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Understanding UX Roles and which one to Choose from

Kaleb Cardenas
May 18, 2021

Since the dawn of the industrial revolution, humans have been creating machines and products that are so complex that it is impractical for a single person to understand it entirety. This called for a solution that would condense the incredible complexity of any product, and that led to the creation of UX.

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The cognitive scientist of Apple, Don Norman, coined the term "User Experience (UX)" in the early nineties. Don emphasized a user's experience with a service or product consisting of graphics, interface industrial design, and physical interaction, which led to the birth of a whole new industry dedicated to making the lives of consumers a tad bit better every day.

UX is not a product or service; it is a discipline that demands aligning business goals, performing market research, incorporating innovative technologies and understanding psychology. Hong Kong, one of the largest innovation hubs in the world, happens to be the perfect space for people with a knack for UX Design!

UX design pivots around the interaction between human services and everyday services such as apps or websites. It helps in determining how a user feels interlinked to a product or service.

Read Also: Can You Transit into UX from Another Job?

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What Are the Different Career Paths in UX?

The UX field is venturing into further areas of specialization and is in a state of ripening. There are various job titles in the UX area like user researcher, user writer, information architect, designer, and UX strategist.

The UX sphere is developing and progressing, which brings individuals back to the career options and UX design jobs that everyone is tattling about.

UX designers carpet both the user experience design and the visual experience of product design. They direct user research, develop low-high fidelity prototypes, conduct user testing and look out from typography and color schemes to interactive properties in interface design.

The other jobs are;

  • UX researchers that pivot around collecting quantitative and qualitative data to create insights,
  • UX writers with omnific aspects create texts that user encounters when he or she is engaged in a service or product, and
  • Information architects who organize information on different web pages and create logical navigation, unlike compulsive cleaning.
    The roles of a UX designer include:
  • Conducting user research
  • Creating user profiles
  • Deciding the information architecture of a digital product
  • Designing user flows and wireframes
  • Creating prototypes
  • Conducting user testing

Day-to-Day Services Employing UX Designers

Worried that there isn't a vast range of career options? Don’t be because there are various career pathways available for UX Designers in HK as well as globally.

User Experience (UX) Design professionals play pivotal roles in:

  • Financial services organizations
  • Manufacturing companies
  • Educational institutions
  • Banks
  • Specialist software development companies
  • Consulting firms
  • Telecommunications companies
  • Public sector organizations
  • Social Innovation

The expected UX designer salary in Hong Kong ranges from HKD 277,615 (0-3 years’ experience) to HKD 532,283 (8-12 years’ experience).

One of the world's largest e-commerce corporations, Alibaba, with millions of international users and producers, has a large UX designers team that is congruously applying evidence-based solutions for business. This shows that there is a large scope in Hong Kong and other countries as big tech companies are dependent on the UX design process and UX designers.

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How Much Can You Earn Being in a UX Role?

Leading companies like Microsoft offer around salary range of USD 90,000-$150,000 to UX Designers.
Adobe, the very company that makes UX/UI design products and revolutionizes the digital world with Photoshop, offers salary range of USD 70,000 – USD 160,000 for UX Designers annually.

The UX designer salary offered by Alibaba is USD 32,000 – USD 61,000, which has one of the largest UX teams consisting of 70 members.


Read Also: How to Become a Successful UX Designer


What Skills Should UX Designers Possess?

To begin with, it’s important to think creatively and have an artistic eye for design.
In addition, it is also crucial to have strong problem-solving skills along with IT and programming skills. Successful UX Designers are also expected to have impeccable organizational, time, and project management skills, along with respect for deadlines and a thirst for self-development skills to keep up to date with fast-changing trends.

There are certain things you should have knowledge about UX Design such as skills, responsibilities, tools, and roles.

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What is the Cost of UX Design Course?

At Xccelerate, we offer full-time UX design course, perfect for those looking to switch their career into the UX design field. We also provide part-time UX design course which is more for those wanting to upskill themselves.

No matter what courses you choose, at Xccelerate, we believe you should get the best bang for the buck! So, we have different options for everybody.

Full-Time Full-Stack UX Design Immersive Course

This full-time user experience (UX) design course is for people with a singular focus in life – UX!
It is a 16-week long course and starts at HKD 29,000 if you are a remote learner, joining classes via live stream. In this course, students are introduced to everything UX – from basics to advanced concepts and will also get to work on a capstone project in addition to two live client projects!
For students who can attend the classes in person but also need the flexibility of remote learning, the Hybrid Flex plan is the way to go. This plan costs HKD 46,000. Students willing to spend HKD 49,000 will have the advantage of career-centric workshops, mentoring, and interview preparation in the Career Plus plan.
Career paths from this course include:

  • UI/UX Designer
  • UX Researcher
  • Service Designer
  • UX Consultant

Visit this link to know more about the course.

User Experience Design (Fundamentals) Course

This is a 6-week long part-time course that empowers you with all the fundamentals of UX design and sets you up for success.
Students enrolled in this course get to learn UX from scratch and build simple apps, perform UX research and practice UX best practices to be industry-ready!

The Remote learner plan costs HKD 9,750, while the Hybrid Flex plan costs HKD 12,500.

Career paths from this course include:

  • UX Designer
  • Product Manager
  • Front-End Developer

Visit this link to know more about the course.


Read Also: 2021 Career Guide: UX Design in Hong Kong


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Conclusion

The recent changes in the Index (Hang Seng Tech) enclose the industries of technology, e-commerce, digital business, internet, and fintech. The domestic and US-listed Chinese tech giants see great returns as they recuperate and ease from the pandemic. This shows that there are plenty of opportunities coming forth and students have a bright future ahead.

Related UX Design Course in Hong Kong


Need more advice?

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