How to become a user experience (UX) designer
You can get into this job through:
- a university course
- a college course
- an apprenticeship
- applying directly
University
You could do a higher national diploma, degree or postgraduate award in:
- product design
- digital marketing
- graphic design
- human computer interaction (HCI)
- digital media and web design
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 1 or 2 A levels, or equivalent, for a higher national diploma
- 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
- a degree in a relevant subject for postgraduate study
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College
You could do a college course, which may lead onto more advanced qualifications or a higher apprenticeship, or help you to get a trainee position with a company. Courses include:
- A level in Computing
- T Level in Digital Production, Design and Development
- Level 4 Certificate in Digital Media Design
Entry requirements
You may need:
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English, maths and computing
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths for a T level
- 1 or 2 A levels, a level 3 diploma or relevant experience for a level 4 or level 5 course
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Apprenticeship
You could start by doing a digital user experience (UX) professional degree apprenticeship.
You may also find a digital accessibility specialist higher apprenticeship useful for this job.
After completing your apprenticeship, you could find work with a digital design agency or user research company.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship
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Volunteering
You could get work experience by volunteering to help in research sessions, or by doing some user interviewing. You could also get involved in the online user experience community and find a mentor to help you.
Direct Application
You can apply directly to companies or go through an agency that specialises in providing digital design professionals to clients.
You'll need qualifications and lots of relevant experience to do this.
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Career tips
You'll find it useful to have:
- knowledge of development tools like HTML and CSS
- experience of using design software like Adobe Creative Suite
- experience of creating wireframes and prototypes by hand and with software
- an understanding of agile project development methods
It'll help if you have a portfolio to showcase examples of your work.
Further information
You can find out more about working as a user experience (UX) designer from