ux-roles-are-still-in-big-demand\"><\/a>Why UX professionals are still in high demand<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The next question to ask is whether the demand for UX will keep up if we go into a recession. Is there anything about UX that makes it more future-proofed?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are some reasons why the demand for UX is likely here to stay.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>More demand for tech means more demand for UX<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/bernardmarr\/2022\/12\/05\/the-top-5-in-demand-tech-skills-for-jobs-in-2023\/?sh=129ac476826c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">recent Forbes article<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> about in-demand tech skills, renowned futurist Bernard Marr explained how the continuing reliance on technology will lead to more UX roles:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThis democratization of technology really just means that everyone, no matter what their role is, is expected to work with technology to some extent. And that means that technology has to be usable by anyone, even those without the skills traditionally needed to work with technology, such as software and programming skills.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAs consumers continue to value experience above other aspects of products and services they purchase (such as value-for-money or quality), then the skillset of the UX designer will become increasingly in demand.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ronan Costello of Analog Devices echoed this point too: \u201cThink about all the companies looking to harness ChatGPT in their products. So many only fall into the realm of cool toys.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cBut then you&#8217;ve got a handful of companies like Intercom delivering <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/podcasts\/intercom-on-product-chatgpt-ai-ml-revolution\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ChatGPT features<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that solve REAL problems in less than 8 weeks since ChatGPT itself was launched. The future is bright.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Companies see UX as risk avoidance, not a luxury<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While UX used to be seen as a nice-to-have luxury expense, it\u2019s now seen as a way to avoid risk.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIn times of economic uncertainty there is understandably less room for guesswork and gambles,\u201d said Ronan Costello.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cUncertainty in itself can&#8217;t be eliminated, but it can certainly be managed. UX design and research is critical to doing just that. Harnessing research with customers (interviews, usability tests, A\/B testing) and using those insights in the design process for launch and in live optimisations mean our bets are less risky. We are not running blind.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Eoghain Cooper explains that companies see an investment in UX as a logical business consideration, \u201cDecent research at beginning of a project or throughout reduces development cost and time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Helen Wilmott said she\u2019s seen a big shift in the way Dentsu\u2019s clients value UX, too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIf UX is valued the right way, it\u2019s unlikely to be cut. There are certainly clients of ours who have embraced UX, they get the importance of it, and it would take a lot for them to cut back on it. They don\u2019t view it as a luxury,\u201d said Wilmott.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>The UX industry is far from its maturity<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nngroup.com\/articles\/100-years-ux\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">essay on the next 100 years of UX<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Jakob Nielsen, UX pioneer and founder of the NN Group, expects UX roles to keep growing because of three separate growth trends:<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/recognise-ux-maturity-job-hunting\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UX maturity<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is growing <\/span><b>within companies<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>More companies<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are practicing UX<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>More countries<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are practicing UX \u2014 it\u2019s becoming a more global practice<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nielsen ambitiously predicts 1% of the world population will be in UX roles by 2050.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b><a id=\"tips-for-landing-a-role-in-the-current-ux-job-market\"><\/a>10 tips for the current UX hiring market<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What else should UXers know about the current hiring market? Here are some helpful tips that came up in our conversations for helping you land and keep a role in UX.<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>It\u2019s a good time for junior UX roles. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cA lot of the senior designers are the ones struggling [after big tech layoffs]. Their level of salary is difficult for smaller companies to match. From my own perspective on the market, there\u2019s a stronger investment in junior talents that can be nurtured,\u201d said Eoghain Cooper.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>It\u2019s a good time to be a generalist. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThere can be a temptation to specialize early. But a lot of jobs that were let go from tech were niche jobs (e.g., Design Ethicists). You\u2019ll start to see more of a value on people who can be quite flexible and flip between different roles. If you are looking to become a UX designer, it can be worth keeping it broader,\u201d said Helen Willmot.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Tailor your CV. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cNew graduates and junior UXers are still making a lot of basic errors with CVs\/resumes and portfolios. For example, a portfolio that shows one image, one sentence, and no indication of thought process or approach doesn&#8217;t help me much if I&#8217;m looking at 20-30 potential candidates. Think about how your portfolio maps to the role you are applying for. What is the hiring manager likely to be looking for,\u201d said Ronan Costello.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Don\u2019t rush into the first role you\u2019re offered. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cNewer UX designers should choose their next career move wisely. Ask LOTS of questions about the team you will be joining, their place in the organisation, their progression paths, how success is measured, and most importantly, how you will learn from your peers,\u201d said Costello.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>UX researchers are in big demand. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cGreat UX researchers are scarce right now. If you&#8217;re looking for an area of your UX toolkit to enhance, this is a good shout,\u201d said Costello.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>UX writing is growing too. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cUX writing is also a growing industry. They\u2019ve been hit by layoffs in tech, but you\u2019ll start to see increased demand in other industries,\u201d said Willmot.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Budget cuts normally impact research budgets first. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt\u2019s more about budgets getting cut [than layoffs]. UX teams are being asked to do more with less. For example, on the research side of things, if you\u2019ve been investing a lot in recruiting users, we might see that stripped back,\u201d said Willmot.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Learn to advocate for the commercial value of UX. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWith higher commercial pressures, it\u2019s worth learning how to advocate for your role and the commercial value of the UX function within a business. It can be hard to map revenue to UX, but the stats are there when you look at how fast companies who invest in this stuff grow. UXers need to be confident at pushing that narrative forward,\u201d said Willmot.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>UXers are valued in other roles, too. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe tend to hire a lot of UXers [at Dentsu] into our strategy roles. For example, project management roles. They\u2019re looking after conversion rate optimization for marketing and UX projects,\u201d said Willmot.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Diverse career experience is valued. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cLots of candidates having success transitioning into the UX space backed by courses like the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UX Design Institute<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> provides. Individuals with a blend of UX and non-UX experience can really create a fascinating addition to a team. Own that diverse experience!\u201d said Costello.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you were worried that you were late to the UX party\u2014don\u2019t be. It\u2019s still a great time for a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/why-ux-design-is-a-good-career\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">career in UX design<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Despite daily reports of tech giants laying off thousands, tech and UX jobs remain abundant when you examine the data beyond the headlines.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":8295,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[266,265],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-into-ux","category-career"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8243"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8243\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9379,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8243\/revisions\/9379"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}