Industries I’ve noticed that have taken a hit: entertainment, business, tech, software development, computer science, design, and probably much more that I haven’t named. Anyone applying: you’re not the problem
It's rough for software developers too. Unless you have a strong network, it's tough to even get a technical interview. So I'm just building my own products while I ride out this storm of darkness
Software Engineer with 11 YOE here. Can confirm - impossible to get a job without a very strong network. My network is OK, but none of their referrals / recommendations have led to an interview. I think you have to know an actual hiring manager to get an interview. I've gotten a few lucky interviews, but most of the time the managers are desperate to fill the position, and the position is low pay with very poor working conditions. I, too, am creating my own products while I wait it out. Gotta love working in engineering and design. No jobs for us? That's fine, we'll just compete for your market share 😉
Product Designer here, +6y of experience. had interviews with 26 different companies from January/24 to end of April, some I got to the final stage. No job offers. Some reopened the position and are still looking for the 'perfect' one for more than 3 months. They seem not to want to hire, just to play.
Camila that’s amazing that you had 26 interviews though!! Would love to see your resume that got so many responses. You know that’s not the issue. Perhaps it’s how you present/talk about your work that could be improved?
@@olivedrab Hi Olive, for sure! And as I'm a newcomer/permanent resident in Canada, although I already have advanced English, they hear my accent and it probably makes a difference in their final decision as well if I'm competing with native speakers. And in Canada they love referrals, so they will always have referrals + external candidates, so it's hard to compete. But if the market was good and with more positions available, things could be different.
I have a similar level of experience to you a BDes with Honours and only a handful of interviews. At this point I am seriously considering becoming an engineer or tradie. Design is a dead rotting career and will never come back.
It's been the toughest market these days. I have seen many recent international graduates end up coming back to their home country even after graduating from top UX degree programs. It doesn't work no matter how they are experienced or skilled.
It's so hard rn I'm an HCI masters grad/ international student and I've had a recruiter tell me that I have one of the best portfolios of my year and that normally I'd be given 15 jobs the next day to take my pick of but that ATM he has NOTHING 😭 I'm one of the lucky ones tbh, I have a part time remote job doing something else and a remote unpaid internship where I'm gaining experience that's slowly leading to some UX freelance work. That being said I know only two former students of the 60 in my year who have full-time UX jobs. Most can't even land unpaid internships.
@@emilyk2398 That's so rough, I'm sorry. It breaks my heart to read it, especially if "most can't even land unpaid internships" like that's just inhumane at that point...
It is truly a nightmare; I've been trying to land a UI/UX designer job for over a year now and have barely received any responses. The rejections are hilarious. The entry-level job requirements state 1-2 years of experience, HTML, CSS, JavaScript... and I keep seeing those job posts over and over again because they won't hire until the right 'Optimus Prime' individual appears. However, I received my very first positive response this week, for a product illustration internship and I don't even know how to react as I got my first interview ever. At this point I'm afraid that if this won't work then I will have to search and wait for months and months again. I wish everyone best of luck with finding a job!
@@Kagemusha247 Yea.. it is. I've been learning and practicing with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop too. Otherwise my Master's degree is useless anyway so I'm trying to find options related or close to this field.
If they're posted over and over again, it's more likely a ghost job. That job doesn't exist and they posted to make the company look like it's "growing" for investors.
@@basicbaroque but all those investors don't ask a question why quantity of people has not been changed 😁i just curious what the point of landing the ghost job
I was rejected at one job after two rounds of interviews and their excuse was I "was too creative and I'll get bored." mean while I literally had about 800 calories to eat that day and no money to pay rent that week.
As. a Senior UI UX designer with 10 years in the game, I agree that this is the worst the market has been. Some tips I've heard from recruiters and other designers: - If a job has 100 applicants, apply anyway but try to connect with the hiring manager and reach out to the team on their website. Try to speak to an actual person - Make sure your portfolio spells out, who you are and what you can do - forget flashy animations and crazy interactions for now - Make your Resume, is one page, very clear, show recent experience and list your skills.
Hi. Now since you have a decade in the UX game. Do you recommend, in your opinion, a career changer like myself look into UX design as a new career, even with how the market is nowadays? Thanks
@@ShondaD_ When people say you’re just going to lose your time, they mean it. Don’t change career to come into UX. Besides the market over saturation, it’s quite a disheartening job. More often than not we get hired in companies which are not mature design-wise. It’s a constant struggle to argue for basic methodologies, like doing user tests and research, or getting software licenses… Even in mature companies it’s not uncommon to still have to “evangelise” (= prove the value of your work to your coworkers who think you’re just here to make their work look pretty).
We, the unemployed Software Developers/Engineers must have a big meetup and share our experiences and show our strength together. We can plan on creating new open source applications or even cloud platforms to be used in a new economy.
I got a job in 2021 with a bootcamp cert and 6 months of freelance experience. I was just fired from my job last month due to "performance issues" but it turned out that they were making budget cuts and were trying to avoid paying unemployment. I had been applying for jobs for months prior to this and couldn't even land an interview even though I have nearly 3 years of experience. It's definitely tough out here and I don't know what to do...
It's okay, and stay positive! Im going to start a UX bootcamp next month. All my friends still work in this field. So just keep looking for jobs or take a break and become a freelancer on Upwork. Actually I have never paid attention to world economic news before. Once I realized how bad the job market is, I started watching the news carefully... War between Russia and Ukraine, Chinese real estate bankruptcy, and geopolitical issues between the two superpowers because all nations want to de-risk from China. I can't say that I fully understand exactly how the economy works, but Im pretty sure everything is connected to each other. Based on everything I read from Western media. Just stay positive and hope the economy gets better by the end of this year, especially since the election is coming.
@@Izumi_1994 I would not get into UX or Tech I would run as far as you can find a career that can't be replaced it's going to get worse. This is from an insider insider
@@Izumi_1994 The election wont change a thing. It never has. The market is simply changing, world economy and geopolitical issues play one role but the companies mindset is also changing specially bigger Corporations whom only live for profit. You as the employee will always be the first to be cut off. I think a lot of people will have to find their way as a freelancer in the coming months & years and embrace the change but honestly you are gonna learn a whole new bunch of skill sets but also have the possibility to manage your time freely and earn an actually good salary. Most are underpaid anyways because the CEOs wanna have more money than they can actually ever spend. Now wait till AI reaches a certain point and companies will just fire 90% of their lower end jobs that AI can do by itself for a small percentage of the cost like basically any call center agent in the customer support sector or even Sales reps on the lower end aren t safe from that. Its gonna get worse for sure so its important to prepare yourself for the times to come and adjust to them. Just think about programmers, as the Nvidia CEO said, you shouldnt learn coding anymore, instead learn to communicate properly with AIs because they ll code it faster than you ever can and that isnt so far away anymore. I d say in the next 2 years that will happen easily
@@Izumi_1994 Do NOT start a UX bootcamp good god get out before you sink your money. We are all telling you we have years of work experience in UX and are struggling a bootcamp grad has no chance.
