User Experience (ux) Designer

Typical Salary

£23,000 To £40,000

Typical Hours

37 to 39 a week

evenings occasionally

How To Become a User Experience (ux) Designer

You can get into this job through:

a university course
a college course
an apprenticeship
applying directly

College / University

You could do a higher national diploma, degree or postgraduate award in:

product design
digital marketing
graphic design
human computer interaction (HCI)
digital media and web design

1 or 2 A levels, or equivalent, for a higher national diploma

2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree

a degree in a relevant subject for postgr

You could do a college course, which may lead onto more advanced qualifications or a higher apprenticeship, or help you to get a trainee position with a company. Courses include:

A level in Computing
T level in Digital Production, Design and Development
Level 4 Certificate in Digital Media Design

4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English, maths and computing

4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths for a

Apprenticeship

You could start by doing a digital user experience (UX) professional degree apprenticeship.

5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship

Routes into this Career

Routes into this Career are not listed for this job.

You can apply directly to companies or go through an agency that specialises in providing digital design professionals to clients.

You'll need qualifications and lots of relevant experience to do this.

Other Routes

Other Routes are not listed for this job.

Skills And Knowledge

You'll need:

knowledge of computer operating systems, hardware and software
to be thorough and pay attention to detail
the ability to write computer programs
persistence and determination
analytical thinking skills
to be flexible and open to change
the ability to use your initiative
maths knowledge
to have a thorough understanding of computer systems and applications

Day To Day Tasks

On a daily basis you'll:

help your team define the user experience (UX) strategy for its products and services
do stakeholder research to understand service and business needs
use personas and data to meet user needs
support software developers with the technical demands of your ideas
build user journeys, prototypes and wireframes that communicate your ideas to the team
write clear specifications and guidelines for developers or designers
work closely with visual designers to meet users needs
work with the research team to plan and carry out user research and usability testing
contribute to or run UX review sessions
analyse issues and recommend solutions

Working Environment

You could work in an office, from home or at a client's business.

Career Path & Progression

With experience you could move into a management job and supervise other designers.

You could also move into a development role if you've got experience of programming languages.

Volunteering Opportunities

You could get work experience by volunteering to help in research sessions, or by doing some user interviewing. You could also get involved in the online user experience community and find a mentor to help you.

Tips & Information

Career tips

You'll find it useful to have:

knowledge of development tools like HTML and CSS
experience of using design software like Adobe Creative Suite
experience of creating wireframes and prototypes by hand and with software
an understanding of agile project development methods

It'll help if you have a portfolio to showcase examples of your work.

Further information

You can find out more about working as a user experience (UX) designer from

Restrictions & Requirements

Restrictions & Requirements are not listed for this job.