Day 13. Entry level UX positions and responsibilities

An entry level UX design professional can go in one of three basic directions: UX Designer, UX/UI Designer, or Junior UX Researcher. 

UX Designer

It is all about understanding users. You'll rely on user research to identify and understand their wants, needs, and frustrations. 

You'll take those insights and address them in your designs using wireframes, prototypes, and user flows. Then, you'll test those designs on users to make sure they work, and that they address the user's wants and needs. If they don't, you'll adjust and iterate them until they do. 

You might report to a Senior UX Designer, a UX lead, a UX manager, or a Product Manager. In some cases, especially in smaller organizations or startups, you might report directly to the CEO or another executive responsible for product development. 

Analytical skills are a key to success in this role. You'll need to work with a lot of data, so being able to make sense of it, and draw insights from it, is crucial. 

You also need to become proficient with design tools like Sketch or Figma to create wireframes and prototypes as you "flesh out" your designs. 

Most importantly, a UX Designer should be a people person. Communication and collaboration with developers and other team members are essential to create UX designs and interfaces that bridge the gap between users, design elements, and functionality.

UX/UI Designer

That's an important distinction since a number of companies separate UX/UI Designer into two separate roles: UX for structural design; UI for visual design. 

Your primary focus is on the way the user interface contributes to the user experience. 

Your responsibilities typically include crafting intuitive user interfaces, designing eye-catching layouts, and making sure the navigation flows seamlessly, and you always need to keep the user's needs, front, and center. 

Job postings might list requirements like wireframing, prototyping, and user-testing, which illustrate that this role reconciles user experience with visual design for more cohesive and captivating websites, apps, or software. 

In other words, you'll collaborate closely with UX Designers to make sure the interface design aligns with the overall user experience. 

Entry-level UX/UI Designers may report to a Senior UX/UI designer, a UX/UI lead, a UX/UI manager, or directly to a Product Manager. In companies where there are separate teams or departments for UX and UI design, you might report to both a Senior UX Designer and a Senior UI Designer or to a combined UX/UI Lead or Manager. T

o succeed here, you need a keen eye for design and an understanding of typography, color theory, and layout principles.

 Although analytics aren't your primary focus, you will need to develop your analytical skills to translate research data into meaningful, visual solutions. Most importantly, you've got to be adaptable, which means staying up to date with the latest design trends, tools, and technologies. 

In a nutshell, your job is to combine form and function so that they work together seamlessly.

Junior UX researcher

This job is all about understanding users on a deep level. You uncover the insights that shape design decisions. 

You'll conduct user interviews, create surveys, and oversee usability tests to gather data from target users, then analyze that data, looking for patterns and insights that will inform the design process. 

Job postings for this role list requirements like qualitative and quantitative research skills, data analysis, and report writing. These are the necessary skills for gathering data, uncovering insights, and sharing information to guide design and content decisions. 

To succeed, you need to be curious- to dig deep, ask the right questions, and uncover insights. You'll also need strong analytical skills to interpret data and draw meaningful conclusions. 

Finally you'll need good written and oral communication skills, since you'll often have to present your findings to teams or stakeholders.