Yep though that's only when UX writing and research don't exist in the company as well. Unfortunately those other roles tend to be undervalued even more and therefore cut first
Wow, you saved me so much time and pain. I was heading back to school for Ux designer and was worried that I couldn't find a job after I finish... now it looks like the med field unfortunately
Software Engineer here, we're in the same boat ! A lot of people say it's startup season and I believe it's true. With the booming of AI we might see more 1-5 people teams do wonders with saas and micro-saas. Good luck to everyone !
AI will even dumb down the beginners level and make sure they won't learn anything. AI is just a replacement for faster typing (or brush handling in the photoshop world).
I'm a 25-year veteran in UX. I've worked mainly for Fortune 500 companies (many you know as household brands) and have climbed my way up to director level. I'm masters certified with NN/g, I've done Luma, am a certified scrum product owner, bla, bla, bla... Nobody cares. I was laid off 8 months ago along with my entire team. And since then I've responded to hundreds of job postings and have had only a handful of interviews. At this point I feel like I can't even pay someone to let me work for them. I'm currently doing a project for a friend's small startup for free in exchange for guitar lessons because why not. At least I'm keeping my chops up. I'm also taking a course on AI for designers. In all these years I've never experienced the market this bad and it only seems to be getting worse. Try to stay sane, friends.
With over five years in UX, I had to apply for a position well below my level, competing with entry-level candidates due to the industry's steep decline and unrealistic job market expectations. I got that but was it realistic? NO. Was it worth it? NO. But we gotta survive. IN that case how would the someone new compete with more experienced people. The current state of UX, marked by excessive competition and low pay, makes it a less viable career path. Thank you lily for being honest. At least someone in the industry is not giving false hopes to new candidates and is atleast sharing the truth about what's going on. What used to be such a desirable fun field is now a hedache. The job hunting process is also more draining than ever like you said in the video.
I think it's the worst for UX Designers. My team has around 70 people with only 1 UX designer. And if you are curious, we have 2 front end engineers, 45 backend engineers, 10 business/data scientists, and the rest are PMs/engineer managers.
@@tehilalevy7015 I think it is more to do with how little design is valued at most companies, because the results are not immediately visible. Unlike a software engineer who's sole job is to build and get things working.
This sounds like a healthy mix. UX Design was/is almost a skill less task at the level of uneducated workers in the house building industry. I'm a full stack single cowboy programmer. Even most UX designers don't know what UX is and sure they can't apply it ... because they learned button design, not requirement engineering.
"Telling you the truth because anyone saying otherwise is sponsored" THANK YOU. I pointed this out on a girl with a popular video shilling for a bootcamp about how this is dishonest and bad to push people into a bootcamp when the market is brutal for even SENIOR UX DESIGNERS and she had some mush mouthed response. It's insane how people will screw over their potential peers just for a quick buck.
Thank you for speaking on this, when no one else is willing to! With the rise of AI, “leaner” teams, demotion of levels to lower the pay rates, shorter contracts and now having to apply for roles that are much lower than I applied to with less experience, this has been the toughest market I’ve seen since getting into tech 5 years ago. We need to have some form of union representation for tech workers, with all these terrible employee treatment, so they can manipulate a workforce in their favor.
It’s been hard for juniors. We are competing with everyone. I wanted to move to an in house company but I have to stay put for now 😩 I hope the industry picks up because I can’t change careers again 😂
Stay strong. I think unfortunately it's even harder for juniors as in difficult markets senior people are willing to step down allowing the fewer companies who can still recruit to hire experienced devs for a big discount in comparison to a junior..
Even after 6 months last year, I couldn't get a design system role. Before, at the most, it would only take me around a month to get something! Thank God i used my network and got a role with a former manager (now current manager lol). Keep an open mind folks and hang in there. You got this. ❤
I had 10 years of experience in the UX field, but 5 years ago I quit because I felt the UX job market would collapse sooner or later. Like it or not, UX design is a low entry-barrier commodity job. Also, in 99% of companies, all UX decisions come from top to bottom, and you never get to sit at the table (even if you are a VP level).
Exactly. It's a one semester sidekick in academic education as a IT professional. Because everyone in the IT needs to know UX. If you have an API that is designed without features your fancy button design and animations don't help (and they are done by programmers anyway). And contact to customers for requirement engineering, thats the easy tasks in live, just talking, thats what the CEO and senior management do.
This is interesting as most CTOs have no idea on UX and product design from a HCD perspective … that’s why there are so many failed products as most engineers lack the knowledge or bandwidth to learn about the most important component of a product: the user
@@llothar68 What you describe is UI, not UX. In your example UX would be designing the user journeys and related features with every little impacts, like errors and successes. A big part of our work is to identify “holes” in the experience. Actual UX Designers have basic software development knowledge because otherwise it’s a mess to design flows relying on database, API etc
This is true! Back when tech was first doing layoffs I slowed down my portfolio work to try and break into the industry. Diversify your career interests cause things do not seem safe right now.
I feel bad when students and early professionals reach out for help because, beyond the typical career advice, I don't know what to tell them. They often ask how I got my job and honestly, my past experience with getting a job has become completely irrelevant. Everyone is asking for that one secret tip to finally land the job but there honestly isn't. It's a numbers game, it's luck, it's persistence. Especially for XR design... XR design requires a broad set of skills and can be especially daunting to get into as a complete beginner. In the past helping people get jobs was not this hard. Some people are still interviewing and getting rejected a year into the search. It's brutal.
A lot of people say to keep quiet at work and do your work and go home. I don’t agree with this because networking with your coworkers is the best thing to do. You never know when you’ll be in this type of job environment where a referral is the strongest way to get an interview or even a role at a company. Network, network, network!
Product Designer in London with 3 years of experience. After +300 applications since the year started, I haven’t managed to get an offer. Got to 5 final stages and they always went for “more senior” people. 1 company told me they didnt hire at all and 3 other told me they went for somebody more senior yet I saw them reupload the job post months after. Only 1 actually hire somebody that I saw joining the company through LinkedIn. It is literally beyond sad and it gets me thinking that I’m not good enough and my career is over. Ffs
Ugh this sucks, I watched a million videos with people saying the tech industry is under employed when it comes to programming and design now videos are dropping about no one hiring even experience people 😩
Similar situations with 3d artists also and one of my friend who worked in many big movies also struggling to land clients these days, he told me the market is low and I think this is the time where we should stay strong and do whatever it takes to improve ourselves and our work, just like you said Thank you for the insights and suggestions
I was a week away from starting my bus driver job. 3 days before the start date I got a data analyst job. If I get laid off again I doubt that I'll get a tech job again.
I don't believe the UX industry will ever fully bounce back. In my view, it was artificially inflated by so-called "gurus" and companies that eagerly jumped on the UX bandwagon, similar to what happened during the Design Thinking craze of the mid-2000s. I'm not suggesting that UX as a discipline is disappearing-it's still essential for many businesses. However, I think its peak has passed, and what we're witnessing now is the natural saturation of UX professionals in the market.
my experience has been exactly like yours. Found jobs in 2 weeks in 2021 when I was just a fresh grad. This year I was job hunting for a couple months before I landed something, just absolutely brutal
Love design driven and well-designed videos!! Felt that last year soo hard. I was lucky and found an agency in vienna but it wasn't easy at all. Hope it'll get better and I hope you find/found a job!
