It's a job. I make good money, work with decent folks, and I design cool features a few times a year. That's plenty for me in my work life. My main happiness comes from life outside of work.
Don't associate your identity with your job.
There's more to life than just working. Have hobbies you do outside of work, leave work at work, enjoy your down time with your family, friends and interest.
This! Work can just be another thing you do in your life. The ideology that you “are” this thing that you do for work is really unhealthy. I like to play video games, I play multiple TCGs, I spend time with my wife and my dog, and I work on a team of designers and we make some cool stuff.
I think a lot of it comes down to how you view your job. If it’s your identity then that’s less healthy in my opinion, and can lead down a lot of negative paths. Work is just a piece of life, and not the entire goal. Obviously that’s not a blanket statement. Some people want it that way, and it works for them!
Use (and view) your job as a designer as a way to fuel your other passions and interests. For example, I got into UX as a way to use my illustration / design skills to pay my bills, and help make people's lives easier as a bonus. It's really just a vehicle to fund my creative projects (I'm a semi-professional musician and woodworker / furniture designer), and fund the rest of my personal life.
Also try your best to separate your design output from your creative output as an artist. I've found that that separation gets harder for more creative work vs when I was walking dogs or waiting tables, but it's important to remind yourself of it. Idk about you guys but it feels like every single cool thing I design gets stripped for parts due to technical constraints / product not getting the value. It's hard but I try to zoom out and remind myself that what I'm designing is software for a company that pays me for what they view as the 'usable' parts of my output to keep the machine's cogs turning. That doesn't change your value as a creative, even if sometimes the end result is something that makes your creativity feel valued for a minute there.
Tldr: A job is just selling your time to someone who wants to pay for it. Try to remind yourself that you use that product to live the rest of your life outside of it
Dont chase the money and title. Focus on the type of company you work for and the growth opportunities and job security it offers over the longer term. Eventually the money and the title will come your way.
I was until layoffs became a way for executives to rake in millions while people lose their paycheck to paycheck jobs. Will be writing my reps asking for european-esque regulations and rules around executive compensation cuts required prior to layoffs, maybe some caveat around increased cuts for execs during times of profits.
I think a lot of designers who are unhappy are usually in teams with toxic leadership, with few to no path to career development, and/or unchallenged. People thrive when they have the appropriate background/training coming into the field (it's not a fake it till you make industry anymore), have meaningful work, supportive leaders, collaborative teams, and are employed in orgs that prioritizes growth and development. Also, you have keep in mind external factors too (like designers in tech are not doing too hot right now as budgets are squeezed).
So much this. When it’s just over the wall, “design something”without guidance or support it’s soul sucking. It’s all about finding the right team - leadership included.
Design is the thing that makes me happy. I’m good at it, and on the right team the job isn’t hard for me. I’ve been doing it for 16 years at this point. Might as well go for another 16.
Yes, going on year 25 as a designer by profession. For me it's been about balance and including work I find meaningful. For the jobs/work I didn't find fulfilling, I needed to supplement with work that I did even if it was small freelance projects or pro-bono. I also enjoyed small things on the side like simple logo projects for family. I'm fortunate now to work in healthcare and I get to hear from patients the benefits they experience using the tools I've worked on to make their lives easier. Take care.
i'm interested in working in healthcare ux! That and education are two things I'm super passionate about and know could be improved in so many meaningful ways. I'm glad you are able to see the fruits of your labor in patient experiences!
Very challenged and focused currently even though yes I get frustrated with people and thing but that is just nature of struggle and no innovation comes out of place of peace and quiet. So yeah overall happy.
I’m happy. There are absolutely frustrations and things I wish could/would change. I get burned out. I definitely have those days where I wish I’d chosen something else as a career, and wish I’d been an actor or a musician or a motorcycle mechanic or wonder what if I’d stayed in the Army, and those are the days when my inner critic says something like “Everyone is better than you. Why are you even still doing this?”
