UX Designer Vs Front End Dev?

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  trustnoone on 06/07/2023 - 23:51

  +1

  They're both hard nuts to crack lol, then again most jobs are.

  I'm particularly curious about UX design because none of my companies I've worked at have ever even had a UX designer/team

  This is the problem I see a lot, most places don't have a UX designer/team or do without so they don't hire many and when they do its a highly experienced person. The alternative I've seen is they hire a UX designer but then use them for UI only because business has no idea what UX is. And just hires UX/UI.

  Depending on where you work, I usually see them asked to design things quite quickly, which can be difficult considering it requires creativity. UX/UI was also recently a buzz area across a few years back I think, where it became popular as industries tried to get customers to help give advice on design (led by UX). Unfortunately I'm seeing things turn away from UX/UI due to money being tight in companies right now.

  vs front end dev.
  prior HTML/CSS/JS experience
  seems like everyone wants someone with 2+ years experience

  You're basically right with this, from a dev stand point, most places are looking for that "Rockstar Developer" aka the person who develops the whole front end. Or the "Full stack web developer" ie the person who does everything. And they usually won't recruit a front end web dev without at least a front end framework (react for example) and examples/portfolio. Which means you still have Javascript learning and a front end to do.
  Unfortunately dev is also an area many people turn to once they're tired of their current job. Which means a lot of people whose done a 6 month online course and are applying for those entry roles, that the barrier is higher.
  I also see them on tight deadlines, they're required to code fast because time is money, and I see many working late at night to finish a feature off.

  (low salary ceiling, burnt out)

  Worth noting this in your new roles as well. Many people I know will do a change (for example accounting into development) only to get in their new job and find they're running into the same issues. For example being equally burnt out. Or ceiling in pay due to company structure. You don't want to be jumping right back into the same thing you didn't like.

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  geekcohen on 07/07/2023 - 08:00

  Can anyone shed some light on what it's like to be a UX designer or Front end dev in Australia? Or what the job market is like out there?

  Job market I think is strong, but it is coming down to experience and fitting into a business. However, the Salary varies massively when I was looking for a new role in the Development space.

  I'm looking to transition out of a long career in graphic design (low salary ceiling, burnt out)

  Sorry, but being UX Designer or Front End DEV depending on the role/business could result in burn out too. I am in the development space (Front End + Backend as well as technical) and have had a similar thing happen in a previous role, I have since moved into a new role which is a lot less stressful.

  Both career paths look like they pay much better than graphic design roles (at least according to Glassdoor, but I don't know how accurate that really is)

  Pay can vary depending on the role, business etc. And don't entirely trust Glassdoor.

  However, both jobs seem hard to break into. I went on Seek and it seems like everyone wants someone with 2+ years experience, not many junior roles at all.

  Whilst experience is a factor, so is fitting into the business. Previously hiring for a junior-ish role, we looked for people fitting into the business over experience.

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  activ8newbs on 07/07/2023 - 09:37

  I'm not in either industry so can't shed some light but good on you for revisiting your career situation and reaching out to learn more about your narrowed down options. Ozb is probably a good place to start (because of high proportion of IT guys using this website), second probably only to LinkedIn if you have a strong network.
  Good luck OP! Btw maybe consider freelance/volunteer (sell for less) to build a portfolio/working for yourself

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  apple2016 on 07/07/2023 - 10:35

  UX design vs front end dev

  Both are very different and require completely different core skill set.

  UX Design - This needs more creativity to come up with unique design etc. The tools you use does not matter!

  Front end Dev - this is more of implementing the design and needs more analytical / programming skill. you can learn this but might take some time to master.

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  hrayn3 on 07/07/2023 - 11:32

  I'm in the industry as a front end dev and have a lot of mates in UX. Both are awesome career paths which I highly recommend. Great pay generally, great benefits, interesting problems, great people. Will give a few thoughts. I think both roles will be more interesting than graphic design, and have much higher pay ceilings.

  Graphic design -> UX

  This is a more natural pathway, but don't underestimate the difference. Places that hire for UX will place emphasis on research ability, interview skills, interfacing with product needs and user needs, etc - design skills are often secondary. A good design isn't necessarily beautiful, just functional. The design skills you've learned in graphic design are a good background but different to the needs for UX. Graphic design experience alone can be looked down on by UX hirers - graphic design is to UX as photography is to interior design, to give an analogy.

  BUT - if you have the right mind for graphic design, you'll have the right mind and aptitudes to excel in UX, typically. To get in you can find a place to take a chance on you and skill you up, or you can build a portfolio, do an online course, or find opportunities in your job to practice these skills.

  Graphic design -> FE dev

  A dev talented in design is a rarity and this will be a big selling point for you. However, it's a big jump, and often require different minds. You might struggle with the type of thinking or not enjoy the type of work. It will also require a lot more work on your behalf to upskill - you might need to pay for a bootcamp and risk not getting a role, because there are lots of people doing the same thing. If this is where you want to go eventually, graphic design -> UX -> FE dev might be a better path, if the company you work for will help you shift across into dev.

  You might need to start in a chop-shop or agency, which will work you pretty hard for not great pay. After a year or two in a role like that (unless you get lucky with a great first role) a jump to a big Aus tech company like Seek, etc, will help you a lot with better pay, lifestyle, and learning opportunities. From there you could just sit through promotions, or jump to an American company or financial company, where you'll lose work/life benefits but will get paid even more.

  Let me know if you have any more questions, happy to elaborate

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    hahaitme on 07/07/2023 - 23:30

    Did any of your friends in UX start from a graphic design path?

    Graphic design experience alone can be looked down on by UX hirers - graphic design is to UX as photography is to interior design, to give an analogy.