I was working on wall st, lost my job and after a year of worse than nothing (aka scam jobs) I just gave up and started waitressing. Now I'm layers and layers in debt with no way out but at least I have income
Great topic, first time here 😊. I am actually in UX outsourcing at the moment, and the market is super slow here as well. Few large outsourcing companies in my country have closed, and UX Research job posts have pretty much disappeared. I hear that in general companies from US - outsourcing abroad - have reduced their teams (abroad as well). At least in my country. I do not have statistics for other countries. My guess is that first job to go was UX Research, since it was not seen by companies as “indispensable”, but also they prefer to reduce and combine roles (UX Design + Research or UI Design + Frontend dev); generally prefer senior roles for that reason.
How the shit do we go from bootcampers getting jobs to seniors with a decade of experience can't find a job at all in just 2 years? Doesn't make sense. I feel like this is some kind of payback for employees gaining too much leverage during the great resignation.
Thanks for such honesty! I am a graphic designer looking to shift into ux as "tech pays better" but I'm truly confused if i should even waste my time trying to upskill in this field. It's quite a dilemma where do we go from here..
I been working as QA and switched to cloud and QA, my project ended jan 2024 and it's been tough finding a job ever since even though i had 4 interviews and not selected it is frustrating
Ugh, been feeling all this so hard. Thought I was going crazy, and I have 1 or 2 other friends who are even more senior than me struggling. I was like "if [Friend A] can't get a job, the world is in a crisis and we need help". Glad to know it's not just in my head. And definitely seconding the "mid to senior roles outsourced overseas" part... despite the appeal of me moving back for those roles, the pay offered for many is 40% or more lower (than what it might pay in the U.S.). Granted, the pay is generally lower in my home country, but it was not such a steep difference in e.g. 2022 or 2023 (as I have been checking).
As a hire manager (non-UX role), let me explain reason #5. The obvious thing is supply and demand. But to make the matter worse, many candidates weren't even have the fundamental (Eg. OOP concept) to do the job. I questioned how were some of these candidates I interviewed even get in the industry for so long. Nice jacket btw!
but with many senior candidates who do have good optics and who are applying to these repeat postings it seems impossible to imagine that within the hundreds of poor applicants they wouldn’t stand out?
@@neaa1928 My complaint applied to many so-called "senior". Taking number of years of experience aside, many applicants' resume look very similar thanks to ChatGPT.
I love UX but as a college student about to graduate this summer, I’m still scared of the job market. I’m definitely still going to keep studying and designing but I’m feeling doubtful on the security of a ux research/design job
Thank you for being totally honest and sharing your experience. I am a motion designer. It’s the same here….I totally got your disappointment. I have also experienced a really long month of preparation for an interview and got given a bad reason to not proceed the offer in the end… It literally broke me.
If you as a youtuber can't get a job in UX I really don't know what to do as a Junior designer who graduated during the pandemic. I am just trying to break in to tech in general, I went to school for four years, waited to when I could start working in person again, got some certifications in the meantime and I don't want to "have to" become a UX content creator so companies can notice me. I don't know what to do since I have tried "catering" my linkedin for UX.. when I apply to other Junior tech jobs does it make me look bad now? Lots of recruiters and mentors tell me I have everything but it's been months now and nothing for me, not even freelance work.
Thanks for letting me know I'm not alone, I guess I should stick to freelancing, giving real value is what puts food in the table, not having a job or security is a terrifying risk but what other options do I get to have?
There's a weird vibe of vindictiveness from companies who still remember the brief employee market of the pandemic, they want to make sure they have all the cards again.
Hey we're in the same boat. I got laid off in early 2023. And it's incredibly difficult to get interviews, forget job offers. And every new job posting immediately gets 100s of applicants. Unless you're extremely well connected or famous in the design industry, it's tough right now.
Jeez this is tough to hear. I’m at UIUC and majoring in Information Science and I want to do the HCI/UX pathway as well as data analysis/ data science. Plan to minor in business and GIS as well. Hopefully the worst times are behind us
That's why now most entry level positions have years of experience as a requirement. Experienced people struggle to find a job so unexperienced one just cannot compete without accepting miserable wages.
the most important thing is to keep your expenses low && MOST important way to do this is to NOT sign a lease or buy property in the 'bubble' cities such as NYC, San Fran, Seattle, LA, Miami, Austin ... the jobs and/or pay WILL not allow even tech workers to get ahead (IF you even get hired in first place)
It's rough way more for people that can be easily replaced like cashiers, drivers, labourers etc. With inflation, so many companies have less budget leading them to be pickier on candidates/hiring way less. But UX design, developer etc are still a good choice as in the long run they will still be valuable and less replaceable than other jobs that don't need a degree.
I’d be fine taking a contract role, but I can’t even get that, I’m about mid level for UX, and senior level for other areas of graphics. Thanks for sharing this info. Best of luck.
@@vakarimasen I have lil experience with HTML, CSS, Java, Javascript, SQL and web design. Im currently studing blockchain tecnology and now I want to study some UX/UI for knowledge purposes... Do you have any Idea on helping people make some money without the need to be a Brainiac?
@@jonlima9897 1. If you have good focus, you can pick up a niche and become super good at it, maybe even kind of famous 2. You can have (or develop) good taste in UI, it's a rare thing 3. Networking is real cheatcode, meet people, do collabs even if they don't pay out right away, you'll probably get invited to some job few years later
Does it make sense for me to do a UX/UI boot camp if I’m not planning to seek a field in the field? My intention is to learn how to do web design for my own e-commerce projects, apply the skills to my architecture education, which I’ll begin in a couple years and support my partner’s learning as she begins animation school next year.
it's really hard finding a job right now and last year. and I dont have as much experience as a senior either. its tech in general that is having this issue. do you think its good to find something that is similar to ux as a way to get a foot in the door? or maybe something else?
I'm an employer and let me tell you this: just because we receive hundreds of applications, doesn't mean we're getting good candidates. People are too lazy to write tailored resumes, read the job description, or they just want to wing it. I posted a senior designer job and so many applications don't even have a portfolio.
I have been applying to full time roles in UX for more than a month now. Over 1000 people apply for a single entry level job position. There are maybe 3 job openings everyday for us. It has been a horrible experience. I am doing a lot of work from a very nominal amount now.
I don't see it anytime changing without rate cuts. Near zero interest rates allowed thousands of start-ups to be funded, so it was a decade-long hiring spree.
Just fyi, UX Design is very very competitive these days. If you don’t have any skill or education in graphic design or UI/UX, then you are already behind.
I’ve sent out over 300 applications over the course of 8 months and got 1 offer for a 6-month contract. I have 12yrs of experience and this is the worst I’ve ever seen it.
