7 New, Promising Careers for UX Designers
Traditional UX jobs are currently rare and underpaid. How to use your creative skills for jobs in AI, HR, e-commerce and beyond.
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As a UX designer, you have a lot to offer — and the best thing about it? Your skills are in demand in so many areas that you have the freedom to choose where your career goes in this tricky job market. I also slowly “slipped” into this field from communication design to marketing and think that your career will develop in a equally flexible way. So stay open!
If you’re thinking about how you can develop yourself further or want to explore a new direction, then you’ve come to the right place. There are so many exciting jobs out there where you can put your UX skills to perfect use — and you have a distinct advantage over other applicants!
1. Employer Branding / Candidate Experience Specialist
Your ability to really understand people and give them the best experience makes you the perfect match for Employer Branding or Candidate Experience. These jobs are all about making the application process smooth and enjoyable for candidates. Simply doing clumsy marketing or content creation is not enough here, contrary to popular belief. It’s more about holistic solutions: For example, here are things that you as an applicant DON’T have to fill in on the application form. As you can see, the processes in many companies are sometimes not yet fully thought out, but at the same time they key areas in development: That’s why they need you, because a pure marketing expert would never achieve such an impact. As a UX designer, you know exactly how to create journey maps and how to design every touchpoint so that it works easily for candidates. Others only look at the HR processes for recruiters — you see the experience for everyone!
Your Superpower: UX Audit and Accessibility Compliance for Websites, Journey Mapping, User Research, Mobile Experience, UX Research, UX Writing
2. AI Designer / Conversation Designer
Artificial intelligence is a buzzword — and your expertise is becoming increasingly important here. Most people just talk about it and can’t really do that much! As an AI or conversation designer, you can design chatbots and voice-controlled systems in such a way that they feel natural and intuitive for the user. Where others focus on the technology behind it, you know how to make these technologies truly user-friendly. UX designers possess the ideal mix of technical understanding and user focus — a clear advantage. You can also learn a great deal and enter the field of voice assistants, for example. In this area, you have the opportunity to shape a completely new field and position yourself as a hands-on expert before others do.
Your Superpower: Interaction Design, Prototyping, User Research, UX Writing, UI Design, agile Development
3. Executive Communications
Corporate communication is often about conveying complex information clearly and comprehensibly. This includes profiles of important decision-makers and personalities: They don’t even have time to write or comment on all the posts themselves. This is exactly where you can shine! You know how to structure content so that it is easy to understand and memorable. This allows you to stand out from the crowd, especially externally, and showcase the company with your personal touch. Whether for presentations, internal documents or external communication, your ability to create visually and content-wise appealing messages will give you a real edge in this role and leave others in the shade. You are the ideal total package of strategic and aesthetic thinking.
Your Superpower: Storytelling, Visual Communication with various Design and Video Tools, UX Writing, Target Group Analysis, User Research
4. E-Commerce / Conversion Rate Specialist
When it comes to increasing the conversion rate, as a UX designer you are right at the forefront. Understanding what motivates users and what makes them decide. For example, a purchase can fail due to a complicated interaction with the shopping cart. Your analytical skills and sense for optimization make you an unbeatable conversion rate specialist. Small changes to the user experience can have a big impact — and you know exactly how to find them! While the term “A/B testing” comes up a lot, you can bring in many other user-centered methods and amaze your team. On top of that, your expertise will translate into satisfied, happy customers and you can see how your work pays off in terms of sales.
Your Superpower: UX research, especially user testing such as A/B testing, journey mapping and methods for user behavior, user flows, interaction design
5. Communication & Marketing Manager
Marketing and communication are so much more effective when you put the user at the center — and that’s exactly what you bring to the table! While traditional marketing experts often focus on the brand and only know the classic research methods such as personas, you understand how to perfectly emphasize the target group’s needs. Thanks to your UX skills, you can ensure that campaigns not only look good, but are also really effective. You can then create a real purpose. In addition to Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok, you should always keep an eye on new platforms, such as the potential LinkedIn competitor read.cv. Find out more about the new career network here!
Your Superpower: Visual designs and knowledge of various design tools, methods for target group analysis, UX writing, user research
6. Customer Experience Manager
Customer experience positions, often called “CX”, are still quite new and are basically an extension of what you already do as a UX designer. Except now you’re looking at the entire customer journey! From the first interaction to the last point of contact, you ensure that everything runs smoothly and positively. You have the skills to make the customer journey not just better, but truly exceptional. Unfortunately, it still happens that companies do not focus on the end-to-end journey, but only on individual sections of it. The best thing about this is that physical and digital experiences are often combined so that you can interlink both worlds and create a multimodal shopping experience, as an example. Huge sporting events are also suitable for CX: want to get a taste of one of these areas as a volunteer at the Olympic Games? Find out how to apply for LA28 here.
Your Superpower: Journey Mapping, Service Design, UX Research
7. Project manager / product owner for websites, apps or the like
You are perfect as a project manager or product owner for digital products because you speak the language of users AND developers. You understand what is technically feasible and how to design it in such a way that it offers users real added value. While others may fail due to technical hurdles or user feedback, you can bring these two worlds together and lead projects to success. You are often also responsible for the UX designers in the product team and can further contribute your knowledge and immerse yourself in people management. If you like to take responsibility, communicate well with stakeholders and you don’t want to be just a designer on the team, this role is for you. Maybe you’ll soon be in charge of an entire mobile app or even become Chief Design Officer?
Your Superpower: Agile Development, Wireframing, UX Research
Why you have a significant advantage as a UX designer
Besides being creative, you also have the ability to solve problems and really respond to people’s needs. You don’t just think in terms of tools or processes — you think in terms of meaningful experiences that solve problems and can design them directly. Most other candidates likely don’t know how to use design software quite like you do. Yes, most of them have no clue! This focus on the user paired with hands-on skills makes you unbeatable for many professions. You have the skills that are in demand in today’s digitalized world and can go in so many different directions. If you are still studying, you could apply as a working student in Germany and dive into all these areas. Find out more here!
You’ve got what it takes to excel in each of these areas. Perhaps you are particularly interested in one of these fields? If you are still undecided and are about to completed your studies, the international VIE program would also be an exciting alternative. Use your strengths, make clever use of your skills and be brave enough to break new ground. I know you can do it and I too have explored many different areas!
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