    I totally understand your point about there being a pretty big difference in the roles despite them both being "design", which is why I'm concerned about how much of a disadvantage I'd be at doing online courses on top of a day job, vs students who are studying UX full-time for 2-3 years. Do you think having a graphic design experience on the resume would help at all when employers are looking at candidates, or would it be pretty easily disregarded?

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      hrayn3 on 08/07/2023 - 09:57

      Oh yeah absolutely your background is good - didn't mean to imply its worthless, just that it's half the job. Given people who have just taken bootcamps or done uni have no practical experience, they've got 0 percent of the job. A graphics background is common in UX. A short course on UX would go a long way for you though

      I know a few people who went from graphics into UX, it's definitely doable and won't even be particularly difficult if you focus on how you can practice those other skills in your current job (to talk about in an interview, and to see if you like that side of things) and understand what UX entails that graphics doesn't. Then find either an entry level role at a big company, an agency who will work you like a dog but give you heaps of relevant experience, or a more traditional company that isn't familiar with UX. Out of those options the first two will give you the best experience.

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  animasoIa on 07/07/2023 - 12:34

  Personally, for me UX is more of a product-aligned role, whereas FED is closer to / within engineering. Some jobs will have overlap of both, but in terms of roles, those are my distinctions.

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  AustriaBargain on 07/07/2023 - 12:50

  I think UX designer would be more fun and you'd learn more about design. But you'd learn more transferable skills over the years as front end dev. Hard to choose, but I'd always lean more towards design. More interesting to get into other design related things later than dev delated things, even if dev paid more I'd still prefer design.

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  yaburi on 07/07/2023 - 15:16

  I've worked as both and originally started as a graphics designer.

  UX would be a natural transition from graphics as you already have that eye for good design. A lot of the fundamentals are the same, just learn more about UX research, processes, design systems, usability and accessibility. Focus on creating usable designs versus something that looks nice (Dribbble is full of these "nice" designs that would suck to use). Another key skill is the ability to explain and rationalise your designs.

  As a dev, a lot of your time would be spent debugging, writing tests and refactoring code. Things take a long time to build. You will get bogged down on tiny details and it does get frustrating. Like others have mentioned, it does require a different style of thinking.

  I preferred working on higher-level problems, hence why I stuck with UX.

  In terms of roles though, I did get a lot more recruiter messages as a dev compared to UX.

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    hahaitme on 07/07/2023 - 23:18

    Did you find the learning curve for UX "easier" than becoming a software dev?

    Would it be right to assume that UX is easy to pick up on the technical side, and more of the learning is to do with researching, processes and people skills, whereas dev work is kind of the opposite, just heavy on the technical side, a million new terms and syntaxes to learn?

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      yaburi on 07/07/2023 - 23:57

      Yeah 100%. Design is design: a lot of the core concepts are the same across disciplines.
      For myself, doing dev work for an entire workday was just so much more tiring, whereas I could get into a flow state with design and the hours would fly by.

      For you, here are some considerations for dev:

      • How much HTML/CSS/JS experience do you have?
      • How about React?
      • How about calling APIs with your front-end code?
      • Can you use Git effectively?
      • Can you articulate the basic architecture of a digital (web) product?

      You could look at redesigning a website or tool you use a lot, then try coding that up.
      Add features along the way. See which part of that process you enjoyed and that may help you decide.

      Also would recommend videos from Mizko and DesignCourse

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        hahaitme on 08/07/2023 - 00:32

        For myself, doing dev work for an entire workday was just so much more tiring, whereas I could get into a flow state with design and the hours would fly by.

        Yeah I'm finding programming very tiring also. I actually really enjoy solving JS problems, as in I find it very satisfying and stay engaged. But when I'm not actively working on something and I'm reading through documentation or watching a video I start to struggle.

        My HTML/CSS usage is very basic. I've been tasked with building lots of one-page "microsites" for single products over the years but I always just used vanilla HTML and CSS because it was all I knew and it got the job done, any real websites were setup on WordPress.

        I never learned anything to do with frameworks or APIs. I've learned the beginner steps for using git from The Odin Project (finished Foundations, currently 80% through Intermediate HTML & CSS), which is basically just how to start a project on github, cloning.. add, push, commit.

        After typing that out I feel like I'm starting to gravitate toward UX.. I might sift through those channels and see if it's easier to wrap my head around.

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  cmilano8 on 10/07/2023 - 18:51

  I am a Product designer with front-end knowledge. My background is "Multimedia design" with various specialties - but I fell in love with Web design during uni when I had to design AND develop a website using HTML/CSS. I've been in the industry for about a decade. I started as a freelancer, then went into a couple of start-ups, before going into consultancy, and then in-house product building.

  I would say UX design is less creativity but more problem solving. I see Graphic designers transition better into UI design, however with UI design and often times with these product-lead design roles, knowing just the design principles is not enough. What will give you an edge is your ability to communicate and collaborate well with those of other principles i.e. Business Analysts, Product Owners, FE Dev (even Architects!). Which means knowledge in engineering/technology is a big plus. I actually prefer hiring designers with genuine technical know-how curiosity rather than purists - all I get from purists are whines that their work is not getting built right.

  As for breaking into the industry, yes it is tough, but no it is not unheard of. In fact I think I saw a job posting or two in the past month in UX for junior who are just starting out. I don't believe these are posted on any job listing, so reach out to recruiters (yes they are worth your time). Additionally, there are many enterprises or big companies out there that offer graduate programmes.

  Do I recommend doing UX design? It really depends on whether you like things pretty, or you like things functional and helpful to users. Both side of the work will require lots of research (for different reasons), and ability to utilise your research to produce a creative solution.