Such an oversaturated field now. Few years back, every Graphic designers, Artists, Engineers, Artchitects everyone wanted to switch careers to UX design.
I am just graduating with engineering degree and was excited about ux design. Now As I am researching I am getting concerned and confused. Should I try to learn UI UX now or just leave this field and try other field like motion graphics or animation?
Try a UI engineer path which might use your skillsets. I can't recommend getting into UI UX until the market re adjusts. If you're passionate enough though, that wouldn't stop you.
i'm starting to notice and wonder if this is a pattern that applies to any industry right now because I'm simply trying to get a hospitality job while self-educating design and honestly, it's been ROUGH i don't get it...
As a software developer who is doing UX as a side effect in programming solutions for 40 years, UX is a job that shouldn't even exist. It was a pure hype. It's a 6 month additional skill you add to something.
Although this may sound harsh, there's no such thing as shooting "below your level". Labour is a market like anything else. Sometimes the price of apples goes down. Sometimes the price of apples goes up.
I'm with a master's degree focussed on HCI and Engineering, and based on my experience job hunting in the US, and in Germany and India, I think it really depends on the company and their values. Some value the degree, some don't precisely for the reason Lily mentioned.
Just graduated with a master's in HCI. It's better than a boot camp if you're determined to get into UX. But honestly I'd recommend focusing on a different area right now. Tech sales seems to be booming 🤷♀️ the only tech guy I know who isn't worried about jobs works in that.
I'm just saying from my pov as a developer, I do most of the graphics myself as I used to be a media designer, or if I need inspiration I use AI. For 3d graphics I know how but I wouldn't do the labor of animation/advanced modeling. So if you're just designing css in Canva/Figma 💀
Hi Lily. I'm a senior product designer and recently been layed off from series C startup in my country. Market is at its worst in my country as well and my hypothesis(lol) was that somewhere else in this world would have quite opposite situation, hence finding my opportunity overseas would keep my career rolling. That being said, according to your video trying to break into global tech company recklessly would be a very naive choice. For my next job I don't care if it's not a faang thing, as long as it ensures me certain degree of tasks which I could practice my problem solving and product thinking(i.e., staying in tech scene rather than being ux designer in non-tech companies). My goal right now is to hone my design skills at its best, rather than pursuing luxurious compensations. Would the content of this video also apply to smaller tech companies including startups? If so, what would be the choice for senior designers like me to continue career and prepare for the end of this drought? I'm not thinking of going freelancer, as it's not being part of the product team.
Jumping in here to give some perspective as a senior product designer based in the US. Yes this applies to all tech companies, aside from AI ventures. The tech industry and its downsizing trend is not expected to bounce back in the near future. That's just the state of the world. There are fewer tech startups (and subsequently UX/Design roles) because tech founders can't get funding. Investors are instead turning to more stable industries, like agriculture and renewable energy. Any small company without recruiting resources are more likely to hire from referrals and their own circle first. Why bother interviewing hundreds when execs can pitch the offer to someone referred internally and who can be vouched for? If your goal is to continue honing your design skills, then finding UX or product design roles in non-tech companies isn't a bad idea. Problem solving and design thinking are transferable, and it's not like non-tech companies don't need mobile apps or digital products to run their business. You still get to grow within a product team being full-time on a design team and working with PM and Eng partners. And from the trend of how the "tech scene" is headed, unless you're squarely in AI or ML, I don't think it's worth staying in.
@@bl3505 Ty for your straight idea. Yet I'm reluctant to try for non-tech companies because I'm not sure whether their product culture is mature enough. At least in my country, in non-tech companies PMs have more control(almost dictative) over product thinking & strategy, while they expect the designers, regardless of their seniority, to be more tactical; just spitting out fancy-looking screens within the given timeframe. Throughout my career, I found out that it all boils down to the product culture itself, because in a place where the culture is mature, PMs can focus on more high-level problems while user and product problems are discussed with product designers. I'm not necessarily a tech guy, and I just want to see how my designs can turn to revenue. If there's such domain where they allow much room for product designers that would definitely be a good choice. It's just that tech companies have been better for that. For US, are there some non-tech companies allowing more opportunities for product designers to make strategic design decisions?
Industries I’ve noticed that have taken a hit: entertainment, business, tech, software development, computer science, design, and probably much more that I haven’t named. Anyone applying: you’re not the problem
Restaurants and house building are also hit .... it's called a recession/depression. It was also a corona bubble of the tech industry bursting
There's no recession, stock buybacks are at ATH, and the market is up. Massive C-suite compensations.
@@HyuLilium And your metric numbers mean nothing to the people. Always know the limits what you are measuring
All of um….
@@dandansoysauce8762 you’ve just named about every career…
It's rough for software developers too. Unless you have a strong network, it's tough to even get a technical interview. So I'm just building my own products while I ride out this storm of darkness
ME too, it comes down to who you know. And if you can build things that can get users you don't need a job
I am more interested in building my own products too. Do you want to connect?
Same story for product managers... yikes!
Same here building a product so I don't have to rely on job for rest of my life
Software Engineer with 11 YOE here. Can confirm - impossible to get a job without a very strong network. My network is OK, but none of their referrals / recommendations have led to an interview. I think you have to know an actual hiring manager to get an interview. I've gotten a few lucky interviews, but most of the time the managers are desperate to fill the position, and the position is low pay with very poor working conditions.
I, too, am creating my own products while I wait it out. Gotta love working in engineering and design. No jobs for us? That's fine, we'll just compete for your market share 😉
Glad someone is saying it. Some of these predatory programs are really selling pipe dreams. Feeling beyond grateful to have a UX role rn as a junior.
How did you break into the industry?
Product Designer here, +6y of experience. had interviews with 26 different companies from January/24 to end of April, some I got to the final stage. No job offers.
Some reopened the position and are still looking for the 'perfect' one for more than 3 months. They seem not to want to hire, just to play.
Camila that’s amazing that you had 26 interviews though!! Would love to see your resume that got so many responses. You know that’s not the issue. Perhaps it’s how you present/talk about your work that could be improved?
@@olivedrab Hi Olive, for sure! And as I'm a newcomer/permanent resident in Canada, although I already have advanced English, they hear my accent and it probably makes a difference in their final decision as well if I'm competing with native speakers. And in Canada they love referrals, so they will always have referrals + external candidates, so it's hard to compete. But if the market was good and with more positions available, things could be different.
@@camilaoliveiras3672 Fake referrals from company that went bankrupt and can't be called for confirmation by HR.
I feel you, same thing happened to me over and over.
I have a similar level of experience to you a BDes with Honours and only a handful of interviews. At this point I am seriously considering becoming an engineer or tradie. Design is a dead rotting career and will never come back.
It's been the toughest market these days. I have seen many recent international graduates end up coming back to their home country even after graduating from top UX degree programs. It doesn't work no matter how they are experienced or skilled.
It's so hard rn
I'm an HCI masters grad/ international student and I've had a recruiter tell me that I have one of the best portfolios of my year and that normally I'd be given 15 jobs the next day to take my pick of but that ATM he has NOTHING 😭
I'm one of the lucky ones tbh, I have a part time remote job doing something else and a remote unpaid internship where I'm gaining experience that's slowly leading to some UX freelance work.
