Career growth for UX designers in India

Career path of an UX designer

For Individuals looking to make a sure-fire successful career in UX design, there is no time like the present. The demand for UX professionals has been on an explosive scale across India and abroad. Adding to the good news is the fact that demand is more than the supply, meaning there are plenty of UX and product design jobs in companies out there that are looking for qualified candidates to fill them in. The salaries for these jobs have also dramatically peaked as companies have been competing to find those with the right skill set.

Career Progression

As a fresher stepping into the domain of UX design, you might find yourself surrounded by innumerable opportunities and a chance at trying your hand at each and every one of them. Your day to day job may vary from conceptualization to visual design. Often your career in UX design will progress towards either one of the two paths: Technical UX path or Managerial UX path.

The Technical UX path involves delving into areas of interaction design, end user profiling etc. You would be required to update your skills according to current trends. Within a few years roles like Lead UX designer, Subject matter expert will be right within your reach.

The Managerial UX path comes after mastering one’s craft. This path entails you to manage and mentor the design process. Roles like Design manager, design ops manager, VP of UX design all fall into this category. While The Technical UX path involves knowing and doing, The Managerial UX path is all about mentoring and pushing your team to explore and innovate.

It is important to note that in such a field, experience is not measured by number of years spent in the company but by quantifying your effort, skills and contributions.

Salaries one stands to earn

Since more and more companies have started gravitating towards web and mobile based services, the demand for user experience designers has never been higher. And riding the demand wave are companies that offer salary packages that are among some of the best in the industry. According to payscale.com for a fresher stepping into the field as a design trainee in Chennai can earn an average package of 4.3 LPA for the first three to four years of his career while in Bangalore the average package stands at 4.4 LPA for the first three years. Just like any other field with experience, the salary elevates, with UX professionals in Chennai earning an average base pay of 7 LPA and their Bangalore counterparts earning an average base pay of 9.3 LPA.

Roles and Responsibilities

In a product based company the kind of responsibilities that might befall a UX designer might vary greatly from project to project. Some of the roles include performing user research, creating visual storyboards of interaction, prototyping and testing, performing business and customer analytics and incorporating paradigms of human computer interaction.

Thus, the field of User Experience design enfolds several domains that one can successfully make a lucrative career out of, that promise both professional and personal growth.