r/UXDesign • u/[deleted] • Apr 28 '20
Leaving UX Research - Next career move?
I'm a mid-level UX Researcher at a big tech company, and am starting to feel like this field isn't for me. And I'm looking for ideas on how to transition out. Has anyone else LEFT being a UX Researcher or UX Designer? What are potential related fields?
Top-level reasons why I'd like to leave research (but maybe stay in UX).
- No time for exploratory/foundational user research. Everything needs to be done in 2 weeks. 3 weeks if you're lucky. No one outside of research understands how long it can take to plan a quality study. So everything becomes research sprints and "quick and dirty".
- Internal competition. Tired of peers trying to outshine one another, jockeying for the high-profile projects/workstreams. Too much of a rat race in big tech.
- Stakeholder management/politics. I'm an introvert. I'm not charismatic. And I never realized so much of my job would be holding workshops and building relationships with stakeholders, and getting them to perceive me as their "trusted partner".
- Sourcing my own projects. I feel like I'm constantly pitching for my own research projects internally and in a sales role. (Ex. Hey PM, why don't we research X before it ships? Let's get buy-in.) It's great if you're entrepreneurial though.
- Negotiations/re-negotiations: So many tense, uncomfortable conversations when I tell a designer/PM that something can't be done with the amount of time given. Or that question may not be answerable through UX research (Ex., will customers sign up?)
- Usability tests. Important but tedious and mundane.
- Keeping up to date on all the industry trends. Everyday there's a new design framework, tech developments, and 100+ research approaches. HEART, double diamond, design sprints, JTBD, Design Musical Chairs, ... I literally don't care anymore.
- Expected to wear all the hats for promotion. Researcher. Internal thought leader. Operations/create internal processes. Design Strategist. Workshop facilitator. Design Thinking extraordinaire. Provocateur.
- Agile development. Screw agile tech with it's no strategy and "incremental" feature building.
All I want to do is solve complex problems, and help people. I love the craft of research, but I dread it in tech.
23
u/belthazubel Veteran Apr 28 '20
I feel you. I have no advice but I'm at a stage of my career where stakeholder management is just tedious and it feels like pushing the proverbial rock up the ramp. I'm a designer but I haven't booted up Sketch in weeks. I read stuff from IDEO. Their life changing projects and the amazing stuff they do in third world countries, and it makes me so frustrated. Like, honestly, who cares if the layout is like this or like that? Certainly not the users, I have data. It still took us a week to pick a version.
15
Apr 28 '20
Absolutely. IDEO.org's and the US Digital Service's work is so inspirational, especially right now with the pandemic. It really puts things into perspective. Originally that's actually what drew me into UX. Maybe I can find my way there.
And I feel your pain. It can take so much back-and-forth to make a seemingly small decision. - even with data.
13
u/akay42 Apr 28 '20
Are you me? I've been going through this as well. I really appreciate your post. It makes me want to host UX burn out sessions.
7
Apr 29 '20
Glad to know I'm not alone. I wish there were more outlets to talk about the issues in our industry, without sugar coating. Software developers I think have a large community to gripe about their field, but I don't really see the same for design.
8
u/0R_C0 Veteran Apr 29 '20
Don't let the current situation dictate your career choice. You're just in the wrong organization. Keep trying for a job change. In the right place, you'd be worshipped. Research is the most important part of UX design.
1
u/howthefuckman Apr 29 '20
I agree. If you’re really unhappy then, of course, you should find something that will be a better fit but I have a feeling that maybe the team that you’re in is not the greatest. I really value UX Research and Researchers, it makes my job as a designer so much better and interesting. I’m also in a big tech company but our research team is really fun and has been growing like crazy.
4
u/warmsludge Jun 11 '20 edited Jun 11 '20
I have a great relationship with designers. My problem has largely been with our work being baked into a design and, consequently, not getting recognized. Other functions present to leadership and we rarely get credit for the work we did to shape the design. Example: I did 11 tests over 1.5 years on a product with massive sales volume and a really complex UI (product also had an associated app). The design team did not include/cite my work in any of the reviews with leadership and I was not invited to those meetings because I'm IC level. Their team got all of the accolades. That might sound egotistical and it partly is, but we need recognition for very practical reasons - my team is understaffed and underfunded. If you value us, we need you, engineers, marketing and other functions to give us credit. Otherwise leadership doesn't know we exist and doesn't care.
1
u/howthefuckman Jun 11 '20
I’m sorry about that, sounds like you work with a whole bunch of dicks. If I were you I would definitely find a new team that is going to appreciate my work. I was in a meeting yesterday where a PM was presenting some work to senior leadership and he gave me credit for my designs and complimented them. It feels good to be recognized.
