Transitioning into UX
The State of UX in the Philippines, Section 6
“Career transitions” can be defined as moving into a new career. In this section, a “career transition” is synonymous with “career change” and “career shift”.
Where did they come from?
Since UX is relatively new in the Philippines, we expect many professionals in the field to have transitioned from a different industry. On that matter, we found that 64.25% of the UX practitioners surveyed transitioned into UX from another role or profession. These transitioners consist of 15% of those between ages 18–24, 67% of those between the ages of 25–34, and 65% of those between ages 35–44.
Most respondents first heard about UX on the Internet (35.48%), followed by their work/company (18.55%), then school (13.71%), and professional networks (13.71%).
We asked career transitioners what roles they previously held before transitioning into UX. Then we conducted an affinity diagram analysis by grouping similar professions shared. The most common group was those with a Technical role (37.93%), such as software engineers, IT consultants, and developers. They were followed by creative roles (24.83%), such as graphic designers, multimedia designers, and art directors.
How did they get there?
Skills
We asked survey respondents to share the skills and knowledge from previous roles that they found relevant to their UX transition. Less than 1% of responses believe they did not have any transferrable skills to the field of UX. In total, we collected 257 unique skills. We grouped all skills mentioned and sorted each into one of the following eight skill groups:
- Business skills: those that help people understand the consumer and organizational behavior, and use this information to promote the success of the company (i.e. content strategy, customer service, marketing, project management)(Indeed, 2021)
- Communication skills: qualities that allow you to give to and receive information from others (i.e. confidence, copy/writing, empathy, presenting/public speaking, storytelling) (Indeed, 2021)
- Creative skills: related to creating visuals and graphics (i.e. branding, colors, design theory, graphic design, visual design)
- User-Centered Design skills: abilities and knowledge used to understand users/customers and create software interfaces (i.e. journey mapping, building personas, storyboarding, web design, wireframing)
- Organizational skills: qualities that allow you to use your resources efficiently and effectively (i.e. attention to detail, documentation, organization, strategic planning, time management) (Indeed, 2021)
- Research skills: those that help you find and review the information and arrive at a decision (i.e. analysis, interviewing, market research, observation, qualitative research) (Indeed, 2021)
- Soft skills: general traits and abilities that are desirable in all roles (i.e. critical thinking, customer centricity, leadership, people management, problem-solving)
- Technical skills: those acquired by using and gaining expertise in technology or software-related tasks (i.e. coding, data analysis, information architecture, product management, user acceptance testing) (Indeed, 2020)
According to responses, the most prominent skill group is Technical skills (21.79% of skills mentioned), followed by Creative skills (21.40%). Again, this came from responses from previous professions, where those with a technical role (37.67%) and creative role (24.66%) consisted of most transitioner respondents.
Education before transition
Regardless of transferrable skills and knowledge, 33.06% of transitioners shared that they pursued a UX education before making the switch. Of those respondents, 39.58% received a certificate from online courses such as the Interaction Design Foundation (IxDF), Skillshare, Udacity, and Coursera.
18.75% of respondents shared they took a UX-relevant course while obtaining their undergraduate (i.e. Fine Arts or Psychology) or graduate degrees (i.e. MBA). In addition, these respondents shared that the study programs did not have “UX” in the title but found that the content being taught was related to UX.
During my time, it wasn’t called UX/UI on our MMA curriculum; instead, it was called Interaction Design. A lot of what I learned can be applied to the current UX/UI trends.
Other sources respondents received UX education from are workshops, events, bootcamps, organizations, mentors, and self-studying (i.e. blogs, articles, online tutorials).
After they had transitioned into UX, 58.87% of transitioners pursued a UX-related non-degree education. 56.16% of those who pursued a non-degree education did not pursue a UX education before transitioning, while 43.84% pursued a UX education before transitioning. The most popular educational sources were certificate programs (49.32%), followed by workshops (26.03%).
Where are they now?
We found that 76.61% of transitioners surveyed have been practicing UX for 4 or less years (Less than a year — 37.10%, 1–4 years — 39.52%). 18.55% have been practicing for 5–10 years and 4.84% for more than 10 years.
The most common industries¹ that UX transitioners are currently working in are Computers/IT/Software/Intel (20.94%), followed by Business/Professional Services (9.83%) and Finance (Banking and Fintech) (8.55%). It’s interesting to note that 12.39% of transitioners currently work in a start-up and 4.70% are freelancing. This can be an indicator of how start-ups find the importance of a UX professional as part of their core team members. Additionally, freelancing allows professionals to not limit themselves on a geographical landscape.