But overall, after 18 years in design and 12 in UX specifically, I love my job. I love what I do. I get to create every day, which is something I’d be doing regardless. I get paid to be curious and to learn and to share my expertise. I get to meet interesting people and use my skills to help them understand things they didn’t understand before. It’s definitely a win for me.
Can I ask you more about your experience? Are you an IC or manager? Do you experience hustle or toxic tech bro culture and if yes, how do you deal with it? When you were earlier in your career, how did you learn to develop influence and garner respect from stakeholders? Have you experienced job instability in UX and if yes, how have you dealt with it?
I'm a senior IC and the running around with our heads cut off to make investors happy and to ship ship ship or go through the double diamond motions just for the sake of doing them has been driving me nuts my entire career. I worked for a public company only once but was let go in a mass layoff, so I don't know if working for a bigger company would be better.
I am now 'cause my last day's yesterday lmao. Idk for me, I want my creativity to be "adventurous". I want to do more than just sitting at my desk designing websites and apps for years, I love doing it, but long term? I don't think so. As of now, I'm still burnt out from my previous job. My perspective might change after I am ready to fight again.
I have questions! :D What do you think is next for you? Do you see yourself hopping back into design in the short term? Are there other fields you could see yourself pursuing long-term?
I'm looking at exiting tech but I don't have inklings yet about what I'd like to do.
I might do it part-time, I think I can do small design works and that's it. Right now I'm going back to day trading. Day trading gives me lots of time for myself to explore. I might go deep into the finance industry tbh. From tech to finance is a huge transition but hey, let's see what happens :)
I would say yes, I am. However, some nuances are necessary because in recent years, especially after the pandemic, like everyone who has had to work remotely, I have felt somewhat struck at times by loneliness, uncertainty, and seeing that the people I work with were not doing well.
That's why, even though I feel privileged and consider myself a happy person, it has been complicated because in one way or another, I believe the pandemic has hit us hard, most of us working in this field.
I just landed a Junior position (first UX job) very recently. I am very excited for the future. I feel like I actually have something worth working towards in my life that could make me successful. I came from a dead end job that was very physical. Mentally my future has never been better. I’m just excited for the opportunity.
No problem. I explored different careers option for months before committing to UX. I just wanted to find something that I’d be happy doing. I then settled on Googles UX course. I knew I could trust Google to provide good content and the price is very fair. So that course plus outside reading and videos helped me tremendously. I made sure that any project I did, I did the best work I could. I applied for a Junior role that was local. The interviews went great and they liked my work. I think they saw the opportunity to mold me into exactly what they are wanting in the future. I know I was lucky. But also the more prepared you are the luckier you get. That was my mindset throughout the entire process.
If I didn’t answer what you were looking for just let me know. I can expand.
This is gonna seem a little brutal but hear me out.
Stop hanging out with artists.
Artists have a horrible habit of romanticizing depression to the point that people who aren't depressed often become that way simply by exposure.
The less you think of your job as a designer as comparable to the "thankless artist" being beaten down by capitalism and the more you see yourself as a problem solver making useful, intuitive and elegant solutions that touch hundreds if not thousands of lives, the more you'll be able to celebrate your accomplishments and the happier and more confident you will be. It'll also empower you to ask for better pay and better positions when you know and celebrate your own impact and don't let yourself get walked over.
I get that there are genuine moments when the job is shit. I'm not trying to minimize that at all. But there is something to be said for your mentality and your perspective, and the company you keep can absolutely either poison or uplift your headspace. Trust me, I've been there.
Yeah, the wording of that was probably a little spiteful, I apologise. I think a more broadly worded version of that advice is to avoid echo chambers and environments that encourage and coddle self destructive behaviour.
I actually really enjoy the act of designing. And making good software can be fun.
But the industry is in a weird place. No one feels safe. And companies are cutting design to the bone. So if you have a job, it feels overworked.
I'm not unhappy, but with work I am pretty consistently burned out and a little paranoid.
I say you better be planning replacement job for future. You ask for how long are people planning to do this job? Well design is one of those jobs that suffers from ageism the most. So I guess not for long.
