Any remote UX consultants in here?

Are there any remote UX designers or consultants here that have been doing it for a while? i’d really love to know more about how you got there, what it takes, and what it’s like!?

3 Likes

I kinda fit that bill. I’m a remote contractor, but I work 2 permanent contracts, for both of which only a portion of the work is UX.

My job here at UXMastery is primarily Community Management with some UX thrown in, and my main job at Discourse is as a software designer, which consists of UX work and project management.

I don’t have to keep finding new contracts, which is fantastic. I’m only a contractor for tax purposes because both jobs are offshore.

I’m happy to answer any questions you have.

Thanks Hawk.
Well, I guess I could tart with, how did you find the remote work and how do you find it working remotely?

In both cases I was headhunted by people that already knew me by reputation. I cannot stress enough how important that is. It’s all about networking and getting your name out. I did a talk on this topic recently. The slides are here. It was more focussed on Community Management than UX but the principals are the same.

I love it. I’ve been doing it for 10 years now and it suits me well. I start work at 5am (it’s easy if you can work in your pjs) and finish at 3pm so I can be with my kids. I work part time at the gym so that I see people every day and stay fit – it’s easy to fall into bad habits if you’re home all day. You need to be very disciplined to work remotely – either so you don’t slack off or so that you know when to switch off, depending on what kind of person you are.

2 Likes

I love to hear this. This is why I believe it suits my personality and work habits. Im really disciplined and prefer to use the transit time or the times I dont use efficiently at location on things more worthwhile.
Do you think it takes certain amount of time / projects before you could start pitching to remote clients?
Love the slides. thank you for sharing. I’ve been working on building my reputation in recent months.

1 Like

Good question. I have never pitched and don’t like the idea of having to find work month to month, which is why the permanent contracts suit me.

You have 2 perm contracts tht you work on at the same time every day or do you split the time you spend on each client differently? If you prefer not to answer or me send you a PM please let me know.

I’m fine talking about it openly.

I work 30 hours per week at Discourse (designing the software that you’re currently using) and 10 hours per week here at UXMastery. When and how I split the hours depends on what deadlines I have at each. Then I work at Les Mills teaching group fitness a few hours a week.

1 Like

You have inspired an up and coming remote ux designer :slight_smile:

1 Like