Looking for an entry level job or internship in user experience? This is an overview of how to approach the search and a list of companies that might have relevant entry level and internship opportunities.
If you’re on the Internet these days, I’m sure you’ve heard of Pinterest. The site is sort of a virtual scrapbook, and it’s all the rage right now for a couple reasons, one of which is that it’s extremely intuitive and easy to use. Users are prompted to “pin” items onto boards (similar to bulletin boards), and the entire display is very visually beautiful. Some of the credit for that goes to the UX/UI Designers behind Pinterest, who were responsible for creating a system that made the product easy to understand and use.
Photo Credit: Flickr user bryanlanders
A User Experience/User Interface Designer (often abbreviated UX/UI) creates architecture and interaction models that affect user experience of a device or system. Basically they think about and design all aspects of the user’s interaction with a product: how it is perceived, learned, and used. User interface focuses more on the ways users interact with the system, while user experience focuses more on the architecture that impact’s a user’s perception of the system. So the UI deals with the “how” of creating an interface (implementing shiny controls) and UX deals with the “why” (creating a good experience for the user).
While the typical day for a UX/UI Designer varies, their time is generally divided between:
On average a UX/UI Designer can make $42,000-$124,000 yearly in their first year. After that, you can go on to become a User Experience Director ($90,000-$180,000).
Here are some hot spots for UX/UI Designers:
To be a UX/UI Designer you need personality, process, and experience. It’s important to know a couple different programming languages like Javascript, PHP, Ruby, or Java. You need to know how to do usability testing of both the formal and the hallway varieties. It’s also important to become familiar with internationalization (i18n), localization (i10n), and accessibility (a11y), and how they might affect your designs. Getting a solid theoretical grounding in IxD is crucial for breaking away from the pack.
If UX/UI design still sounds like your cup of tea, here are a few things you should do to get started.
| Director User Experience Design, Trilogy (Remote) - $200,000/year USD CrossOver Columbus, OH | View |
| 2nd Shift Diesel Mechanic MPW Industrial Services Columbus, OH | View |
| User Experience Strategist American National Red Cross Columbus, OH | View |
| Team Lead-User Support Clark Insurance Columbus, OH | View |
| UI/UX Designer DTC Job Columbus, OH | View |
| Senior User Experience (UX) Designer McGraw-Hill Education Columbus, OH | View |
| Lead UX Researcher - Remote / Telecommute Cynet Systems Columbus, OH | View |
| AI User Experience (UX) Designer (The AI Experience Architect) Unreal Gigs Columbus, OH | View |
| Manager, IT Infrastructure - End User Services NiSource Careers Columbus, OH | View |
| Desktop Support Specialist II CAI Columbus, OH | View |
Check out the latest job and internship postings in user experience.