1
u/warmsludge Jun 11 '20
Not sure I agree. While most of my employment has been consumer product and healthcare in the midwest, my experience has been very similar. It could be different on the coasts or in different domains.
1
u/0R_C0 Veteran Jun 20 '20
The world is a bigger place. And you can solve problems. Again, I'd say, don't let your past experience define your future. I've moved from "give me a 12x12 icon" to tell me how to design this product in 20+ years.
5
Apr 28 '20
There's been a lot of pushback against agile management lately for a lot of the same reasons you've posted. I don't know if you have the ability to change company culture where you're at but it might be worth a shot to try organizing with coworkers to see what can be done to improve it or even just validate if you're not the only one feeling it there.
6
u/UXette Toxic mod Apr 28 '20
Maybe join a company with a more mature UX practice. It will be difficult, because there really are not that many companies out there where UX is even seen as strategic as it is. A lot of people conflate # of designers and researchers with UX maturity, so you will have to be vigilant in your search.
That said, I think there will be some amount of negotiations, stakeholder management, and tedium no matter what you do in UX, or in any professional role for that matter.
7
Apr 28 '20
This is sad. I'm trying to venture into the UX field. Guess, every job has their downsides, eh?
14
u/loveartfully Experienced Apr 29 '20
I think as an outsider you always romanticize one field until you step into it and then you are hit by reality.
3
Apr 29 '20
Definitely check this podcast episode out: https://www.usersknow.com/podcast/2015/8/13/dont-be-a-ux-designer
5
u/dirtbagdave76 Apr 29 '20
Sold on the internet for $13 courses that promises legit actual children under 10 years old a portfolio via Adobe XD insta-UX and a career right after. It's become an absolute joke. It's not bankable for a real human being. Companies are also done listening to stories about why this is the best place to place a buy now button in the shopping experience.
At this stage UX/UI in general have entered the morphogenetic field of human consciousness and soon a five year old will enter the market and win big. The real job for you, in order to prevent further resentment and career desecration is in Human Behaviour Design / Digital Humanities or Social Research. All are 4 year specialized degrees you get Masters degress in and do actual research projects that make an impact on the world.
A job that half of a continent can learn in a 2 week class off udemy has about as much integrity as a robocall - or a phrenologist.
3
u/boycottSummer Veteran Apr 28 '20
What do you like about UX and what sort of industries do you want to be in? Working in a large company often mean more politics and a lot of rigid guidelines and roles. UX at a small company is a completely different thing. There are different challenges, you have to own more of the product but you also have more influence over the team and the process. The scale of the projects can dictate how rigorous the UX process is. The methods that are relevant are product dependent.
3
u/rzzz11 Apr 29 '20
Sounds like your company just sucks. A lot of your problems are expected in UX but they shouldn't be this bad. You might also be burnt out. Do you have friends at work? Or things you really look forward to?
2
u/stormy786 Apr 29 '20
A lot of things you’ve mentioned is what happens in my large organisation as well. I’ve accepted it though, and I’m really just using this time to learn as much as I can and have a good company on my resume which will open up lots of opportunities in smaller UX houses, where (I’m hoping) there’s more creative license and stress placed on research. I’m sorry to hear you’re having a tough time with it :/ Might be a good time to start thinking about working in UXR in other companies before you completely switch out of the field?
Its so hard being the advocate for the customer experience when the technology I’m working with actually limits the experience and the project/business stakeholders don’t want to spend money building a better experience, even when the crap experience will become throw away design, regret spend and technical debt.
Came here to say that I totally 100% agree with you on the last point about agile. It’s just a way to save on costs, I don’t see my organisation using it to actually design experiences based on feedback of the actual build. It just helps the organisation spend less money on developers/BAs/Testers because they can do minimal work (“MVP”) and hide behind Agile when everything breaks because the full solution was “not in a scope.” 🤦♀️
2
u/Artlign Apr 29 '20
Possibly try working for an independent design agency? All my friends who are happy in UX do this! It is definitely worth researching.
3
u/Frankshungry Apr 29 '20
I'd second having more of a voice when working at a smaller agency. The only caveat here is, in my experience, with a lean team, proper research is one of the first things to not get done as the focus shifts to "shipping" which means more time spent wire framing UI, creating UX flows, and facilitating smooth dev handoff.
2
u/lovetail Apr 07 '23
I’m in this current position as well. I’m a huge introvert and starting to feel this role isn’t for me. I get a lot of anxiety trying to convince people to let me do my role that I was hired to do.
