Entry-level doesn’t mean what you think it does
Stop wasting your time on something that isn’t going to happen, yet.
You may not want to hear this, but it’s true
I’m just going to get the bad news out of the way first; then we’ll get to the good news. Both are equally important to understand if you want to go from an aspiring User Experience professional, to an employed User Experience professional.
I see it every single day, posts by graduates of bootcamp courses, listing the hundreds of resumes they’ve sent out, all the networking events they’ve been to, and the number of interviews they’ve attended to no avail. Most end on an optimistic note, maintaining that they know if they just keep up the “hustle” and pursue their dream for as long as it takes, eventually their luck will change, and they’ll get that entry-level UX role that’s just around the corner. The thing is, it’s unlikely to happen. Extremely unlikely.
I’m not saying this to be pessimistic or put anyone off their goals, on the contrary, I’m telling you so you can stop wasting time — potentially years — chasing something that doesn’t really exist. Sure there’s the very rare case of someone going from a completely unrelated field, say a chef or a postal delivery driver, to a paid job in the web industry which involves some elements of UX. The fact is, 99% of these stories are a matter of someone knowing the right person, in the right place, at the right time. That’s not to take away from their achievements, the point is these are edge cases of edge cases, on a good day.
So why do some companies advertise for “entry-level” UX roles?
For the sake of avoiding tautology and repeating myself, when I refer to “companies”, assume I’m talking about everything from small private agencies, to big consulting firms and government departments.
On the odd occasion you do see a job advertised with a title along the lines of “Entry-Level UX Designer”, it’s understandable to read this as “We are after someone who is looking to get their break into the web industry, specifically as a UX designer”. In these cases, entry-level actually means “new to working professionally in UX, but not new to working professionally in the web or IT industry”. That’s why the requirements for those same jobs then go on to ask for qualifications AND a minimum of 2–3 years industry experience — criteria that you can’t meet if you haven’t already worked in the industry for several years.
New to working professionally in UX, but not new to working professionally in the web or IT industry.
Yes, it’s frustrating and somewhat unethical that companies ask for seemingly impossible requirements, usually for relatively low pay (side-note: if you’re pursuing this career path for the sake of money, bail now), but don’t worry, it doesn’t just apply to junior positions. You’ll see this nonsense for jobs at every seniority level, and there is a reason for it — but that’s a whole other topic for another day.
Well, that’s a bit rough, why don’t they give new people a chance?
Running a business of any size is a constant balancing act: expenses and income, profits and losses, risks and returns. Someone with years of industry experience, UX or otherwise, is theoretically a lower-risk hire than someone with little-to-no experience.
“It’s nothing personal, it’s just business”
- Every gangster movie ever made
Unfortunately, natural talent has little bearing compared to the number of years on a resume — plenty of companies are missing out on potentially fantastic talent for the sake of playing it safe, but that’s just how it is.
But, I was guaranteed a job as part of my course!
If anyone ever tells you that by simply taking their 4–10 week UX/career coaching course you can go straight into a UX role, ask them where their first entry-level UX job was when they had no experience. Then take advantage of their confusion to close your wallet and quickly escape to a safe distance. I’m not criticising bootcamps or courses in general, absolutely you should learn the fundamentals of UX, and if you can afford them, paid courses can provide a structure and accountability that you don’t get when you take the self-taught route. What I am criticising, are those that use vague wording to give the impression their course includes a guaranteed entry-level UX job. Read the fine print — sure, they guarantee they’ll try to help you get a job, but nowhere do they specify what type of job it will be.
“Depending on the sort of skills that you have, you could get a job straight after the course or it could take a couple months (sic) … it depends on the complementary skills you have already and the experience you have professionally”
- Ben Wong, CEO and Co-founder of Academy Xi (Business Insider Australia)
What about that good news you promised?
Now that you’re a bit more informed on what entry-level means, at face value it can seem a bit depressing, but it’s not all doom and gloom.
Firstly, and I’d say most importantly, now you know it’s not about your skills or a reflection of your talent. Along with everyone else, I went through the exact same thing, thinking “how can I possibly get the experience these jobs require, without getting the job to get the experience?”. It felt like an exclusive club that you could only get into by knowing the passphrase and secret handshake. Only after years of working in the industry, did I have the benefit of hindsight to be able to see the whole picture and know how things really work.
It’s not about your skills or a reflection of your talent.
Secondly, no course you completed that increased your skills and knowledge was a waste of time or money, but it’s not directly going to get you the job you’re after. For that part, it’s up to you to approach things strategically and — excuse the cliché — think outside the box. These are skills you’ll need in order to be successful in this industry anyway, so honing them now is going to help you in both the short and long term.
It would be a disservice to try to rush through explaining the strategies you can use to go from actually having no industry experience, to eventually getting the UX role you’ve been dreaming of, so I’ll be covering them in a separate article. For now, I felt it was important for every frustrated future UXer to read and understand this; I know there are a lot of you out there. You can achieve your goals, it’s just going to take time (more than a couple of months) and some creative career design to get there.