That being said I know only two former students of the 60 in my year who have full-time UX jobs. Most can't even land unpaid internships.
@@emilyk2398 so is it even worth going in to
@@emilyk2398 That's so rough, I'm sorry. It breaks my heart to read it, especially if "most can't even land unpaid internships" like that's just inhumane at that point...
It is truly a nightmare; I've been trying to land a UI/UX designer job for over a year now and have barely received any responses. The rejections are hilarious. The entry-level job requirements state 1-2 years of experience, HTML, CSS, JavaScript... and I keep seeing those job posts over and over again because they won't hire until the right 'Optimus Prime' individual appears. However, I received my very first positive response this week, for a product illustration internship and I don't even know how to react as I got my first interview ever. At this point I'm afraid that if this won't work then I will have to search and wait for months and months again. I wish everyone best of luck with finding a job!
Product illustration? That's an entirely different skillset isn't it?
@@Kagemusha247 Yea.. it is. I've been learning and practicing with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop too. Otherwise my Master's degree is useless anyway so I'm trying to find options related or close to this field.
If they're posted over and over again, it's more likely a ghost job. That job doesn't exist and they posted to make the company look like it's "growing" for investors.
@@basicbaroque but all those investors don't ask a question why quantity of people has not been changed 😁i just curious what the point of landing the ghost job
I was rejected at one job after two rounds of interviews and their excuse was I "was too creative and I'll get bored." mean while I literally had about 800 calories to eat that day and no money to pay rent that week.
As. a Senior UI UX designer with 10 years in the game, I agree that this is the worst the market has been.
Some tips I've heard from recruiters and other designers:
- If a job has 100 applicants, apply anyway but try to connect with the hiring manager and reach out to the team on their website. Try to speak to an actual person
- Make sure your portfolio spells out, who you are and what you can do - forget flashy animations and crazy interactions for now
- Make your Resume, is one page, very clear, show recent experience and list your skills.
Thank you for the tips.
Hi. Now since you have a decade in the UX game. Do you recommend, in your opinion, a career changer like myself look into UX design as a new career, even with how the market is nowadays? Thanks
@@ShondaD_ Change don't go
@@thekikdkdkskdskds wdym "change dont go"
@@ShondaD_ When people say you’re just going to lose your time, they mean it. Don’t change career to come into UX. Besides the market over saturation, it’s quite a disheartening job. More often than not we get hired in companies which are not mature design-wise. It’s a constant struggle to argue for basic methodologies, like doing user tests and research, or getting software licenses… Even in mature companies it’s not uncommon to still have to “evangelise” (= prove the value of your work to your coworkers who think you’re just here to make their work look pretty).
Totally relatable... 2023 was my worse season of my 12 years of career as a digital product designer.
We, the unemployed Software Developers/Engineers must have a big meetup and share our experiences and show our strength together. We can plan on creating new open source applications or even cloud platforms to be used in a new economy.
@@cruzergo doesnt Crypto do that?
I got a job in 2021 with a bootcamp cert and 6 months of freelance experience. I was just fired from my job last month due to "performance issues" but it turned out that they were making budget cuts and were trying to avoid paying unemployment. I had been applying for jobs for months prior to this and couldn't even land an interview even though I have nearly 3 years of experience. It's definitely tough out here and I don't know what to do...
It's okay, and stay positive! Im going to start a UX bootcamp next month. All my friends still work in this field. So just keep looking for jobs or take a break and become a freelancer on Upwork. Actually I have never paid attention to world economic news before. Once I realized how bad the job market is, I started watching the news carefully... War between Russia and Ukraine, Chinese real estate bankruptcy, and geopolitical issues between the two superpowers because all nations want to de-risk from China. I can't say that I fully understand exactly how the economy works, but Im pretty sure everything is connected to each other. Based on everything I read from Western media. Just stay positive and hope the economy gets better by the end of this year, especially since the election is coming.
@@Izumi_1994 I would not get into UX or Tech I would run as far as you can find a career that can't be replaced it's going to get worse. This is from an insider insider
@@Izumi_1994 The election wont change a thing. It never has. The market is simply changing, world economy and geopolitical issues play one role but the companies mindset is also changing specially bigger Corporations whom only live for profit. You as the employee will always be the first to be cut off. I think a lot of people will have to find their way as a freelancer in the coming months & years and embrace the change but honestly you are gonna learn a whole new bunch of skill sets but also have the possibility to manage your time freely and earn an actually good salary. Most are underpaid anyways because the CEOs wanna have more money than they can actually ever spend. Now wait till AI reaches a certain point and companies will just fire 90% of their lower end jobs that AI can do by itself for a small percentage of the cost like basically any call center agent in the customer support sector or even Sales reps on the lower end aren t safe from that. Its gonna get worse for sure so its important to prepare yourself for the times to come and adjust to them.
Just think about programmers, as the Nvidia CEO said, you shouldnt learn coding anymore, instead learn to communicate properly with AIs because they ll code it faster than you ever can and that isnt so far away anymore. I d say in the next 2 years that will happen easily
@@Izumi_1994 don’t do it.
@@Izumi_1994 Do NOT start a UX bootcamp good god get out before you sink your money. We are all telling you we have years of work experience in UX and are struggling a bootcamp grad has no chance.
UI/UX roles are the 1st to go when budgets get tight.
Yep though that's only when UX writing and research don't exist in the company as well. Unfortunately those other roles tend to be undervalued even more and therefore cut first
Wow, you saved me so much time and pain. I was heading back to school for Ux designer and was worried that I couldn't find a job after I finish... now it looks like the med field unfortunately
I think the medical field is gonna experience way more growth. Boomers. They have all the money and they can't accept their mortality.
Software Engineer here, we're in the same boat ! A lot of people say it's startup season and I believe it's true. With the booming of AI we might see more 1-5 people teams do wonders with saas and micro-saas. Good luck to everyone !
Yea, my thinking is the AI boom will drive alot of small companies to pop up with 5-10 employees.
AI will even dumb down the beginners level and make sure they won't learn anything. AI is just a replacement for faster typing (or brush handling in the photoshop world).
I'm a 25-year veteran in UX. I've worked mainly for Fortune 500 companies (many you know as household brands) and have climbed my way up to director level. I'm masters certified with NN/g, I've done Luma, am a certified scrum product owner, bla, bla, bla... Nobody cares. I was laid off 8 months ago along with my entire team. And since then I've responded to hundreds of job postings and have had only a handful of interviews. At this point I feel like I can't even pay someone to let me work for them. I'm currently doing a project for a friend's small startup for free in exchange for guitar lessons because why not. At least I'm keeping my chops up. I'm also taking a course on AI for designers.
In all these years I've never experienced the market this bad and it only seems to be getting worse.
Try to stay sane, friends.
