UXR Pathways: What should I look for in a good corporate job?
UX research jobs are as diverse as the companies and industries that hire for them. Some UX researchers love their jobs, while others are miserable at theirs. So where should I apply vs. avoid? To identify red flags and green flags, I asked senior-level UX researchers, research managers, and product managers who’ve worked in a diverse range of big, medium, and small-sized companies in tech. My takeaway:
It’s not the company mission or total compensation that determine your experience, but it’s the People, Purpose, and Projects you work for.
1. People
The #1 advice I get from mentors across all job titles and career stages is to pick people over products. While every person you work with has an impact on your day-to-day experience, two people in particular hold the most influence over UX researchers’ overall experience: your manager and research leadership.
Manager
- What should you look for in a good manager?
—They genuinely care about you and your career development / goals.
— They advocate for your visibility to company leaders.
— They support you working on projects you’re excited about. - Good managers make the difference between quitting vs. growing.
— People who picked a job with a poor manager to work in a cool product area regret their decisions. People don’t leave jobs; they leave managers.
— People who followed good managers regardless of product area credit those managers for unlocking major growth opportunities throughout their career.
Research Leadership
- What should you look for in good research leadership?
— They position the research function as a business intelligence leader across the company rather than a limited-scope service to other functions.
— They’re well-respected by company leaders and cross-functional partners.
— They fight for resources for research and get them.
— They genuinely take care of their research team members. - Many common UXR woes are solved by good research leadership:
— Less problems with getting a seat at the table and getting stakeholders to buy in or take action on research.
— Total compensation for researchers reflects equal not lesser valuation than other functions like data science and product management.
So what? Good products come and go all the time, but a good manager and good research leadership are rare. Find them and hang on to them if you can.
2. Purpose
Most people probably think of “purpose” as working for a company mission that you’re really passionate about. But it’s rare to find a truly mission-driven company that’s perfectly aligned with your passions. So how else can you find purpose in a job? By aligning it with your broader career goals.
Personal Brand
- What do you want to be known for?
— If you want to be known as a specialist in a specific domain (e.g., AI, ads, search, etc.), then look for a job on a product in a similar domain.
— If you want to be known as a generalist who can apply their skills to any domain, then look for a job on a product in a different domain from your last job. - What experiences are you missing from your resume?
— If you’re purely qual or purely quant and you want to be a mixed methods researcher, then look for a job that lets you learn and grow your missing skills.
— If you only have big tech experience and you want to show you’re scrappy/nimble, then look for a job at a smaller company or start-up.
— If you only have start-up experience and you want to show you can work on products at scale, then look for a job at a larger company.
Career Exploration
- What new experiences do you want to test to see if you like it?
— If you’re considering a role transition (e.g., IC to manager, UXR to PM, etc.), then look for a job that lets you try on responsibilities of that new role. Smaller companies tend to give you more room to wear multiple hats than larger companies do.
— If you’re considering an industry transition (e.g., healthcare to tech, etc.), then look for a job in an adjacent or stepping-stone domain.
So what? You don’t need to love every aspect of a job to be happy if you know what purpose it’s serving in your broader career goals.
3. Projects
Projects shape your day-to-day experience. A good manager will support you working on projects you’re excited about. But what do you look for in projects to be excited about?
Topic Interest
- It can be on a product or domain you’re interested in learning about.
- It can be asking a research question you’re interested in answering.
- It can be tackling a business problem you’re interested in solving.
Skill Interest
- It can use a research method that you love or want to learn.
- It can require strategic or collaboration skills that you love flexing.
So what? Every project has some fun and not-so-fun aspects to it, but something about it has to interest you for the day-to-day job to be enjoyable.
This article is Part 2 of 4 in the “UXR Pathways” series: