User Researcher

Typical Salary

£23,750 To £38,750

Typical Hours

37 to 39 a week

evenings occasionally

How To Become a User Researcher

You can get into this job through:

a university course
applying directly
a graduate training scheme

College / University

You can do a foundation degree, higher national diploma or degree in:

psychology
human computer interaction (HCI)
digital marketing
product design
graphic design

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

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

Apprenticeship

Apprenticeship are not listed for this job.

Routes into this Career

Routes into this Career are not listed for this job.

You can appy directly to user research or digital design companies, or go through an agency that specialises in providing user researcher professionals to clients.

To apply, you'll need experience in:

user-centred design practices for web, service or software development
running user research sessions in person and online
user needs for web content, tools and transactional services
designing and analysing a wide range of qualitative and quantitative user research methods
presenting user research findings in different formats

Other Routes

You could apply for a place on a user research or marketing company's graduate training scheme if you have a degree, for example in digital marketing or product design.

Skills And Knowledge

You'll need:

maths knowledge
to be thorough and pay attention to detail
knowledge of English language
analytical thinking skills
the ability to use your initiative
the ability to work well with others
to be flexible and open to change
excellent verbal communication skills
to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

Day To Day Tasks

On a daily basis you'll be:

planning and designing user research testing sessions to support the design and development of digital services
recruiting users for testing sessions and carrying out research
using research results to communicate ideas and decide product or service needs and design direction
anticipating interaction problems
helping colleagues understand user behaviours
presenting user insights to project stakeholders at all levels

Working Environment

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

Career Path & Progression

With experience you could move into a management role and supervise a team of user researchers. You could also work on larger, more complicated projects as a head of user experience or research.

You could also move into a business analyst or product design role.

Volunteering Opportunities

If you do not have a relevant degree, you'll need some work experience. You could get this by volunteering to help at user research sessions.

You could also get involved in the online user experience (UX) community and find a mentor to help you.

Tips & Information

Career tips

It will be useful if you have experience of working in agile project development.

It will also help if you have a portfolio to show examples of your work to employers.

Further information

You can find out more about working as a user researcher from the User Experience Professionals' Association and Tech Future Careers.

Restrictions & Requirements

Restrictions & Requirements are not listed for this job.