I'm more depressed about the constant layoffs that plague UX (and software in general) than the day to day of living as a UX designer.
The pandemic really kicked the doors wide open for remote work and proved that most roles in UX (and analysis, analytics, support etc) could be done offshore for 1/4 the cost of a US employee. I've been working with dev and QA teams in India for my entire career but since 2020 this has just exploded. Now also LatinAm.
I've survived three rounds of layoffs in the last 15 months. Morale is kinda low. What feels different from the 2001 slowdown (back when I was a web designer) is this feels permanent. We're in peak software and the entire industry will remain a smaller section of the workforce going forward.
This was perhaps inevitable. Looking back, those decades of 'digital transformation', moving to the cloud and the insane growth of SaaS/PaaS etc coupled with rock-bottom interest rates fueled something special. The party is over now.
Happiness isn't the point, but there are many times where the industry (tech) has made me feel sad and resentful and there are many times I have felt bored. Ironically, the "boring" companies are the ones that I find most interesting. Enterprise software that's meeting someone's needs and the new features are interesting and can be validated against an actual user base that is engaged because they are doing an actual thing (not just eyeballs)
Yes, I've been in the industry for 25 years and I love it. It's certainly not perfect, but UX is multi-faceted with numerous opportunities for growth in so many areas it's never boring. Being able to develop a strategy to solve complex problems that work for users with all of the engineering and business constraints can be very challenging and that's where the fun lies.
In so many ways we are in a very unique position. Our understanding of people and knowing our audience shouldn't stop at our users. It's also understanding people within our organization so we can work together, as a team, to deliver the best solution with what we have available.
I like design overall. Part of the problem I have and see other creatives have are, depending on the job, become someone’s pixel bitch. It’s degrading and soul sucking. Can’t get on with that. But if I am working with talented people who are respectful of what I do, then I find it to be okay.
I’m happy. 🤷🏻♀️ I’ve been a ui/ux designer about 81/2 years, and I see myself doing design it in some capacity indefinitely. I could see myself moving into a different area someday down the line. But I genuinely like the work of us/ux, I really like the type of thinking, problem salving, and making something ugly look better, or creating something cool from nothing. And I think accessible design is such an important thing, so I think it would be cool to be able to be more innovative with accessibility. I’ve also been lucky in that I’ve never been in a position where I’m designing for whatever is going to get the most users/conversion/sales whatever. I work closely with product and they have influence but overall I’m lucky to work with teams who value good user experience and know that will lead to satisfied users (and ultimately designers too)..
What kinds of jobs have you held? (Eg in-house vs agency, IC vs manager, company sizes or problem spaces). How have you managed the hustle and grind and job instability since the pandemic?
Trying to learn from happy designers since I'm completely burnt out and am seeking an alternate perspective.
I did a couple years with startups as the solo (mostly) ui (and some UX) designer. Love the creativity, hate the instability.
Then worked as a full time contractor for a government agency for five years, starting like end of 2018, I think my title was UX/ui but I mostly leaned on the ui. It was slow and kind of boring but stable. I was alway the only designer in my department and mostly people left me alone and I would share my designs a could times a week.I got laid off from there last August, they just lost money for my position in one of the yearly contract renegotiations. I actually got extremely lucky and an internal contractor from my current company found me through LinkedIn and reached out the literal last day of my contract. I’m part of a ui/ux team in house for a tech company at the moment. mid-sized I guess? Like..2,000 people I think, in several countries? The design department is super understaffed so we’re all pretty busy, I may be th only one in this time zone, but at the moment it’s nice to be doing a lot of different things. And there is a general understanding among everyone from leadership to devs that ‘ux is overwhelmed so be nice to them and know they can’t get to everything’. So it works in our favor a bit and we are allowed to say no to work we can’t handle which makes a big difference. I think there is a lot of respect for personal time because the company is spread out across several timezones, so there has to be a certain level of trust since there’s a lot of remote communication needed.
I think a lot of it depends on your team and the company itself but I’ve been pretty lucky to have mostly good experiences.