With over five years in UX, I had to apply for a position well below my level, competing with entry-level candidates due to the industry's steep decline and unrealistic job market expectations. I got that but was it realistic? NO. Was it worth it? NO. But we gotta survive. IN that case how would the someone new compete with more experienced people. The current state of UX, marked by excessive competition and low pay, makes it a less viable career path.
Thank you lily for being honest. At least someone in the industry is not giving false hopes to new candidates and is atleast sharing the truth about what's going on. What used to be such a desirable fun field is now a hedache. The job hunting process is also more draining than ever like you said in the video.
I think it's the worst for UX Designers. My team has around 70 people with only 1 UX designer. And if you are curious, we have 2 front end engineers, 45 backend engineers, 10 business/data scientists, and the rest are PMs/engineer managers.
one person cannot do that much work omg
@@tehilalevy7015 I think it is more to do with how little design is valued at most companies, because the results are not immediately visible. Unlike a software engineer who's sole job is to build and get things working.
This sounds like a healthy mix. UX Design was/is almost a skill less task at the level of uneducated workers in the house building industry. I'm a full stack single cowboy programmer. Even most UX designers don't know what UX is and sure they can't apply it ... because they learned button design, not requirement engineering.
My company of 10,000 people has 2 UX designers...
@@tehilalevy7015 Let me try... 🙋🏻♀I'll probably pass out from burn out or exhaustion, or both, in a few weeks though, lol.
I don't know why you don't have 100K+ subscribers already. You create highly valuable & grounded UX/Job Search/ Tech content. Thank you!
"Telling you the truth because anyone saying otherwise is sponsored" THANK YOU. I pointed this out on a girl with a popular video shilling for a bootcamp about how this is dishonest and bad to push people into a bootcamp when the market is brutal for even SENIOR UX DESIGNERS and she had some mush mouthed response.
It's insane how people will screw over their potential peers just for a quick buck.
Thank you for speaking on this, when no one else is willing to! With the rise of AI, “leaner” teams, demotion of levels to lower the pay rates, shorter contracts and now having to apply for roles that are much lower than I applied to with less experience, this has been the toughest market I’ve seen since getting into tech 5 years ago. We need to have some form of union representation for tech workers, with all these terrible employee treatment, so they can manipulate a workforce in their favor.
Unfortunately, it’s exactly when you most need a union that you’re least capable of making one (because of the steep competition).
It’s been hard for juniors. We are competing with everyone. I wanted to move to an in house company but I have to stay put for now 😩 I hope the industry picks up because I can’t change careers again 😂
Stay strong. I think unfortunately it's even harder for juniors as in difficult markets senior people are willing to step down allowing the fewer companies who can still recruit to hire experienced devs for a big discount in comparison to a junior..
Even after 6 months last year, I couldn't get a design system role. Before, at the most, it would only take me around a month to get something! Thank God i used my network and got a role with a former manager (now current manager lol). Keep an open mind folks and hang in there. You got this. ❤
I had 10 years of experience in the UX field, but 5 years ago I quit because I felt the UX job market would collapse sooner or later. Like it or not, UX design is a low entry-barrier commodity job. Also, in 99% of companies, all UX decisions come from top to bottom, and you never get to sit at the table (even if you are a VP level).
what field are you in now?
Exactly. It's a one semester sidekick in academic education as a IT professional. Because everyone in the IT needs to know UX. If you have an API that is designed without features your fancy button design and animations don't help (and they are done by programmers anyway). And contact to customers for requirement engineering, thats the easy tasks in live, just talking, thats what the CEO and senior management do.
This is complete facts.
This is interesting as most CTOs have no idea on UX and product design from a HCD perspective … that’s why there are so many failed products as most engineers lack the knowledge or bandwidth to learn about the most important component of a product: the user
@@llothar68 What you describe is UI, not UX. In your example UX would be designing the user journeys and related features with every little impacts, like errors and successes. A big part of our work is to identify “holes” in the experience. Actual UX Designers have basic software development knowledge because otherwise it’s a mess to design flows relying on database, API etc
Thank you so much! Thank you for sharing publicly, both this video and all your amazing videos! So it's not just me, the market is tough!
This is true! Back when tech was first doing layoffs I slowed down my portfolio work to try and break into the industry. Diversify your career interests cause things do not seem safe right now.
Any careers out there related to ux design?
Thank you for vocalizing your challenges. It's a useful reminder that I am not alone.
I feel bad when students and early professionals reach out for help because, beyond the typical career advice, I don't know what to tell them. They often ask how I got my job and honestly, my past experience with getting a job has become completely irrelevant. Everyone is asking for that one secret tip to finally land the job but there honestly isn't. It's a numbers game, it's luck, it's persistence. Especially for XR design... XR design requires a broad set of skills and can be especially daunting to get into as a complete beginner. In the past helping people get jobs was not this hard. Some people are still interviewing and getting rejected a year into the search. It's brutal.
A lot of people say to keep quiet at work and do your work and go home. I don’t agree with this because networking with your coworkers is the best thing to do. You never know when you’ll be in this type of job environment where a referral is the strongest way to get an interview or even a role at a company. Network, network, network!
I'm currently in a UX bootcamp, but I'm keeping the faith!
Get out while you can.
faith doesnt help, reality will hit
I really hope you have a current job in the meantime.
11 years experience. It’s been quiet for me.
Product Designer in London with 3 years of experience. After +300 applications since the year started, I haven’t managed to get an offer. Got to 5 final stages and they always went for “more senior” people. 1 company told me they didnt hire at all and 3 other told me they went for somebody more senior yet I saw them reupload the job post months after. Only 1 actually hire somebody that I saw joining the company through LinkedIn. It is literally beyond sad and it gets me thinking that I’m not good enough and my career is over. Ffs
Didnt think I needed this. Thank you!
Ugh this sucks, I watched a million videos with people saying the tech industry is under employed when it comes to programming and design now videos are dropping about no one hiring even experience people 😩
Similar situations with 3d artists also and one of my friend who worked in many big movies also struggling to land clients these days, he told me the market is low and I think this is the time where we should stay strong and do whatever it takes to improve ourselves and our work, just like you said Thank you for the insights and suggestions
I was a week away from starting my bus driver job. 3 days before the start date I got a data analyst job. If I get laid off again I doubt that I'll get a tech job again.
I don't believe the UX industry will ever fully bounce back. In my view, it was artificially inflated by so-called "gurus" and companies that eagerly jumped on the UX bandwagon, similar to what happened during the Design Thinking craze of the mid-2000s. I'm not suggesting that UX as a discipline is disappearing-it's still essential for many businesses. However, I think its peak has passed, and what we're witnessing now is the natural saturation of UX professionals in the market.
UX design was promoted as free bread with lowest barrier to entry.
Congrats, now it's democratized.
Name one thing that is complicated to understand in UX. It was not promoted as the easiest, it is
As a developer, i would say it is much simpler to find a job for me. Not sure if this fiasco is true for all professions.
i love this video! thanks for sharing your insight! thats how i feel about this industry!
