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User experience (UX) designer
UX designers use research to understand their users and create websites, applications and software to meet their needs.
Average salary (a year)
£25000
Starter
£50000
Experienced
Typical hours (a week)
37.0 to 39.0 hours
a week
Work Hours
evenings
occasionally
How to become
Explore the different ways to get into this role
You can get into this job through:a university course; a college course; an apprenticeship; applying directly
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
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
  • 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 postgraduate study
More Information
equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
student finance for fees and living costs|https://www.gov.uk/student-finance
university courses and entry requirements|https://www.ucas.com/
College
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
Entry requirements
You may need:
  • 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 T Level
  • 1 or 2 A levels, a level 3 diploma or relevant experience for a level 4 or level 5 course
More Information
equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
guide to T Levels|https://www.tlevels.gov.uk/
funding advice|https://www.gov.uk/further-education-courses/financial-help
search for courses|/find-a-course
Apprenticeship
You could start by doing a digital user experience (UX) professional degree apprenticeship.
You may also find a digital accessibility specialist higher apprenticeship useful for this job.
After completing your apprenticeship, you could find work with a digital design agency or user research company.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
  • 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
More Information
equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
guide to apprenticeships|https://www.gov.uk/apprenticeships-guide
Volunteering
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.
Direct Application
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.
More 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 fromUser Experience Professionals', Association, techskills
What it takes
Find out what skills you’ll use in this role
Skills and knowledge
You'll need:
    Knowledge of computer operating systems, hardware and software
    To be thorough and pay attention to detail
    Complex problem-solving skills
    Persistence and determination
    Analytical thinking skills
    To be flexible and open to change
    The ability to use your initiative
    Maths knowledge
Digital Skills Level
to have a thorough understanding of computer systems and applications
What you will do
Discover the day-to-day tasks you’ll do in this role
Day to day tasks
On a daily basis you'll
help your team decide the user experience (UX) strategy for its products and services, do research to understand service and business needs, build prototypes and drafts 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 testing, lead or take part in review sessions to discuss how a project has gone, analyse issues and recommend solutions
Working environment
You could work in an office, from home or at a client's business.
Career Path & Progression
Look at progression in this role and similar opportunities
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.
You could work freelance as a self-employed contractor for clients.
Job profile data provided by The National Careers Service.
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