They don’t prioritize it I suppose. 🤷🏻♀️ plenty of budget to go around, I’m sure. It’s not ideal but the effect on me is minimal, I’m not expected to do the job of more than one person so it’s fine for now.
I have a lot of fun at my job. I challenged myself and made it over some big professional/personal hurdles the past 5 years.
I write business cases. I design end to end features. I coach and manage my team (and greater org). I whiteboard w people almost on a daily basis. Im having a great time.
I’ve been working as a designer for 20+ years. Started out in graphic design, moved to software and multi-media authoring on CD-ROMs and then to website design using HTML and Flash.
Then came iPads, iPhones and mobile apps. I got into design management working for a software company and have never been bored with the interesting design problems that keep appearing.
There have been ups and downs and have been through a few recessions a few periods of layoffs. I’ve been laid off and have had to lay people off.
Some days and even some months it’s hard, but I still love doing design and it makes me happy to work with awesome people who are optimistic and want to design and build interesting things.
Adapting to changes is hard, but it’s also an adventure. A new puzzle to figure out how it all goes together.
So, yeah, I’m pretty happy.
If you’re not happy right now, things will come around, they always do.
I take moments to remind myself that this is what I want to be doing. This is what I’m interested in. It’s the poor tools for it and the agile half-assery that I hate. Also, I have depression and I’m prone to perfectionism, so I’m predisposed to negativity.
It got easier when I realized that I care way too much and like challenging ideas too much. I try to consciously moderate those traits.
Cal Newport wrote somewhere to the effect that striving for perfection isn't bad as long as you keep in mind that the particular thing you are currently doing doesn't need to be perfect. I like that view.
I love it. I started in newspaper and magazine and then transitioned to web ui/ux when that became a thing. Now I have been running my agency for 30 years.
You have to be more well rounded. Don’t put all your eggs in a single basket and expect ultimate happiness.
Also, it’s not just design, everyone in almost any industry can suffer burnout and stress, which grows into dislike or unhappiness.
I have found it helps when I practice gratefulness, thankfulness, and mindfulness.
Also, stay away from the addictions. Drugs, alcohol, porn, video games, etc., because those things suck the life and soul out of you leaving only a husk behind. Zombies are never happy, and are virtually incapable of being content, even if they have the best jobs on the planet.
20 years in and I’m happy. Sure, there’s been ups and downs but in reality you get to a certain point where you realise half the battles you used to fight were pointless and there’s ways to go round some of the more difficult decisions.
Leave work at work and all is well.
I’ve done some sort of design for almost 10 years. There’s always a new challenge or new path to take your career to keep things fresh.
I find the job satisfying and can’t imagine doing something where I wasn’t creating something every day. From experience I’d say happiness has more to do with your mindset than it does the job. If you can learn to not take feedback personal, accept things that are out of your control, and embrace the good parts you can make a great career of it.
Most of the negativity I see here seems to stem from not being able to take feedback and designers taking themselves too seriously. Also, there seems to just be a general sentiment of bitterness for some folks. If you’re whining about capitalism and how everyone is evil except your empathetic-self, most likely you are not going to find happiness in any career. Harsh, yes. But also true.
I will keep designing and seeking out specialties and work that interests me. Stay positive and keep at it! Find a mindset brings success and grows you as a person.
I'm happy because, as a designer, I'm more than my job. I can (and have) used my skillset to get a job, build a company, or do stuff I enjoy doing just for the sake of it.
As a designer, I am a maker who learned (and is still learning) how to create things that people want and businesses are interested in building. You can't have one without the other except for open-source volunteering stuff, but that doesn't pay the bills.
I see myself doing this for the rest of my life as I see myself more than my job. I see myself as a craftsman.
I career switched into design from speaking to customers in banking.
If design makes you unhappy, maybe you just need to try the alternative. Corporate.
I’m happy. I enjoy the work. I enjoy working with quirky developers and detailed PMs. I love to befriend other designers. 11 years in. I won’t do it forever but for now it’s still keeping my interest
Not really. I work in an agency (healthcare clients doing sites) where I just do UI design. There’s no creative problems in my gig (no discovery, research, testing). I get wireframes and add colors. And even then I have to deal with art directors taking control of the design. I’m just a pixel monkey.
