Career Pathways: Comparing Industry and Academic User Experience Research
For many college students, the Spring semester often promotes those discussions of “what are your plans after graduation?” and “are you planning to apply for a job in industry or in academia?”
When I was considering my own career pathway, and deciding which research route to pursue, I had a lot of questions about how industry and academia were similar or different. I knew that I wanted to stay in the user experience research field, but I did not know how working in industry for a company would compare to working in academia as a researcher through a university. Some of the questions I had during this time included:
- What is the difference between industry and academic UX research?
- Which career path might be the best fit for me?
In this article, I will be sharing some of the main differences between industry and academic user experience research that I’ve discovered from my time working as a UX researcher in industry and as a researcher throughout my Ph.D. and Master’s programs. I’ll be including insights into industry and academia that I wish I had known when I was initially considering the two career pathways.
Goals of Research
One of the first differences that I noticed between industry and academic UX research is the goal of the research.
For research in academia, you are often working to advance a body of knowledge around a certain topic or contribute to a theory in your field. Although this will be entirely field-dependent, in UX research this process typically consists of a review of existing literature, proposing research questions or hypotheses, data collection (e.g., survey or experiment), analysis and synthesis of data, and a presentation of the research and findings (e.g., in a written journal article format). For example, my dissertation focused on users’ experience with emerging health technologies and simultaneously aimed to contribute to a larger body of knowledge and theory around health technology adoption. I examined a large amount of existing literature and conducted two studies to test my hypotheses: a series of interviews and an online experiment.
In industry, the goal of UX research is most often directly associated with improving the user experience of a product or answering a specific question around an experience. Additionally, foundational research is often incorporated to discover opportunities for new products or user solutions. For example, in my UX research roles, I have conducted generative research which focused on finding opportunities for user solutions and product innovation, in addition to evaluative research which aimed to test and gather feedback on an existing experience or product offering.
In short, while both industry and academic user experience research focus largely on understanding the user experience, there are specific and distinct goals in mind.
Duration and Number of Research Projects
With the distinct goals of academic and industry research in mind, I found there to be differences in both the typical duration of projects and the number of research projects one typically works on simultaneously. For the research studies I worked on while in a university setting, I would most often have 2–3 research studies at one time. In these studies, I was focused on contributing to existing and published research in the field. Depending on the type of study that I was working on, the review of existing academic literature, study planning and approval procedures (e.g., Institutional Review Board), data collection, analysis, synthesis, and the journal article writing and submission process could take several months to a year. This process can take even longer when looking to publish in academic journals and making revisions to your article throughout the peer-review process.
In contrast, the majority of my work in industry has had shorter turnaround times. The timeframes are mostly due to the specific goals of the projects that I have worked on, and internal deadlines within the team or company to launch products or for strategic initiatives. For evaluative UX research studies I’ve conducted where the main focus is to examine the effects of a design change or the usability of a feature, there are quicker turnaround times to handoff feedback to the corresponding design and engineering teams. These timeframes on the shorter side could be within a week to a few weeks, and I’ll often have more than one user testing study I am working on at a given time. For generative work which seeks to provide strategic product direction, these studies can take longer in terms of planning and data collection (e.g., in-depth user interviews) and analysis. Again, shorter turnaround times are expected for strategic initiatives and product planning. Altogether, most of my research projects in industry, spanning both generative and evaluative work, are completed within less than a month or two.
While this may be company-dependent or based on upcoming deadlines, the overall duration of studies in industry I found to be shorter overall than my work in academia, in addition to having a higher number of simultaneous/co-occurring studies.
Types of Collaboration
In addition to the goals of the research, I have found there to be different types of collaboration with colleagues in industry and academia.
For my academic research studies, I would collaborate with my university colleagues, or researchers in similar fields associated with different academic institutions. We would share ideas together and discuss study planning, data collection, analysis, and presenting findings either in a conference or journal article.
In industry, I almost always work on a project in collaboration with key stakeholders on a team, which could include other UX researchers, designers, or product leaders who oversee the lifecycle of a feature or product. We discuss research needs and prioritizing projects in order of company needs, upcoming deadlines, or soon-to-be-launched features. It is not uncommon to be the only researcher on an industry project, especially with shorter-term evaluative work.
While collaboration is common in both industry and academia, the types of collaboration can differ. In academic research, the collaborative efforts revolve mostly around creating a research study to contribute back to theory and expand upon existing literature. In industry, collaboration often focuses on working together to discuss how the research could impact the company or product, and evaluates how the research contributes to existing company knowledge. I find industry collaboration to focus more on how the research will inform strategic product direction or design initiatives.
Funding
Another consideration I found was the availability of funding.
For research in academia, it is common to apply for research grants in order to fund your work. These grants could be project-specific (e.g., a grant for dissertation research) or for multiple research initiatives in a specific research area. When I was conducting research through my university, I applied for grants to support some of my research projects. One of the grants enabled me to provide compensation for interviews with my research study participants and the other supported an online experiment.
In contrast, many companies within industry will have a set budget allocated for research. This budget could include funding for interviews, research platform subscriptions (e.g., UserTesting, Qualtrics), or for presenting work at industry conferences. For example, one of the prior companies I worked for had a set budget allocated for user experience research each month. Again, while this is company-dependent and financing will vary, it is common for companies to have an allotment for research initiatives.
One consideration with regards to funding is the topic or subject of your research. In industry, you will not have to typically seek out external funding, but the research will most often revolve around the company or product experiences. In academic work, you may have to apply for funding, yet will typically have more opportunities to choose your specific research topic or field of interest.
Additional Roles and Responsibilities
Another distinction between the two career paths includes additional roles and responsibilities. For most academic research roles, you are often working as a professor or instructor in addition to your research obligations. This will include teaching a number of collegiate courses at your academic institution. This can include preparing course content, giving class lectures, grading, and mentoring students as well.
In industry, there isn’t usually a specific teaching role alongside your research work, but there are usually opportunities for mentorship within your company mentoring junior researchers or signing-up for user experience networking groups (these could be local or online). This type of leadership is also helpful to partake in if one is interested in pursuing a management position.
Summary
While I greatly enjoy both types of user experience research, I see myself continuing to work in industry in the future. My favorite part of working in industry UX research is being able to see the impact of my work on the company or product experience. It is great to see your research come to life through applications in design directions or strategic initiatives. The aspect of academia I miss the most in my current role is teaching. I am hoping to continue to find more teaching opportunities in the coming years, either through mentorship programs or an adjunct faculty position at a university someday.
This article summarizes the main differences that I have experienced during my time in industry and academia. If you have any questions about this article or industry and academic user experience research, please feel free to leave them in the comments section and I will do my best to answer them!
