Why is UX seen as a silver bullet?

Careers & Mentoring
#1

Hi everyone! I’m new to UX and to this community. I have something that is weighing me down a bit, but I hope not to come off as a curmudgeon!

I’ve been a visual designer for many years and earned a Master’s in Internet Marketing. I love studying UX design, and have been on my own for the past several months - creating case studies and presenting my work on my portfolio. After some recent interviews for UX positions, I feel like companies only want strict, UX experience. Meaning, I think companies can’t quite see the attributes of visual and marketing being carried over to UX. And that somehow, UX is the magic answer to all things bottom line.

I understand the essence of UX, and the positive effect on an audience regarding creating value, usability, delight, etc. But those are attributes of building a great marketing campaign as well. Exactly why is UX the hotness in the job market today? Is it really understood? Also, I would feel bad spending lots of money on a bootcamp just to make myself “legitimate” in the marketplace, but maybe that’s just reality.
Thoughts?

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#2

Hey Christopher. Welcome. Good on you for jumping straight in. I love that.

I’m not really qualified to answer your question because I don’t spend enough time in the job market, but you’re not alone in your thoughts.

I’m going to call in the amazing @deprecated for his thoughts. He always has something good to say.

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#3

Sweet as!

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#4

I suspect it’s because they’ve seen the A/B testing hype and how changing a button colour increased a company’s profit by £20 million or how rearranging a page led to a 40% increase in sign-ups despite having esentially the same design. I must admit that coming from an ecommerce background I have a few bits in my portfolio that don’t look great but have a story behind them about how they increased conversion.

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#5

@rachelreveley - Yes, here in the States, I think companies want it all - UX practices, visual designer, CRO specialist, marketing specialist. The thing is, I think all of the attributes are now being rolled under the title “UX Designer”. For example, have you ever heard the title “UX Designer - Email”? Meaning, a UX Designer who creates highly effective, high ROI emails.

My challenge right now is continuing to learn the “strict” practice of UX, and blending it with my existing skills. I cannot help but see many similarities between UX and marketing practices, but I feel I must pose these practices as strict UX practices.

Thoughts?

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#6

@cdesign Don’t leave it up to the hiring manager/company to make the connection between UX and your experience in Marketing. You need to make that connection for them by putting together a great portfolio that outlines your process.

Even today there are many companies that don’t understand UX, the various roles, human-centered design and how it will positively impact the business/product. While a bootcamp may help, it won’t guarantee you a job in UX. Hang in there, tell your story, show your process.

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#7

@gdnovey Thanks for your insight. Yes, I have radically updated my portfolio in the past couple of months. Of note, the biggest additions have been explaining my process - both in thought and practice. I explain why I made certain decisions, and how certain challenges were overcome. Thanks again.

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