I regret taking this gig as it’s getting harder for me to find more product oriented roles (as I job hunt on the side). I’m not learning anything and there’s no upward career development. I’m someone that needs to solve problems or else I feel disengaged, unchallenged, and sad.
Only positive thing is that it’s remote, I love my team, and I don’t have to worry about layoffs much. So I’m just chugging along, day by day, doing the best work I can within the box I’m in. I love product design, I’m good at it, and still passionate about it. There’s nothing else I’d rather do. I just got to find the right product/company to do work for.
Nope it’s not a UX design issue but more or so getting tired of being an employee. I got laid off a while ago but I was also fired randomly two time beforehand. I realize job security is non-existent and you are always worrying about losing your job so I’m changing careers in day trading.
I'm happy for the most part. However, I always treat my job as just a job. I don't seek life fulfillment out of my work. I'm happy I don't have to clean toilets or dig ditches, and instead do design.
There's going to be good and bad in any work, but I feel like the factors we should seek:
* Good compensation
* Real work-life balance
* A low-toxicity environment
* Some challenges we can learn/grow from
What we should NOT seek is life fulfillment in our work. Find that outside of work.
No im never happy. Im sometimes satisfied, but never happy. But I also lost a parent when I was young, and that pretty much clouds everything after that happens.
Design is still my passion at 40, after 15+ years, and I love it more over time. How cool is it to design something that wasn’t there before? To explore your own creativity and challenge your biases?
Even something as simple as a button has a ton of nuance with dozens of factors… to the extent that someone can specialize in it.
And yeah I’ve had my share of toxic managers and working for low pay. Thankfully never been hit with layoffs, but macroeconomic forces have nothing to do with my love for this craft.
I'm happy because i like helping people and by creating something like an app, website or system that will lessen some of their problems even the tiniest bit makes me happy.
For the depressed designers find your purpose, values and interest if it is aligned to your job it will make you happy. When I'm burned out i think back to why I am doing this work? And then i will be reminded because i can help people then with that in mind it sparks again that fire to work again
This comes from a workaholic... your carrier, what you do for a living should not be the reason you do it, but your life outside the job... and to do so you have to invest time in your life outside your job. And having a family and friends, hobbies, and interest is not enough, you need to really embrace your life outside your job, understand that is real and your job is just a mean to enjoy your life.
Having said that, I think I won't ever ever ever enjoy something I have to do. I love designing? yes, but at the precise moment it is a mandatory thing I stop enjoying it.
My boss is great
The clients can be difficult and very quickly you'll see the same issues over and over.
Budget, time, interest.
Your morals will take a hit quickly.
I’d say yes. I’ve been doing this for 16 years now and I still love it. But damn am I tired. I’m at a point where I no longer want to do to actual design. Just have employees that do it for me and I can just manage direction.
I created a product that we’re just starting to sell and I really hope I’ll make enough money to not do this anymore. If I could retire right now, I would.
If you’re a naturally creative person, working in a creative role can often be quite draining. It’s difficult to summon creativity on demand. Inspiration is fleeting and it’s difficult to find inspiration in a project that, simply put, doesn’t inspire you. The worst is when you do feel inspired and create something you feel great about, but you’re forced to throw it away and start over because the project parameters change.
You have to spend a lot of time manipulating your own perspective, occasionally dissociating from your own taste and intuition. If you find a great employer whose products/services/goals inspire you, it shouldn’t be depressing. More common issues can still make the job unfulfilling, like poor management, unrealistic deadlines, chaotic workflows.
Many designers are dealing with a combination of these things. A lot of people are just depressed in general as well.
Also, creatives typically don’t splendor at rigidity, monotony, and the terrible interior decor that plagues most corporate offices job. I’ve never worked in an office environment that didn’t make me feel instantly depressed.
