The 4 biggest challenges to starting a career in UX
By: Sophia V Prater
Tags: User Experience, Careers, UX Design, Information Architecture, UX Research

illustration credit: Luke Prater, Rewired UX

I entered the UX world twelve years ago — let’s see…carry the one — that’s like infinity in Internet years. And I’ve been self-employed for six years now. So how in the heck would I know anything about today’s entry-level job market challenges? Great question.

I know because I mentor a ton of people entering UX. As an organizer of Ladies that UX, the founder of the UX Hustle Summit, and having personally mentored dozens of incoming UX designers, I hear the stories and I commiserate on the reg. Here are the four patterns I’ve detected — the most pressing challenges new UXers are facing today when getting started in UX — and my suggestions on how to tackle them.

ONE: The Overwhelm

illustration credit: Luke Prater, Rewired UX

Welcome to UX: here’s 15,931 things you need to learn, from 15,928 different sources. If you are just getting started, chances are you’re drowning from the firehose of blogs, podcasts, articles, books, online courses, YouTube channels, and email newsletters coming at you.

Each resource links to about 18 other pieces of content that you feel compelled to bookmark. And not a drop from that firehose seems to be accredited by the UX-truth police, so it’s hard to tell what’s valid and what’s empty calories.

My Advice:

Follow your enthusiasm.

Once you have a big picture foundation from a bootcamp or an introductory online course or two, just dig into what’s most fascinating to you. You’re not going to be captivated by everything in this field and that’s OK. Picture yourself as an explorer (or a detective!) looking for those magical, glittering nuggets of interest.

Once you discover one of those shiny nugs, crack it open. About 1,000 more nuggets will be inside. The more you learn, the more you realize how much more there is to learn. Reframe this as a good thing! Of those 1,000 new nuggets, not all will be shiny. Find those that are, bag them, and keep digging. As you do, you’ll be differentiating. And guess what? The riches are in the niches. Finding your special niche in UX is going to make you more valuable, and more importantly, happier. So drop the fear of missing out — on content that doesn’t captivate you.

Follow your instincts.

Surprise! There are no UX truth-police. This is an industry figuring itself out and even the most senior among us are experimenting and testing out ways to do this work better (hopefully). But there’s good news! This is an industry of idealists, who are, for the most part, smart, talented, and well-intentioned. There isn’t much truly bad content out there. The UX field doesn’t seem to attract charlatans, so don’t worry too much about unvetted or “wrong” content.



Find a curated-yet-diverse set of voices that resonate with you. And when you inevitably run into conflicting viewpoints? Don’t get frustrated. Instead, see it as an opportunity to test your own good sense and opinions. If the contradictions really fire you up, take note of that enthusiasm. Start a conversation, do more research, and start forming your own point of view, honing-in on your exciting and valuable niche.

Follow a schedule.

Make time for professional development and PUT IT ON YOUR CALENDAR! I am well-established in my career but I am not coasting — I schedule two hours a week for “continuing education.” So, for you, depending on your time, resources, and how much you want to hustle, this might look like an hour a day or 10 hours a day. Or a five-hour block every weekend. You do you and decide what you can commit to. But once you’ve determined your bandwidth, make a pact with yourself and your calendar.

Show off what you are learning.

Just finished Designing for Emotion? Just wrapped a certification program on object-oriented UX? Let the world know! Write up a summary of what you learned, questions you have, and thoughts that came out of the content! Showcase your progress on Medium, LinkedIn, or your website and you’ll soon have a new wing of your portfolio that can supplement your project work: a professional development playlist.



Potential employers will eat this up. They will see your enthusiasm, your curiosity, your self-sufficiency, and your hunger for growth; qualities, which can trump that all-too-common “at least three years of experience” requirement. (PSA: check out Amanda Worthington’s UX Portfolio Power Play Course on how to upgrade your website with Object-Oriented UX.)

As an added bonus, when you play with your new knowledge, repackaging it in your own words and pictures — what you learn sinks in deeper. Even if you aren’t getting traffic on these posts and you feel like you are publishing into a void, that’s okay. This practice of articulating what you’ve learned will help you understand your enthusiasm and become more confident in your new skills.

