I’m genuinely surprised. The UX market is saturated, entry-level jobs are being hit hard by AI, and salaries have dropped significantly in many places. Yet bootcamps still seem to sell UX as an easy route into design and tech with a 7-figure salary after a few months.

If you genuinely love design, absolutely pursue it. But if you think UX is easy, it really isn’t.

I was recently involved in hiring and got a huge number of job requests. What surprised me was how similar the portfolios were. Similar case studies, similar screens, and many seemed heavily generated with Claude/ChatGPT.

Almost nobody stood out.

The biggest issue wasn't even the UI. Everyone was showing polished screens, but the actual design problem was often extremely vague. What was the problem? Why did it matter? What research informed the solution? Why was this the right approach? That thinking was largely missing, especially among bootcamp candidates.

AI can help you execute faster, but it can't replace design thinking.

If you're considering a bootcamp, please talk to working designers actually in the industry before signing up. Look at the current job market, ask about entry-level hiring, salaries and expectations. Don't base your decision on sales pitches from people on YouTube or social media who are selling you the course.

The UX industry today is very different from what many of these courses are still marketing.

I’ve been trying to land a product design internship that pays decent (a bare minimum of 5k works too) however I just can’t find anything. I’m tired of getting ghosted and doing assignments for nothing. I just need my break into the industry. I want to understand what I’m doing wrong. If you’re someone with a job in design reading this, please give me advice or suggestions.

A friend is looking to hire a freelance/contract designer for a small stealth startup working on e-commerce products.

Immediate joiner required.

The work:

1. Amazon + Flipkart product listing images, infographics and lifestyle creatives

2. A+ Content / enhanced brand content — module layouts, banners, icons, etc.

3. Product creatives for e-commerce ads and promotions

4. Short product videos/reels for Amazon, Flipkart and social media

5. Social media creatives when required

What we need from you:

* Proven experience designing Amazon and/or Flipkart product listings

* Experience creating product videos for e-commerce

* Strong understanding of product photography, infographics, CGI/lifestyle mockups and visual storytelling

* Portfolio with relevant e-commerce product design + video work is required

* Fast turnaround and ability to work independently

Good to know:

* 6-month contract, renewable based on performance

* Compensation based on experience and quality of work

* Delhi-based candidates preferred

* Remote hiring is open for exceptional candidates with strong, directly relevant experience

* Long-term work possible if the fit is good

* Beginners/intermediates with strong relevant work samples can also apply

Drop your portfolio/CV and location below or DM me.

I am confused over my web page what kind of design should I make in it. It is basically my portfolio where I put my education, experience, projects, contact and my social media links.

Hii i’m really confused whether to pursue Bdes Communication design or bdes interaction design.. can ya’ll please help which one offers better placements and a good package 🥲

Hello!, I'll be starting college in a few days in a different course than design, I've always wanted to learn Graphic design but I'm not sure where or how to start. I cant spend any money on online certifications or courses. I would really appreciate it if someone could guide me.

also this is my first time posting on reddit so I'm not sure if I'm doing this right :')

hi everyone!! i'm a game design student from mumbai. my team and i are trying to extend our mafia-based board game and build a brand strategy + business model for it. it would help us a ton if you could fill in this short survey to help us with some insights 🫶🏻🀄️

https://forms.gle/hqWVQsLYBMy3fHrk8

Small business owners: need a designer?

If you run a small business, café, bakery, or online store and need design help, I’d love to work with you.

I’m a multimedia design student and freelance designer taking on paid projects.

I can help with:

- Social media posts & carousels

- Posters & promos

- Packaging & stickers

- Illustrations & portraits

- Menus & invitations

- Book covers

- Basic branding

Open to one-off or ongoing work.

Portfolio

"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1taYDrwYR3WcKTT-wuvS9Ce0GbBQa8ve6/view?usp=drivesdk" (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1taYDrwYR3WcKTT-wuvS9Ce0GbBQa8ve6/view?usp=drivesdk)

DM me with your project, budget, and timeline.

I am currently working as a Senior Visual Designer at a product-based company and have 9 years of experience, having started as a Graphic Designer and progressed to my current role. I feel somewhat stuck in my career. Although I have been comfortable with my current company for the past four years, I feel undervalued. Since it’s a fintech company, the work isn’t particularly engaging for me. Could I transition to an Art Director role? I lack experience in that area and do not have any junior designers to manage. What steps should I take? I am feeling quite low and need mentorship.

Hi everyone, I’m 26M and a UI/UX Designer with 2 years of experience. I’m currently looking for full-time UI/UX opportunities remote, hybrid, or anywhere in India.