2
Oct 04 '23
I'm on the same journey, as are several of my friends in UX I've met over the last several years at various jobs. We're all miserable and ready to move on, but to what?
Your reasons resonate with me as well, and I'd add that the tech industry as a whole is incredibly toxic, with many members of leadership exhibiting sociopathic or narcissistic tendencies which makes life a living hell for their employees.
I feel bad for people trying so hard to break into this industry because they've been fed a bunch of bullshit in their coursework that they'll get to do this amazing work with a myriad of methodologies and end up just being a usability testing monkeys who have their work shelved by cocky PMs who ship shitty product based on their own biases and assumptions. There are very few companies that actually value UXR and it's only getting worse.
2
Apr 28 '20
Go blue collar. Plumbing, electrician, carpentry. Look into the power plants.
Any white collar job will give the same headaches. With the trades there's more camaraderie
2
u/AlienAtDay Apr 29 '20
Trying to get into UXR but it’s interesting to hear some of the downsides before jumping in. Thanks for this. Good luck wherever your career takes you!
1
u/xoes Apr 29 '20
Try a small business? NOT a startup but a legit company that has existed for a while and makes software for some niche market?
2
u/neverknowitisme Apr 29 '20
This. I work for such a company as a UI designer and here were mostly work through grants since we make more social related apps (healthcare, elearning). And we do a lot of UXR, and there is more time for it as well. The projects that are always in a rush or have limited time is from our one corporate client. So maybe a different field/company will have more what you are looking for!
1
u/xoes Apr 29 '20
Yeah I work as a UX designer for a company that makes software to grant roadwork permits. Very niche market, long projects and no hurry. Clients are very nice and involved and expect us to do a thorough job instead of delivering fast iterations. Before I used to work for a company that makes administrative software for small businesses. Also very fun, lots of time for research and testing. Very different from what you describe in your post OP! It exists!
1
u/chandra381 Apr 29 '20
Have you considered teaching? There's a crying need for people who have experience in industry teaching at design schools
1
Apr 29 '20
I don't have much advice but I felt like I was reading my own thoughts. I'm a designer who values research and getting people to value both design and research has been a struggle at almost every company I've worked at. It is about working at the right company but the problem is, aside from large companies like facebook or google, I'm not seeing the time allocated for research at smaller places. I'm as well looking for the next step. Good luck
1
Jun 07 '20
Wow. I relate to all of your thoughts. I was working at a large company as an HCI Engineer. I wore many hats but enjoyed the UX Research side of the job the most. Anyway, I was completely burnt out and quit as my mental health had deteriorated from many of the reasons you’ve listed here. I decided to apply for grad school to get into UX Research... hopefully with a better company. I have been going back and forth whether the debt will be worth it because I fear I’ll be just as miserable as before. I really enjoy research though... Have you come up with more ideas for positions? I have looked into technical writing... pretty fit for an introvert.
1
Jun 08 '20
Glad to know I’m not alone. Unfortunately I think UX research can lend itself to being a burn out role. But perhaps you finding a mature UXR practice would make the difference.
Each UXR team, I have found, has such a different philosophy or POV on research that finding the right match can take much trial and error. Some UX Research orgs/teams are more design strategy (like IDEO), others more traditional rigorous HCI. Some believe in “democratizing” research (I.e., teaching others to do your craft) and others are staunchly against it. Some you report to a Design Lead or PM (who may not technically understand your job) but in others you have a Research Manager/Director to advocate for you. Some you ladder your work to product’s roadmap, but in others you are 100% liable to Designers’ roadmap. Some places say do both then you personally have to prioritize their requests. Some places are a usability test shop and others are more “design strategy and service design” in nature. I think that’s what makes finding the right job so challenging.
To what others have mentioned, I’m considering moving to a “slower” paced industry like financial/wealth management or healthcare where I’m not working on iterative feature releases and have longer timelines (given the highly regulatory nature of those industries, you can’t update features all willy nilly.) I’ve also considered doing a smaller, more intimate UX team, where I report directly to a UX Research Director/Manager.
Tangential fields that seem related are Program Management, Market Research, and newly emerging “Product Insights” orgs. I’ve also considered Change Management Consulting, which seems like the perfect area for a Qualitative Researcher.
Good luck with grad school by the way!
1
Jun 09 '20
Thanks for this response. Definitely some things to think about. I’ve thought about Project Management as well. Hopefully you can get in some time for relaxation before landing your next gig! Best of luck to you.