“I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.” ― Flannery O’Connor

TWO: The Saturation

illustration credit: Luke Prater, Rewired UX

Yup. There are quite a few people entering UX. You go to meetups and feel like you are “just another newbie UXer” swimming in a sea of other job-hunters. Hundreds of entry-level UXers are getting pumped out of bootcamps on 10-week cycles and new certification courses are cropping up like Internet dandelions (here’s info on mine 🤣).

The market desperately needs UXers — but hasn’t figured out how to gracefully onboard them into their teams. It’s definitely a problem. But it doesn’t mean you are late to the party and all that’s left to eat is watery hummus.

Last year, I posted this on Twitter:

Our friends over in engineering are barreling forward, pushing AR/VR/MR/AI/VUI experiences into the mainstream. Business and technology are introducing new platforms and paradigms that are permeating culture at an exponential rate. UX design is NOT keeping up. We are scrambling to figure out ethical implications, privacy issues, and even basic best practices. Seriously, Gmail has major usability issues. GMAIL.

Just because the job market is in a weird place right now with hiring and onboarding does not mean the job market doesn’t need you. Keep practicing, keep learning, and you will get a UX job. The first one or two jobs might even suck. You could very likely end up somewhere with no UX leadership, no UX process, no UX love — welcome to the club. So if you are on the hunt for your first UX job or a better UX job, here’s how to get an edge on the “competition.”

Reframe your fellow newbie UXers.

These are your collaborators, not your competition. Ok, maybe they are your competition technically, but philosophically, try not to think of them that way. Help them with their portfolio. Send them job posts you think they would be a good fit for, even if you are applying for that job too.

Karma is a real thing, ya’ll. And even though the UX community is growing, it’s still a small town. Relationships are going to be key for you. Remember that all ships rise with the rising tide!

See previous coping mechanisms!

Keep differentiating, learning, and sharing what you are learning. THE RICHES ARE IN THE NICHES! Take note of what areas of UX you keep gravitating to over and over. What do you have opinions on and feel compelled to write and talk about? These are going to be your special sauce. And special sauce gives you confidence. You’ll feel like an expert, because with a little effort and consistency, when it comes to ethics in AI, or user research for children, or mobile UI, you will be an expert.

Spin your roots!

If you are coming into UX with no prior professional experience or post-high-school education, maybe skip this one. But I bet most of you have something to build on. Recently, I was reviewing a mentee’s portfolio and clicked on her unassuming “download resume” link. On scanning her resume I saw — in fine print at the bottom of the page — that she has a MASTERS in psychology.



Umm. Yeah. That’s relevant. And so your previous life as a 4th-grade teacher, a social worker, a quality assurance analyst, a customer service representative, a library assistant, a sociologist. Don’t hide the fact that UX is a second (or third) career. Celebrate that fact! Use your previous career to prop up your hodge-podge UX education and spotty UX experience. (Amanda’s course will help with this, too!)

Interview your Interviewer.

Do your research before the interview (duh). Know the industry, the company and the interviewer. After you feel “prepared” — do another 20 minutes of digging. You’ll have 20 minutes more insight than everyone else who stopped after they felt they’d done enough. Oh, and as you are interviewer-stalking look out for ice-breaker questions you can ask them.



Spend 2–3 minutes building rapport to set the stage for the rest of your conversation. For example, “I saw on Linkedin that you just moved to Atlanta last year to work here. Do you like Atlanta compared to Miami?” This will NOT be creepy. Resourcefulness and the ability to do your research are key UXer traits. In addition, make sure you have a list of intelligent questions about not only the company but also the industry.



While recently pitching a company that builds software for blood labs, I made sure to bone-up on antibodies, antigens, and the basics of lab testing before showing up for our initial conversations. I prepared questions like, “I kept reading about cross-matching and compatibility testing — are these the same type of test?” Impressive, huh?

Follow-up, creatively.

I was in an Uber in Chicago on the way to the airport and chatting with my driver. He was a film school student and had just interviewed with a very popular YouTube channel. He was gushing about how well the interview went and how much he wanted the job. I asked him how he planned to follow up. “Oh! Yeah…I should probably write a thank you email?” Kids these days. 🙄



Yes, sure, write a thank you email. Or an actual hand-written note. Or, blow the competition out of the water and get creative. I suggested to my driver, “What about making a thank you video? In the style of their channel?” He was floored! I hope he made that video and landed the job.