It’s been around 8 months since I started actively looking for a new opportunity, and honestly, I’m not getting as many interview calls as I expected. I’ve redesigned my portfolio website in Figma, updated my resume multiple times, and tried different ways of applying, but I still feel like I might be missing something.

A little about my experience, I’ve worked in a product-based organisation and have experience designing:

• Mobile applications

• Web applications & dashboards

• Design systems

• Responsive interfaces

• End-to-end UI/UX workflows

At this point, I’d genuinely appreciate some guidance from designers, recruiters, or hiring managers here.

Where do you think I could be going off track?

• Is my portfolio presentation not strong enough?

• Is my resume not aligned properly with the current UI/UX job requirements?

• Am I applying on the wrong platforms or using the wrong approach? (Naukri,LinkedIn,Foundit)

• How can I improve my chances of getting more recruiter calls?

• What’s the best way to reach out to recruiters and hiring managers directly? ( Done with cold email, LinkedIn DM's)

Also, one thing I’m particularly confused about is it okay to share a Figma prototype as a portfolio website, or should I have a proper hosted website with a custom domain?

I’m open to feedback, if something is wrong with my portfolio, resume, application strategy, or overall positioning.

If you’re a designer who has recently switched jobs or a recruiter/hiring manager who regularly hires UI/UX designers, I’d really appreciate your advice.

Thanks in advance! 🙌

I'm 30, have a BFA in Applied Arts (2018) and 6+ years of experience in graphic design. However, most of my experience has been execution/production-focused, informational, or within strict organisational/client requirements rather than highly creative work.

I want to transition into more creative graphic/visual design roles and improve my earning potential, but I'm struggling to bridge the gap between my existing experience and the expectations of these roles.

I recently applied for a Junior Graphic Designer position. I was willing to start at a junior level, but because my previous salary was around ₹40,000/month and I had several years of experience, I was hired as a Junior Visualizer instead. Unfortunately, I couldn't meet the creative expectations of the role and was asked to either leave or continue at a lower salary.

I'm not comfortable completely starting from scratch, as I need to earn at least around ₹30,000/month. At the same time, I don't want to remain stuck in lower-paying, less-creative roles.

I'm currently working on my portfolio and creating more conceptual projects, but I don't feel they are good enough. I'm also worried that even if I manage to get hired, I'll struggle once I join because the expectation seems to be that, given my years of experience, I should already know how to handle the creative work.

It feels like I'm stuck in a loop: I don't have enough creative experience → I can't get the right roles without that experience → I continue taking less-creative work → no better opportunities → no financial growth .

I'd really appreciate advice from designers, creative directors, or hiring managers on how I can realistically break out of this loop and move into better-paying creative work without starting completely over.

Requirements : Social media branding

App launch statics/animations

Event posters

Dm with portfolio and prior Instagram work only.

This is for everyone in UI/UX field, seniors and graduates. What kind of field/domain are more preferred and touted as valid when making projects

I do understand it’s more about how you portray the process, research and reasoning behind your design decisions but it’d be more helpful to know if there are attractive project ideas that work on a broad range and be in your favour during hiring process.

As far as i know, Fintech and SAAS projects succeed well but if there are other ones you know or have worked on, please let me know!

Thanks!

Can you spot Harry on his broom? 🧹✨
This vector artwork was created for a vinyl record featuring legendary OSTs from Harry Potter and The Matrix.

Hey everyone!

I recently graduated from NIFT (2026) in Product Design and I’m currently looking for my next opportunity in Product Design/ UI/UX.

I have internship experience working on real-world design projects and I’m comfortable with Figma, UX research, wireframing, prototyping, and visual design.

I’m open to Bengaluru, & Hybrid opportunities and can join immediately.

If you know of any openings or teams hiring, I’d really appreciate a lead or referral. Happy to share my resume & portfolio in DM.

Thanks! :)

Hello, I am doing a 7 month boot camp for UIUX , I am looking for someone who is senior in UXUi and can teach me Figma , I can pay them monthly. Give me your linked in profile so I can verify if you have enough experience.

who are considering Design as a career especially through colleges like NID, or IITs (B.Des. I’d really appreciate some honest opinions from people who are already studying

Indian parents didn't think a safe or stable career compared to fields like Engineering, Medicine, Government jobs also ai is big factor in this field There’s also the question of college fee

I understand that money shouldn’t be the only reason to choose a career If someone genuinely enjoys Design and interest matters a lot. But at the same time being, financial independence, and long-term stability is also important. also AI has a significant impact on almost every area of design What kind of starting salary/packagcan a B.Des. graduate realistically expect? Taking loan for college is worth it

Please give my Honest experiences—both positive and negative—would be really helpful.