We also found that 89.52% of transitioners are UX practitioners while 10.48% are team leads. We took a closer look at the different job titles that these transitioners currently hold and conducted the same analysis of job titles as we did in Section 4: The UX Workplace. We grouped together related job titles and wanted to see if there were any trends amongst transitioners.
- Designer (47.58%): any role that has ‘designer’
- Developer/Engineer (15.32%): any role that has ‘developer’ or ‘engineer’
- Manager (15.32%): any role that has ‘manager’, ‘lead’, ‘head’, ‘executive’, or ‘owner’
The trend amongst transitioners was similar to that of all survey respondents, as shown in Section 4: The UX Workplace. Designer roles were most common with 47.58% of respondents, followed by Managers (15.32%), Developers/Engineers (15.32%), and Other (12.10%).
How are they now?
Among career transitioners surveyed, 80.65% are satisfied (Agree — 37.10%, Strongly Agree — 43.55%), and 19.35% are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied about their transition into a UX career. In addition, we received no responses from people who were dissatisfied with their transition into UX.
We conducted an affinity diagram analysis on people’s explanations for their satisfaction/dissatisfaction. This led to the identification of five factors that influenced respondents’ satisfaction with their career transition.
Insufficient experience/exposure
The first is that having insufficient experience/exposure to the practice resulted in respondents being unsure about their satisfaction. Since they were still starting or were in the process of acquiring their first UX job, they could not yet say whether they felt satisfied or dissatisfied with the career transition.
I haven’t experienced the full potential of being in the UX role as I am just starting. (Neutral)
I’m still an observer watching everyone else on the greener side of the fence. Once I’m confident that I’m knowledgeable about the knowhow of UX/UI, maybe I can get in. (Neutral)
On the other hand, some respondents were satisfied despite starting in the field because of their potential to be “creative, strategic, and learn new things quickly” in the role. These participants are hopeful about their transition, while they know that there is still a lot for them to experience.
Satisfied but not fully satisfied yet because there’s a whole bunch of work left to do to see the changes that I am hoping for. (Agree)
A lack of job opportunities
The lack of job opportunities for more specialized roles also caused respondents to be unsure about their satisfaction with the transition. As mentioned in Section 4: The UX Workplace, most UX roles in the country are generalist ones where employees are expected to do everything from research to design to development.
It’s difficult to find jobs specific to UX research in the Philippines; the focus is mostly on UI. (Neutral)
Respondents felt optimistic about their shift into UX but were not fully satisfied as they were looking for more specific roles or industries.
I’d still very much like to get into games and player research. (Agree)
Workplace
Another common factor was the respondents’ workplace. The quality and quantity of work given to respondents, as well as the culture surrounding UX, were both factors that affected whether respondents felt satisfied by the transition or not.
Having to juggle multiple roles made it difficult for respondents to focus on their UX growth:
I have two professions that I’m trying to juggle, and it isn’t easy. (Neutral)
The quality of tasks given to respondents and the growth opportunities:
I may have a UI/UX title, but I don’t think I’m doing tasks or jobs related to UX. Most likely, it’s only UI because the UX tasks are given to the senior designers. (Neutral)
Learning lots of [applications] of UX research and tactical research in a startup company (Agree)
A workplace culture that does or does not value UX work:
Most of the managers care more about how to improve sales, revenues. (Neutral)
I’m satisfied because I was able to transition in the industry with a company that supports career growth even though when I applied, I still had no prior experience. I think applying for the right company that values UX plays a huge part also. (Agree)
These comments echo participants’ sentiments on their overall career satisfaction in Section 5: Industry Satisfaction. Frequent explanations for dissatisfaction with their career were juggling multiple roles or being in a workplace that did not value UX. Furthermore, those satisfied with their career cited supportive teams and companies as reasons for their overall career satisfaction.
Fulfillment with their job responsibilities and functions
Another common factor among participants satisfied with their transition to UX was feeling fulfilled by their role and responsibilities. Within this theme, we found that participants were satisfied knowing that they were creating meaningful and user-centered products.