So, just had an interview at ShootProof? Make a thank you note in the form of a ShootProof Gallery. An interview at CNN.com? Redesign the article detail page — and embed the thank you note in the copy.

THREE: Validating UX to your Mom (and yourself)

illustration credit: Luke Prater, Rewired UX

Even though every modern human uses digital products basically every minute of the day, UX is still not a household name. If you don’t live in a tech-hub city where terms like “progressive disclosure” and “responsive design” are tossed around at dinner parties, you might be scaring the crap out of your friends and family.

Most aspiring UXers are transitioning from another field; this is a career shift, not a career debut. Both are scary in their own way, but career-shifting is often considered a risk, a self-indulgent caper, a do-over that means the first-career was a failure. And the family that supports a shift to electrical engineering or a going back for an MBA might not be as open to a transition into this newfangled “UX.”

I see a lot of fears and self-doubt around how to defend this career-change, fears that play off the fears of their loved ones. Many people have practical worries about finances, but the deeper worries seem to revolve more around:

Do I deserve such a fun career? No one around me has loved their job. What entitles me to pursue a creatively-fulfilling career?

Am I good enough for this? I don’t even know if I am creative or technical — I don’t know how to draw or code! Who the hell am I?

My advice:

Start slow.

You don’t need to drop everything immediately if kids, partners or a financial situation is holding you back. Start learning a little every day and practicing every day. Remember that firehose? A ton of that content is free. Start showing your family how interested you are in this path. And if the more you learn about UX, the more you love it, you can start gaining confidence that this is the route you need to go.

Side hustle to prove it to yourself (and others)

Learn Webflow inside and out and start building cheap websites for your friends, neighbors, friend’s grandparents, anyone who will let you.

If you can, do little UX-y odd jobs (prototyping, user interviews, secondary research) for friends who are already in the field.

Any money that comes in, use it to bankroll that course or bootcamp or Center Centre education that will level you up. Create a goal like, “let’s see if I can make $5,000 next year in odd jobs. If I can, then I will get serious about making the switch.” Prove it to yourself and others. (Check out the UX Hustle Podcast episode 16 with Matt Trinetti for more on how to prototype a big life move or also my Side Hustle Bootcamp course.)

FOUR: Dealing with Complexity!!!

illustration credit: Luke Prater, Rewired UX

UX Designers, from newbies to directors, are looking for ways to untangle design challenges that continue to grow more complicated as our global technology stack becomes more layered, more interconnected, and more pervasive.

My very first UX project back in 2009, as a “UX Analyst” at Accenture, was with Blue Cross Blue Shield. We were designing internal software for insurance professionals to build custom insurance packages. I thought that was complicated. But I can only imagine how much more complex this same project would be today.

There would be more legacy code, more regulations, more interconnected systems, higher expectations, and probably a larger, more siloed team. As our profession matures and as the work we produce takes on more responsibility, dealing with complexity comes with the territory.

Unfortunately, many UX bootcamps, courses, and even masters programs don’t teach information architecture. (Don’t quote me, but I’ve been told that General Assembly checked off the IA box by dedicating one day to “site maps.”)

Most ~14 week programs do a relatively good job (considering the insane timeframe) of teaching research methods, design thinking, ideation, sketching, prototyping, and interaction design best practices. But they don’t provide clear tools to construct strong bones for complex systems. In other words, they cover research and design, but they don’t really teach a methodology to deliberately convert research findings into design structure.

I often meet UX designers who don’t understand metadata or database basics. They don’t know how to find the core objects in a user’s problem domain and model the relationships between them. So my advice to you is simple: learn some information architecture. And specifically, I of course recommend Object-Oriented UX. My ORCA process (objects, relationships, calls-to-action, and attributes) is a repeatable, structured process for breaking down complexity. If you are feeling like you need to sharpen your ability to organize tons of information, requirements, and business logic…I’ve got you.

If you want to learn more about OOUX, check out the first couple episodes of the OOUX Podcast for an introduction, an audio workshop, and a deep dive into how OOUX connects to interaction design. And I hope to see you at a future OOUX Happy Hour!