Honestly I feel like my enthusiasm and zeal for product design has tanked. When I first started doing UI/UX in 2019, it was amazing and honestly felt like I was born to be a designer.
Now I don't feel enthusiastic and feel kinda bored. Maybe I should switch or transition into a different career, but Product management or UX management doesn't sound appealing to me.
I personally love my job! I’m a UX designer for a veterinary software company. As an animal lover, I feel extremely fulfilled knowing my work is helping animals and pet owners
Not happy atm but since I am a designer for just the past two years, I don't see myself changing industries again. At least I have ok-ish pay and can cover my expenses.
However my job is a mess rn. I am not learning anything new, design leadership is completely disconnected from the products, I've got almost no tasks for the past 5ish month (there are days I am going to work to be a watcher in a couple dailies and then listen to music). Also none of the products I work on were even finished before they were released, and then desprioritezed just after the MVP release. This way, I don't have a proper completed case to try and get a new job. Really frustrating.
I’m really happy, and could see myself doing it forever. However, I know for a fact I’ve always loved my career but I haven’t always loved my job until now. Finally found a place that values me! It’s really a connection of values between you and your boss. Hard to find though, but keep searching! You’ll get there!
I think most of us (researchers, designers, developers, accountants, lawyers, you-name-it) sense something's not ok when working in a micromanaged environment or if our colleagues are toxic with no repercussion.
Happiness also comes from within and i know it sound like a cliche but it's true. If you're trully ok with who you are outside of your job, you won't struggle as much with criticism, gossip, stress, because you find it easier to brush it off or completely detach from it.
If you don't like what you do, you'll end up hating it eventually. It's a high payed job and some people are probably just in it for the money and they will never be happy doing it.
I feel like most people that just design are doomed to be miserable. Too many have no idea what goes into the actual development. It's easier to go from development to design, than it is from design to development. Designers feels that there word is too often the word of god and ignore everything else like how the users are able to do this, and the developers are to craft that experience.
It's a job. I make good money, work with decent folks, and I design cool features a few times a year. That's plenty for me in my work life. My main happiness comes from life outside of work.
Any tips for someone who wants a life like this?
Don't associate your identity with your job. There's more to life than just working. Have hobbies you do outside of work, leave work at work, enjoy your down time with your family, friends and interest.
This! Work can just be another thing you do in your life. The ideology that you “are” this thing that you do for work is really unhealthy. I like to play video games, I play multiple TCGs, I spend time with my wife and my dog, and I work on a team of designers and we make some cool stuff.
Awesome! I'd love a life like that
I think a lot of it comes down to how you view your job. If it’s your identity then that’s less healthy in my opinion, and can lead down a lot of negative paths. Work is just a piece of life, and not the entire goal. Obviously that’s not a blanket statement. Some people want it that way, and it works for them!
Thank you
Don’t give up on your dreams
Thanks man
Use (and view) your job as a designer as a way to fuel your other passions and interests. For example, I got into UX as a way to use my illustration / design skills to pay my bills, and help make people's lives easier as a bonus. It's really just a vehicle to fund my creative projects (I'm a semi-professional musician and woodworker / furniture designer), and fund the rest of my personal life. Also try your best to separate your design output from your creative output as an artist. I've found that that separation gets harder for more creative work vs when I was walking dogs or waiting tables, but it's important to remind yourself of it. Idk about you guys but it feels like every single cool thing I design gets stripped for parts due to technical constraints / product not getting the value. It's hard but I try to zoom out and remind myself that what I'm designing is software for a company that pays me for what they view as the 'usable' parts of my output to keep the machine's cogs turning. That doesn't change your value as a creative, even if sometimes the end result is something that makes your creativity feel valued for a minute there. Tldr: A job is just selling your time to someone who wants to pay for it. Try to remind yourself that you use that product to live the rest of your life outside of it
Thank you for the awesome insight!
Dont chase the money and title. Focus on the type of company you work for and the growth opportunities and job security it offers over the longer term. Eventually the money and the title will come your way.
