Do You Want to Work In Tech?

UX design is the simplest way to make the leap.

Credit: Pexels

I can already hear the mob of UX designers with their pixel perfect pitchforks and torches burning at a bright #FF4900 coming to tear me limb from limb.

After all, no one likes it when you claim their job is “simple.” It feels dismissive and condescending.

Regardless, UX design is simple.

(Notice I said “simple” and not “easy.” As you quickly learn, nothing in tech is easy).

At it’s core, UX design is simple — it’s all about designing products and services for people using research, data, and testing instead of personal preference or opinion.

Per usual, most of us agree on why UX design exists and how we do it — by using some flavor of design thinking — but things start getting complicated when it comes to the what. People start getting wrapped up in what research method is the most accurate or what design program is best.

I’ve been working as a UX designer in tech for over a decade now and I’ve noticed something across the board:

Designers like to overcomplicate and nitpick so others will take us seriously.

We’re not special — everyone in tech feels this way.

Every job or practice area has its own set of made up buzzwords and fancy frameworks in order to set it apart from everyone else.

Ironically enough, we are important. We don’t need to hide behind industry reports or “design rockstars” who no one knows outside of design.

All we have to do is show what happens when you don’t talk to customers or users:

An insane amount of time and money gets wasted.

In the worlds of tech and business, everyone speaks the language of time and money, regardless of your job title and those who save more of it will most likely have a job at the end of the day, though nothing is ever guaranteed.

So, if UX is supposedly the simplest path into tech, then what exactly is the first step?

Well, like everything in life, it depends. It depends on where you are right now.