UX practitioners come from a variety of backgrounds and bring numerous specialties, yet there are specific skills and responsibilities deemed crucial in the industry today. Here’s a compilation of NN/g’s most useful articles and videos about growing your UX career. We also share a free report based on research studies carried out with 722 UX professionals worldwide. Within each section, the resources are in recommended reading order.
UX Careers: An Overview
This compilation of resources is geared toward existing UX practitioners and those considering a career transition into UX. It’s meant to help you with career-related questions, such as which path to choose within UX or what to include in a research or design portfolio.
As people come to UX at very different stages of their lives and from different roles, the resources are divided by career levels (breaking-in, entry-level, and mid-level or senior), so you can jump to the content that applies to you. The first section below is dedicated to general UX-career advice and ways to present your work when applying for user-experience positions.
UX Career: Useful for Everyone
In this section resources cover the following topics:
- UX lessons learned and general advice for UX professionals
- UX portfolios: design vs. research
- UX job descriptions and salary trends
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Number |
Link |
Format |
Description |
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1 |
Video |
Why empathy, the ability to understand the perspective and motivations of other people, is important in UX |
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2 |
Video |
Reflections from UX professionals on what they have done to become better at this profession |
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3 |
Video |
How to assess growth as you grow in your career |
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4 |
Article |
A summary of NN/g’s research on UX careers: skills, activities, and backgrounds |
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5 |
Video |
How to explain to people what a UX profession is about |
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6 |
Video |
Breakdown of the UX job descriptions and roles |
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7 |
Article |
How to choose what work to include in a UX-research portfolio, summarize your research findings, and clearly showcase your skills |
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8 |
Video |
The hiring expectations for designers vs. researchers and junior vs. senior positions |
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9 |
Article |
How to create a compelling UX-design portfolio that appropriately captures your skills and achievements |
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10 |
Video |
The role of your UX portfolio and how to showcase your work within a portfolio |
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11 |
Video |
Why your UX portfolio should tell a story | |
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12 |
Video |
How to create a case study for your portfolio and what aspects of your work you should emphasize |
Breaking into UX
If you are transitioning into UX and/or looking to break into the industry, these resources will teach you:
- How to break into UX
- Transitioning from other specialties
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Number |
Link |
Format |
Description |
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1 |
Video |
How to steer your current position onto a UX path or join an established UX team |
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2 |
User Experience Career Advice: How to Learn UX and Get a Job |
Article |
A summary of our data on how UX professionals view their careers and their recommendations for getting started in the field |
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3 |
Report |
A free 90-page, research-based report that explores in detail what a UX career looks like today and how to get a job in the field |
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4 |
Video |
Skills needed to go beyond simply creating interfaces and truly address user’s needs |
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5 |
Can People with Established Careers in Another Field Become UX Professionals? |
Video |
Transitioning into UX from another field |
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6 |
Article |
Resume guidance for those transferring to UX |
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7 |
Video |
Unique journeys into UX shared by attendees at NN/g’s UX conference |
UX Career: Entry Level
If you are early in your career, use the following resources to learn how to:
- Build necessary skills based on advice from seasoned practitioners
- Make the most out of your internship
- Find mentors and create a plan to advance your UX career
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Number |
Link |
Format |
Description |
|
1 |
Video |
Why you should balance the demands of UX with your organization’s business goals and count every single small step in the right direction as a victory, instead of aiming for UX perfection |
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2 |
Article
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4 |
How to Grow a UX Career and Advance Your User-Experience Expertise |
Video |
Jakob Nielsen’s advice on how to advance through various career stages |
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5 |
Video |
A UX intern’s advice on how to succeed in an all-remote UX team |
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6 |
Video |
How the internship experience relates to the current job and what to look for in a UX internship |
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7 |
Video |
Definition of a mentor and how to find one |
UX Career: Mid-Level and Senior Level
If you are a more senior user-experience professional or are transitioning from a mid-level or senior role in an adjacent field, use the following resources to learn how to:
- Think about management vs. specialization in your career growth
- Become an effective UX leader and foster UX maturity at your organization
- Have a conversation about the future of UX as a field
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Number |
Link |
Format |
Description |
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1 |
Article |
This article explains growth in a field without defined career ladders. |
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2 |
Article |
A survey of UX professionals regarding the challenges encountered by UX at their organization |
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3 |
Video |
Jakob Nielsen’s advice on how to decide between choosing further skill specialization or management role |
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4 |
How Can UX Professionals Balance a Range of Skills as They Build Their Careers |
Video |
How to balance breadth and depth of skills within UX |
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5 |
Video |
Practitioners’ perspectives on the role of soft skills for UX leadership leaders |