Ok I live in a different country but there's sooo many ads for UI and UX courses out there promising you a great career rn x_x
my experience has been exactly like yours. Found jobs in 2 weeks in 2021 when I was just a fresh grad. This year I was job hunting for a couple months before I landed something, just absolutely brutal
2 months is fast in this market! What are your tips
Thank you for saying this! Except for public forums/reddit, I don't know why there isn't any major news coverage on this.
Time to switch careers and move over to a career with better prospects.
Go into medical like nursing. My brother just graduated and got two job offers making good money in a MCOL area.
Why is the video wobbling? 😂 Warp stabilizer?
Love design driven and well-designed videos!! Felt that last year soo hard. I was lucky and found an agency in vienna but it wasn't easy at all. Hope it'll get better and I hope you find/found a job!
Exactly. Thank you for saying the truth while Bootcamps centers are still saying you will get a job easily.
I was working on wall st, lost my job and after a year of worse than nothing (aka scam jobs) I just gave up and started waitressing. Now I'm layers and layers in debt with no way out but at least I have income
Wow! Such impressive experience pal! Where are you from?
Great topic, first time here 😊. I am actually in UX outsourcing at the moment, and the market is super slow here as well. Few large outsourcing companies in my country have closed, and UX Research job posts have pretty much disappeared. I hear that in general companies from US - outsourcing abroad - have reduced their teams (abroad as well). At least in my country. I do not have statistics for other countries.
My guess is that first job to go was UX Research, since it was not seen by companies as “indispensable”, but also they prefer to reduce and combine roles (UX Design + Research or UI Design + Frontend dev); generally prefer senior roles for that reason.
How the shit do we go from bootcampers getting jobs to seniors with a decade of experience can't find a job at all in just 2 years? Doesn't make sense. I feel like this is some kind of payback for employees gaining too much leverage during the great resignation.
Profits are still as higher as ever... this could be very much part of a larger plot.
Thanks for such honesty! I am a graphic designer looking to shift into ux as "tech pays better" but I'm truly confused if i should even waste my time trying to upskill in this field. It's quite a dilemma where do we go from here..
I been working as QA and switched to cloud and QA, my project ended jan 2024 and it's been tough finding a job ever since even though i had 4 interviews and not selected it is frustrating
Ugh, been feeling all this so hard. Thought I was going crazy, and I have 1 or 2 other friends who are even more senior than me struggling. I was like "if [Friend A] can't get a job, the world is in a crisis and we need help". Glad to know it's not just in my head. And definitely seconding the "mid to senior roles outsourced overseas" part... despite the appeal of me moving back for those roles, the pay offered for many is 40% or more lower (than what it might pay in the U.S.). Granted, the pay is generally lower in my home country, but it was not such a steep difference in e.g. 2022 or 2023 (as I have been checking).
Finally someone addressed it. While people keep saying, you don't have skills.
As a hire manager (non-UX role), let me explain reason #5. The obvious thing is supply and demand. But to make the matter worse, many candidates weren't even have the fundamental (Eg. OOP concept) to do the job. I questioned how were some of these candidates I interviewed even get in the industry for so long. Nice jacket btw!
but with many senior candidates who do have good optics and who are applying to these repeat postings it seems impossible to imagine that within the hundreds of poor applicants they wouldn’t stand out?
@@neaa1928 My complaint applied to many so-called "senior". Taking number of years of experience aside, many applicants' resume look very similar thanks to ChatGPT.
Have to agree with the comments, it's a tough market regardless of the industry that you're in!
I love UX but as a college student about to graduate this summer, I’m still scared of the job market. I’m definitely still going to keep studying and designing but I’m feeling doubtful on the security of a ux research/design job
It's easier to just get a contract role, it's super hard now to land a full-time role.
Just listening to the audio because what is happening with the video?? Triggered my motion sickness I had to get some air
Thank you for being totally honest and sharing your experience. I am a motion designer. It’s the same here….I totally got your disappointment. I have also experienced a really long month of preparation for an interview and got given a bad reason to not proceed the offer in the end… It literally broke me.
None of it goes to waste! Now you're prepared for the next.
If you as a youtuber can't get a job in UX I really don't know what to do as a Junior designer who graduated during the pandemic. I am just trying to break in to tech in general, I went to school for four years, waited to when I could start working in person again, got some certifications in the meantime and I don't want to "have to" become a UX content creator so companies can notice me. I don't know what to do since I have tried "catering" my linkedin for UX.. when I apply to other Junior tech jobs does it make me look bad now? Lots of recruiters and mentors tell me I have everything but it's been months now and nothing for me, not even freelance work.
Don't do Tech
Thanks for letting me know I'm not alone, I guess I should stick to freelancing, giving real value is what puts food in the table, not having a job or security is a terrifying risk but what other options do I get to have?
There's a weird vibe of vindictiveness from companies who still remember the brief employee market of the pandemic, they want to make sure they have all the cards again.
Hey we're in the same boat. I got laid off in early 2023. And it's incredibly difficult to get interviews, forget job offers. And every new job posting immediately gets 100s of applicants.
Unless you're extremely well connected or famous in the design industry, it's tough right now.
Jeez this is tough to hear. I’m at UIUC and majoring in Information Science and I want to do the HCI/UX pathway as well as data analysis/ data science. Plan to minor in business and GIS as well. Hopefully the worst times are behind us
where is the cardigan from :(((
It’s crazy how they want a 2 year of experience for a intern role
Well, someone doesn't understand the concept of recession. UX is made for product development. It's not for every company.
That's why now most entry level positions have years of experience as a requirement.
Experienced people struggle to find a job so unexperienced one just cannot compete without accepting miserable wages.
the most important thing is to keep your expenses low && MOST important way to do this is to NOT sign a lease or buy property in the 'bubble' cities such as NYC, San Fran, Seattle, LA, Miami, Austin ... the jobs and/or pay WILL not allow even tech workers to get ahead (IF you even get hired in first place)
It's rough way more for people that can be easily replaced like cashiers, drivers, labourers etc. With inflation, so many companies have less budget leading them to be pickier on candidates/hiring way less. But UX design, developer etc are still a good choice as in the long run they will still be valuable and less replaceable than other jobs that don't need a degree.
I’d be fine taking a contract role, but I can’t even get that, I’m about mid level for UX, and senior level for other areas of graphics. Thanks for sharing this info. Best of luck.
I'm an unemployed dev with 13 years exp. I'd like to catch up with some UX/UI people and other devs and see if we can help each other out.
Did you connect with anyone?
@@jonlima9897 nah, your'e the first one to comment. what do you do?
@@vakarimasen I have lil experience with HTML, CSS, Java, Javascript, SQL and web design. Im currently studing blockchain tecnology and now I want to study some UX/UI for knowledge purposes... Do you have any Idea on helping people make some money without the need to be a Brainiac?
@@jonlima9897 1. If you have good focus, you can pick up a niche and become super good at it, maybe even kind of famous
2. You can have (or develop) good taste in UI, it's a rare thing
3. Networking is real cheatcode, meet people, do collabs even if they don't pay out right away, you'll probably get invited to some job few years later
Time to pivot to other engineering careers like civil, environmental, etc.