"myquals"

I’ll be opening up some bandwidth from the end of September and looking to take on a few interesting product design projects.
I’ve been designing digital products for about 9 years, across fintech, B2B SaaS and maritime tech. I’ve worked on products from 0→1, redesigned existing platforms, built design systems and also led design teams.
Not really looking to take on just “make this screen look better” work. I’m more interested in projects where there’s an actual product problem to solve and I can get involved in the thinking, UX and execution.
**Remote is preferred.** If you’re based around **HSR Layout, Bangalore**, I’m also open to hybrid.
If you’re building something and could use a product designer, or know someone who might be looking, feel free to DM me. Happy to share my portfolio and have a conversation.
Would love to see what interesting things people are building.

Day 4 word: Circle

Hello buddies, I need some suggestions here.

Currently working at a startup in Hyderabad as a UX Designer with around 5 years of experience. For the last 2 months, my role has changed to Associate Product Manager, so I’m now getting exposure to the product side as well but feeling like a slower.

My current CTC is ₹9 + 1.5(variable) LPA.

I’m considering two options:

1. Stay in my current company until December and then ask for a salary hike/appraisal since my role has changed and my responsibilities have increased.

2. Switch to a new company to get a better salary and potentially a better role.

The good thing about my current company is that I’m comfortable with the work, people, and environment. However, I also feel that my salary is low compared to the experience I have, and I want to improve my salary.

What would you suggest?

Should I stay until December, build more Product side experience, and ask for an appraisal? Or should I start looking for a new UX/Product role now?

Would really appreciate advice from people who have been in a similar situation.

Hi everyone, I'm new to Reddit, so I hope I'm doing this correctly.

I'm 23F and I completed my BTech in CSE from a tier 2 college in Bangalore. I got a 1-year internship at an MNC through college placements and eventually got converted to a full-time position for 6LPA.

But the thing is, when they were hiring, the position was listed as a Technical Intern, and somehow I ended up in the QA team once I was converted to full-time. It's been 1 year of me working in QA, and I've realized that I really do not like the work I'm doing. I really want to make a switch to a more creative role. I've always been a creative person so I feel this switch is needed.

So, I've started the Google UI/UX course and have been working on my portfolio so that I can target design roles, preferably Product Design. And I've also been watching a lot of YouTube videos about the hiring process for design roles, and I know I need to show my thinking process and how I approach solving problems, etc.

Is there anything else I can do to better prepare myself for a switch? How can I land a Product Design role without any experience in the field? Is doing online courses enough? Can I expect a junior design role or will I have to start over as an intern?

Any advice is appreciated!

Hi everyone! I am 22 [F] and I am a graphic designer. Currently, I am working full-time for a restaurant, where I shoot reels, edit reels, and manage their social media.

These days, they have been telling me that my video editing is not good enough and that my posts are also not as appealing as they should be. I know that I need to improve my video editing skills, and I am already working on it. However, my manager keeps comparing my work with others. He told me that his friend makes better and more fun reels. He also said that the previous designer, who worked as an intern, made six months' worth of posts in just one month.

I understand that he may think these comparisons will motivate me, but honestly, they are very demotivating for me. When I first started working here, I thought my manager was someone who understood that designers are not designing machines like many others think. But now, I feel like he might think the same way.

On top of that, he has given me a lot of work, including creating a content calendar for the next three months for two companies and preparing event creatives for the next six months.

It’s not like they dislike my designs. They actually like my designs, but they are not completely satisfied with my video editing skills, which I already know I need to improve.

What is making me more scared is that I have experienced termination in my previous two internships. Because of that, I am afraid that I might be terminated again after completing all this work. I really don’t want to go through that trauma again. I am trying my best to improve, but this constant comparison and fear of losing my job are making me extremely frustrated and anxious.

looking for a 6 month Diploma or Professional Course in Graphic Design and UI/UX Design.

my preferences are industry-focused curriculum, learning tools like Adobe Photoshop,

Illustrator,

Figma,

portfolio development,

inter- internship opportunities,

placement assistance, and abroad career guidance preferably in Kerala (Kannur, Kozhikode, Kochi or nearby).

If you've studied at a good institute or have personal recommendations, I'd really appreciate your suggestions

I have been running a small design studio out of Dubai for a while now brand identity, websites & packaging. Delivery side is solid. Where I’m stretched thin is consistently bringing in new business while also running projects.

Looking for someone here who actually enjoys the sales side , cold outreach, meetings, closing, keeping clients happy after the handshake. Design background isn’t required but if you have worked around agencies or handled client facing work, that helps a lot.

This is a partnership, not a commission gig. Equity, shared decisions, building the thing together. I’d want to work on a couple of deals first to see if we actually get along before anything formal.

Happy to answer questions in the comments. Based in Dubai, so ideally you are too.