5 Reasons to be in UX Design
User experience (UX) design is a term that most people won’t recognize, but it’s one of the most important components to the technology that they use and see every day. UX design basically refers to the planning of user or customer journeys on a website, app or product, sketching of user interface specifications and designs and research into user goals and personas. UX designers have the job of learning the wants and needs of customers and clients and using that info to plan a product that will help them become more efficient and capable of meeting their goals.
It’s a field that’s truly all about the user experience, and requires an understanding of sociology, psychology and design, which enabled designers to offer the best solutions to customers and clients. Designers must also possess tactical skills, such as concept iteration, user research, usability testing and prototyping. However, knowledge of visual design, interaction design, content strategy, information architecture and UI design are also needed. These are all factors that make the job of a UX designer an interesting one.
The UX designer career is one of the fastest growing careers around, as top talent is in demand. This can be attributed to the fact that UX design is a popular industry that’s expected to grow continually. Plus, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, web development jobs of this type will grow by 27 percent through the year 2024. And according to CNN Money, a UX designer is one of the top jobs in the world. Not to mention that Glassdoor estimates that the average annual salary of a UX designer is around $90,000. All of this is simply to highlight that right now is quite possibly the best time to work in UX design. In fact, there are five major reasons why you should consider working in the UX design field.
More to Design
Currently, UX design is dominated by the creation of smartphones and tablets, but it’s expanding to the engineering of specialized technologies. This means new designers will design for more UX touch points than designers of the past. The growth can be attributed to the fact that many companies are now realizing that investing in better systems and technologies can increase the productivity of their employees. And, they need UX designers to help with this.
For example, a receptionist can be more productive using an appointment arrival system that only requires taps instead of sifting through dialog boxes and forms. A newer, more effective system will reduce incidences of dismissed error messages and increase efficiency and customer satisfaction. For the UX designer, this means more opportunities and more projects to add to the portfolio.
Make Technology More Accessible to the World
As a UX designer, you have the ability to make technology more accessible to everyone. You can achieve this by simplifying advanced technology and bringing it to the forefront of user experience. Certain advanced technology is becoming essential to everyday life. For example, technology that requires complex human-machine interactions enables users to shop online, pay bills and perform many other essential tasks. Good UX design will create products that ensures technology is accessible to everyone, including the disabled and the elderly. This accessibility includes things, such as:
- Comprehensibility of features and information
- Fluidity of interaction
- A short learning curve or fast and simple progression to feeling comfortable with a system
- Easy data input
If you become a UX designer, this will be a part of your job. So, you’ll have a hand in helping people and helping to change the world.
Help Save Lives
It may not seem like it, but as a UX designer, you’ll be able to help save lives. Good UX design leads to sophisticated medical devices and improved communication in the clinical environment. Sophisticated systems, such as the T3 system allow medical practitioners to understand complex information in an efficient and intuitive manner. Basically, they’re used to simplify complex systems and data.
Specifically, the T3 system collects high-resolution clinical data and transfers it to a web app that allows medical professionals to analyze that data. This and technologies like it reduce the need for human interpretation, thus decreasing the chance of human error. So, medical practitioners will be able to make better, more informed decisions. All of this is achieved with the help of UX design, and is a perfect example of how important your job as a UX designer will be.
Opportunities Galore
It’s no secret that the tech industry is booming and steadily growing. Today, a business can’t survive without building a digital presence. So, businesses are recognizing that websites and mobile applications with intuitive, functional user experience is tantamount to customer satisfaction, acquisition and retaining and brand recognition and growth. This results in high demand for tech professionals, especially UX designers.
Fortunately, you don’t have to be a tech genius and learn all of the coding languages to take advantage of this soaring demand. UX designers don’t need a technical background to join the career. All you need is some good training from the right training program. Not only is this design career easy to join and offers ample opportunities, it also comes with many benefits or perks. These perks include:
Help Shape Future Technology
Much of technology is designed around processes and devices created for the general population through the use of practical implications and user-friendly functions. So, technology is constantly evolving to suit user trends, wants and needs. Consumer-friendly devices or gadgets, such as wearable fitness trackers, VR goggles and more are being developed and put on the market every day. Besides that, technology in these areas is growing exponentially.
All devices have a distinct purpose depending on the user, which means, depending on who they are, users will expect a different experience and have different goals and needs when interacting with the same device. This is where UX design comes in. As a UX designer, you’ll be able to research and experiment with this technology to determine what device models offer the best user experience and are flexible enough to be useful to many types of users. You’ll also be able to use your research to help companies create products with innovative design and technology.
In summary:
- An average salary of $87,883 in a competitive market
- Remote employment opportunities and location independence
- As the tech industry continues to grow, ample opportunities for growth, advancement and experience. The next few years will bring about high demand for UX designers for virtual reality (VR) and alternate reality (AR) platforms.
- Placement on the cutting edge of ever-expanding web design and mobile app development and design
- Flexible work schedule / time
UX design can be a rewarding career with expansion for growth and job opportunities across many industries. Not only that, it’s a lucrative job in a lucrative job market. The salary should be enough to make anyone want to consider the career, but getting the chance to help people is perhaps the greatest consideration. If it’s something you’re considering, your first step should be a comprehensive education program that’ll set you on the path to user experience success. Check out DevMountain’s upcoming UX Design classes, and see if one fits your schedule.