Does it make sense for me to do a UX/UI boot camp if I’m not planning to seek a field in the field? My intention is to learn how to do web design for my own e-commerce projects, apply the skills to my architecture education, which I’ll begin in a couple years and support my partner’s learning as she begins animation school next year.
it's really hard finding a job right now and last year. and I dont have as much experience as a senior either. its tech in general that is having this issue. do you think its good to find something that is similar to ux as a way to get a foot in the door? or maybe something else?
yes, I would take what you can get right now to start building experience. something is better than nothing, as they say.
100% agree with everything, staffing industry has ruined the scene.
I'm an employer and let me tell you this: just because we receive hundreds of applications, doesn't mean we're getting good candidates. People are too lazy to write tailored resumes, read the job description, or they just want to wing it. I posted a senior designer job and so many applications don't even have a portfolio.
Very great insights you have shared
Love your videos- can you please make an ICL update video? Can you use circle or coloured cosmetic contact lenses when you wished?
Yes I can do that! I have colored lens I've not used yet, but will put on for a video :)
I have been applying to full time roles in UX for more than a month now. Over 1000 people apply for a single entry level job position. There are maybe 3 job openings everyday for us. It has been a horrible experience. I am doing a lot of work from a very nominal amount now.
I don't see it anytime changing without rate cuts. Near zero interest rates allowed thousands of start-ups to be funded, so it was a decade-long hiring spree.
Ohhh nooo! 😢 I am in the mist of career changing and I am interested in UX design, but now should I even still look into learning UX design!?
Just fyi, UX Design is very very competitive these days. If you don’t have any skill or education in graphic design or UI/UX, then you are already behind.
I’ve sent out over 300 applications over the course of 8 months and got 1 offer for a 6-month contract. I have 12yrs of experience and this is the worst I’ve ever seen it.
Then you’re doing something wrong. You’re not qualified for the jobs, or not interviewing well, or your resume needs improvement.
Such an oversaturated field now. Few years back, every Graphic designers, Artists, Engineers, Artchitects everyone wanted to switch careers to UX design.
I am just graduating with engineering degree and was excited about ux design.
Now As I am researching I am getting concerned and confused. Should I try to learn UI UX now or just leave this field and try other field like motion graphics or animation?
Try a UI engineer path which might use your skillsets. I can't recommend getting into UI UX until the market re adjusts. If you're passionate enough though, that wouldn't stop you.
To be honest, i think it's hard everywhere. All about network, timing, and luck in the end :(
Would you say the same for graphic designers? Ghost town/glacially slow openings.
i'm starting to notice and wonder if this is a pattern that applies to any industry right now because I'm simply trying to get a hospitality job while self-educating design and honestly, it's been ROUGH i don't get it...
As a software developer who is doing UX as a side effect in programming solutions for 40 years, UX is a job that shouldn't even exist. It was a pure hype. It's a 6 month additional skill you add to something.
Although this may sound harsh, there's no such thing as shooting "below your level". Labour is a market like anything else. Sometimes the price of apples goes down. Sometimes the price of apples goes up.
If only free markets truly existed IRL
Do you think having a masters degree in HCI is helpful or does it not really move the needle?
Yes, but not sure if the cost is justified (school doesn't teach you field experience)
I'm with a master's degree focussed on HCI and Engineering, and based on my experience job hunting in the US, and in Germany and India, I think it really depends on the company and their values. Some value the degree, some don't precisely for the reason Lily mentioned.
Just graduated with a master's in HCI. It's better than a boot camp if you're determined to get into UX. But honestly I'd recommend focusing on a different area right now.
Tech sales seems to be booming 🤷♀️ the only tech guy I know who isn't worried about jobs works in that.
Thank you for sharing! How long do you think it will take before it gets better? I guess it's hard to tell
@@annabellewieland9276 predictions seem to be Q2 2025
Couldn't agree more
Entry levels are really having tough times landing a job
I guess it's time for another switch!
I'm just saying from my pov as a developer, I do most of the graphics myself as I used to be a media designer, or if I need inspiration I use AI. For 3d graphics I know how but I wouldn't do the labor of animation/advanced modeling. So if you're just designing css in Canva/Figma 💀
Hi Lily. I'm a senior product designer and recently been layed off from series C startup in my country. Market is at its worst in my country as well and my hypothesis(lol) was that somewhere else in this world would have quite opposite situation, hence finding my opportunity overseas would keep my career rolling. That being said, according to your video trying to break into global tech company recklessly would be a very naive choice.
For my next job I don't care if it's not a faang thing, as long as it ensures me certain degree of tasks which I could practice my problem solving and product thinking(i.e., staying in tech scene rather than being ux designer in non-tech companies). My goal right now is to hone my design skills at its best, rather than pursuing luxurious compensations. Would the content of this video also apply to smaller tech companies including startups? If so, what would be the choice for senior designers like me to continue career and prepare for the end of this drought? I'm not thinking of going freelancer, as it's not being part of the product team.
Jumping in here to give some perspective as a senior product designer based in the US. Yes this applies to all tech companies, aside from AI ventures. The tech industry and its downsizing trend is not expected to bounce back in the near future. That's just the state of the world. There are fewer tech startups (and subsequently UX/Design roles) because tech founders can't get funding. Investors are instead turning to more stable industries, like agriculture and renewable energy. Any small company without recruiting resources are more likely to hire from referrals and their own circle first. Why bother interviewing hundreds when execs can pitch the offer to someone referred internally and who can be vouched for?
If your goal is to continue honing your design skills, then finding UX or product design roles in non-tech companies isn't a bad idea. Problem solving and design thinking are transferable, and it's not like non-tech companies don't need mobile apps or digital products to run their business. You still get to grow within a product team being full-time on a design team and working with PM and Eng partners. And from the trend of how the "tech scene" is headed, unless you're squarely in AI or ML, I don't think it's worth staying in.
@@bl3505 Ty for your straight idea. Yet I'm reluctant to try for non-tech companies because I'm not sure whether their product culture is mature enough. At least in my country, in non-tech companies PMs have more control(almost dictative) over product thinking & strategy, while they expect the designers, regardless of their seniority, to be more tactical; just spitting out fancy-looking screens within the given timeframe. Throughout my career, I found out that it all boils down to the product culture itself, because in a place where the culture is mature, PMs can focus on more high-level problems while user and product problems are discussed with product designers.
I'm not necessarily a tech guy, and I just want to see how my designs can turn to revenue. If there's such domain where they allow much room for product designers that would definitely be a good choice. It's just that tech companies have been better for that. For US, are there some non-tech companies allowing more opportunities for product designers to make strategic design decisions?
I think honing in your skills is a good use for the time if the leads are dry! I'm doing the same.@@bl3505
what about being a freelancer?
It’s just crazy out there. No chance at all.
A few years ago I would be happy if the company gave me some feedback, now a days i'm happy if the company even sends me a rejection letter. Yikes
When what should we do
As fresher ??
I love this font! Can you tell me what it is :D
Time to get into contract work. The job postings I see here are all awful and still have thousands of applicants for some reason.