New job salary

Careers & Mentoring
#1

Hey people!

So I am currently on an internship that is set to turn into a permanent role as a UX Designer. I was wondering what the average junior UX Designer salary is in the London area?

I will go into more detail on my role, I am the only UX guy at the company and I generally take on the role of researcher, designer, UI design and even branding graphic design. So I am juggling quite a lot, loving it though. It’s a big company with close to 1500 employees world wide.

Not sure if my background will help but I have a BSc in Psychology, MSc in human factors, 7 months volunteering as a UX Designer, and two paid UX contracts, as well as 3 months on this current paid UX internship.

Any advise on how to approach the salary negotiation will be helpful too. I was thinking on going in asking for £30-£35K, what do people here think?

Thanks in advance!! :slight_smile:

#2

Hi @Johnlocke42
Welcome. :slight_smile:
That sounds about right (from what I can glean from the internet). I’m not in the UK, but most of the payscale sites quote ~31k for a junior role and 45k for a senior one.

It sounds like you have a solid educational background, so I’d push fairly hard.

Let us know how you go. :slight_smile:

2 Likes
#3

And congratulations on getting your first permanent role as a UX’er! It seems to take a lot of experience in other ways to get through that door. Well done!

#4

very nice!! congrats! and keep us informed in this new chapter as a full time UX Designer :wink:

#5

@Johnlocke42 hi, there are 2 things you need to do before you can negotiate the salary you want.

  1. Got to payscale and glassdoor and get a low to high salary range for a mid level UX designer, researcher, IA in London. The reason you want to be armed with these figures is because…
  2. You want to negotiate yourself a salary in the high end if the range and to be able to give your employer specific reasons why you are worth more that the average candidate.

Your description of tasks above suggests they are looking for a designer/researcher/UI designer - often defined as a “unicorn” role. Roles in companies with a highly evolved UX ecosystem are separate roles for example UX Research and Design and IA are separate roles. You don’t want to negotiate yourself into a generalist position where you are overworked and doing everything for a low salary.

Let me know how you get on :slight_smile:
Warmly

Louise