I am very satisfied because I can help people get their things done easily through UX Design. I love designing experiences for people. (Strongly Agree)
We also found that participants were feeling fulfilled by the processes and practices involved with UX:
I find great satisfaction when I utilize my systems thinking and user empathy and apply it visually to my work. I never get bored, really. I find challenges in every project laid on my plate. (Strongly Agree)
Lastly, having the right balance of challenging and fun or reaching a “flow state” within your career was important to participants:
It was a great decision transitioning to UX because it’s more challenging and fun (Strongly Agree)
Role and career match
Respondents who were most satisfied with their transition to UX cited “finding their passion”, leading them to feel like they were on the “right career path.” Similar to the previous theme, the fulfilling feeling of finding one’s passion has led to more positive sentiments towards a career transition.
I’ve more or less accomplished what I set out to do 10 years ago. (Agree)
Others felt satisfied by the kind of work they were doing, citing their “impact on people and society” as fulfilling:
I’m satisfied with my transition because I found out that I can reignite my passion [for] designing for people through the field of UX Design. (Strongly Agree)
Respondents also expressed satisfaction with the field due to it being an “intersection of their interests”:
I have always been interested in design, so now that I’m working as a UX practitioner in a software development company and having a degree in computer science, it’s the best of both worlds. (Strongly Agree)
Some felt that it was a better fit to their “skill profile”:
I am more of an artist than an engineer. (Strongly Agree)
Overall Career Satisfaction
The decision to shift to a new career is never easy, and we have asked our respondents how they felt with regards to their shift into the UX profession.
We found that respondents answered differently when it came to their satisfaction with their transition to UX and their satisfaction with their overall UX career. 44.35% of respondents were less satisfied with their overall career while 50.81% were equally satisfied and 4.84% were more satisfied with their overall career.
Findings
Our data shows that the bulk of UX career transitioners began their shift within the last 4 years (76.61% have been practicing UX for four or less years). 86.29% of transitioners come from the 18–34 age range. This aligns with our insight from Section 1: A Look at Our Respondents where we found that younger professionals are driving the rapid growth of UX in the Philippines.
We also found that 7.39% of relevant skills shared by respondents are User-Centered Design Skills such as journey mapping, building personas, storyboarding, web design, and wireframing. When bundled with other UX skills, such as conducting user research, prototyping, information architecture, and web development this number goes up to 20.62%. It is interesting that although transitioners came from varying professions and roles, they also learned skills that are relevant to UX. This implies that organizations may have UX needs even if they do not have UX-related roles in their company.
We found it intriguing that amongst transitioners surveyed, no one responded feeling dissatisfied with their transition into UX. According to Kristen Weir (2013), researchers have found that people that find their work meaningful and who feel called to their careers have increased job satisfaction. Correspondingly, common themes amongst transitioners who were most satisfied with their job transition were feeling fulfilled by their job responsibilities and finding UX a better match to their interests and passions.
For this report, we focused on gathering high-level findings and insights on UX transitioners. Our team will soon be releasing a mini-research project that dives deeper into UX Design career transitioners and their experiences. We intend to share insights in the future on questions such as who the UX Design career shifter is, what their journey in finding a UX design job is, and what pain points they have in finding a UX Design job.
What’s next
Team Acknowledgement
The UXPH Research Team conducts studies to further understand and analyze the User Experience landscape in the Philippines. Our team’s goal is to share helpful reports that describe User Experience and how it is adopted across various industries in the country. We aim for these reports to be a reference point for practitioners and companies to adopt a more data-driven understanding of the industry.
Authors
Rie Helene (Lindy) Hernandez, Charlotte Mae Sia Efren, Claudine San Diego, Janyl Tamayo, Tyrone Sta. Maria, Stella Pangilinan, Jentz Rabacio, Jen Teves, and Jordan Aiko Deja
Advisors
Jordan Deja, Jen Teves, Aldrich Tan, and Ely Apao
Visual designers
Reine Bantang, Stella Pangilinan, Isabel Baja, Kendra Go, Khristine Tubay, and Jade Teng
Editor
References
Indeed Editorial Team. (2020, November 24). Technical Skills: Definitions and Examples. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-letters/technical-skills
Indeed Editorial Team. (2021, February 23). What Are Organizational Skills?. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/organization-skills
Indeed Editorial Team. (2021, March 4). Communication Skills for Career Success. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-letters/communication-skills
Indeed Editorial Team. (2021, June 10). 6 Business Skills You Need and How to Improve Them. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/business-skills
Indeed Editorial Team. (2021, June 10). Research Skills: Definition and Examples. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/research-skills
Interaction Design Foundation. (n.d.). Web Design. https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/web-design
Weir, K. (2013, December). More than job satisfaction. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2013/12/job-satisfaction
Footnote
[1] Note that respondents were able to select multiple answers to this question.