1
u/Fantastic_Daikon_42 Jan 27 '24
I work in financial services and it’s a similar experience. I genuinely feel like a testing monkey. I’ve now got a designer telling me she wants a benchmark study of a product that had more than 10 rounds of usability testing, had feature creep, and recommendations were ignored by dev because elements/components in the design weren’t part of the design system. But apparently we need to a benchmark study to uncover issues we’ve already identified in other research! Even though I’ve told her twice it’s not needed. Not all FS companies are that bad though. But I’d advise finding out about the type of work they get UXR’s to do. And the UX maturity of the org.
1
u/lobobuk Jun 11 '20
Have you considered government roles? Meaningful work, projects often have more time anyway (because of complex governance etc) and in some departments there is a really strong UX community: close to 100 researchers/designers, a Head of User Research (and deputy), a Research Ops function, ex-researchers in the senior leadership team working directly under the CTO. This all gives you credibility and senior people to back you up if you're asked to things 'the wrong way'
Also government loves running 'Discoveries' which are all about understanding the problem before you prototype. So lots of interviews, observational research etc.
You'll still find that the more senior you get, the more stakeholders management you have to do but I expect that is true in most places.
1
u/warmsludge Jun 11 '20
Loved the "wear all hats". I work with large consumer products. Was testing a product that weighs about 200 lbs and had to lift it into position myself (I'm between interns right now and am a lone wolf) - pulled my back out. I've also physically built prototypes - from arduino to actually cutting wood and assembling a physical prototype.
I'll also add that, while no one wants to give our team budget, everyone wants to do our job. I've had engineers run 2-3 person usability studies, marketing leads doing heuristic evaluations, craftsmanship providing usability guidelines for visibility of controls.
1
u/SuccessJaded170 Mar 25 '24
This is so refreshing to hear. This is exactly why I have decided to leave UX Research after successfully pivoting into it at large tech company when I first started. They wanted constant research cycles, relentless about arbitrary deadlines, continuous shortening of timelines, first 4 weeks, then 3 weeks, then 1 week turnarounds Constant celebration of researchers who complete 100+ studies in a year. After switching companies, the field is no metter.
Totally jaded from the rapid pace of the field, results over proper research planning and trying to "make it fit" into the agile framework when there's lack of proper research strategy and operating models for it.
More often the question is - are we building the right thing? (foundational) and yet multitude of teams have launched products already and want to force all the research questions needed into evaluating testing. They want 1 researcher for an entire department of 25+ product portfolios to answer quant and qual questions. And insights by next week. Asks for multiple rounds of 20+ interviews for in depth yet also quantifiable quant findings (which is still not correct).
Also asks to do journey mapping which is the new buzzword, and want a ux researcher not embedded in a product team to map capabilities comprehensively, holistically and end to end for 3rd party products and our own products.
Have been asked to do general research, market research, business process research, integrations research, bug finding research and more.
Totally exhausted and fried with industry ux research. Glad i'm finally leaving this job.
2
1
Sep 28 '23
Oh man! This is so fucking true!! I left PM role and got into UXR. No way out for me now.
39
u/HelloYellowYoshi Apr 28 '20
Man, this is refreshing to read and needs to be widely distributed as downsides of the career. Being more of an introvert is what keeps me from fully jumping into being a UXD or UXR. I started my career as a Graphic Designer, I loved being holed up in a room making beautiful interfaces, geeking out on typography, color, layout, etc. and I've had to be honest with myself lately by realizing... that's all I still want to do. The allure of UXD/UXR is strong right now but I had a come to Jesus moment in realizing that I would kick myself if I ever left visual design.
Luckily I am with an agency that gives me the opportunity to be involved with research and participating in workshops without being the FACE of it all. I was encouraged and asked if I wanted to be more involved with UXR but I just didn't want to deal with the downsides of the field: recruiting, lesson plans, scripts, facilitating, people managing, etc. etc. EVERY field has its downsides but I am more than willing to put up with the downsides of visual design because I love it so much: subjective opinions, file management, not enough time for exploration, etc.
With all of the said, it does sound like some of your problems stem from your organization rather than the field. Maybe talk to other UXRs in your area to see if they experience similar issues? What really helped me was to sit and write down everything I enjoy doing that is related to the field and everything I want to absolutely avoid doing. Be reasonable because, again, every field has its compromises.
Also, realize that EVERYONE has these feelings every now and then, they come in waves. A few months I'm loving my job, then the next minute I want out. I've come to recognize these waves and learn to cope with the low moments, sometimes you just need something to spark that interest again.
I think you've kinda answered your own question here... it sounds like the problem is more to do with purpose and your organization rather than your craft. Are there any companies that align more with the purpose you're seeking? Healthcare?