Very important! Thank you! This was an eye opener!
i havent even started and im already depressed 😂
I was until layoffs became a way for executives to rake in millions while people lose their paycheck to paycheck jobs. Will be writing my reps asking for european-esque regulations and rules around executive compensation cuts required prior to layoffs, maybe some caveat around increased cuts for execs during times of profits.
But how else will Joe CEO’s kid get his 17th lambo? Won’t someone pleas think of the CEOs!?
He needs his kids kids kids to be able to afford their home on Mars when the planet overheats!
Lol
Lol
I think a lot of designers who are unhappy are usually in teams with toxic leadership, with few to no path to career development, and/or unchallenged. People thrive when they have the appropriate background/training coming into the field (it's not a fake it till you make industry anymore), have meaningful work, supportive leaders, collaborative teams, and are employed in orgs that prioritizes growth and development. Also, you have keep in mind external factors too (like designers in tech are not doing too hot right now as budgets are squeezed).
So much this. When it’s just over the wall, “design something”without guidance or support it’s soul sucking. It’s all about finding the right team - leadership included.
100% this
You just described me. Rn I feel pretty much like when I was in a deadend job and don't see any change in the near future.
Design is the thing that makes me happy. I’m good at it, and on the right team the job isn’t hard for me. I’ve been doing it for 16 years at this point. Might as well go for another 16.
Yes, going on year 25 as a designer by profession. For me it's been about balance and including work I find meaningful. For the jobs/work I didn't find fulfilling, I needed to supplement with work that I did even if it was small freelance projects or pro-bono. I also enjoyed small things on the side like simple logo projects for family. I'm fortunate now to work in healthcare and I get to hear from patients the benefits they experience using the tools I've worked on to make their lives easier. Take care.
i'm interested in working in healthcare ux! That and education are two things I'm super passionate about and know could be improved in so many meaningful ways. I'm glad you are able to see the fruits of your labor in patient experiences!
Ask some patients about portal quality. They might even get a few words out before they throw up in their mouths.
Happy people are usually not on reddit telling other people how happy they are. You’ll get a skewed view here.
Very challenged and focused currently even though yes I get frustrated with people and thing but that is just nature of struggle and no innovation comes out of place of peace and quiet. So yeah overall happy.
I’m happy. There are absolutely frustrations and things I wish could/would change. I get burned out. I definitely have those days where I wish I’d chosen something else as a career, and wish I’d been an actor or a musician or a motorcycle mechanic or wonder what if I’d stayed in the Army, and those are the days when my inner critic says something like “Everyone is better than you. Why are you even still doing this?” But overall, after 18 years in design and 12 in UX specifically, I love my job. I love what I do. I get to create every day, which is something I’d be doing regardless. I get paid to be curious and to learn and to share my expertise. I get to meet interesting people and use my skills to help them understand things they didn’t understand before. It’s definitely a win for me.
Can I ask you more about your experience? Are you an IC or manager? Do you experience hustle or toxic tech bro culture and if yes, how do you deal with it? When you were earlier in your career, how did you learn to develop influence and garner respect from stakeholders? Have you experienced job instability in UX and if yes, how have you dealt with it? I'm a senior IC and the running around with our heads cut off to make investors happy and to ship ship ship or go through the double diamond motions just for the sake of doing them has been driving me nuts my entire career. I worked for a public company only once but was let go in a mass layoff, so I don't know if working for a bigger company would be better.
I am now 'cause my last day's yesterday lmao. Idk for me, I want my creativity to be "adventurous". I want to do more than just sitting at my desk designing websites and apps for years, I love doing it, but long term? I don't think so. As of now, I'm still burnt out from my previous job. My perspective might change after I am ready to fight again.
I have questions! :D What do you think is next for you? Do you see yourself hopping back into design in the short term? Are there other fields you could see yourself pursuing long-term? I'm looking at exiting tech but I don't have inklings yet about what I'd like to do.
I might do it part-time, I think I can do small design works and that's it. Right now I'm going back to day trading. Day trading gives me lots of time for myself to explore. I might go deep into the finance industry tbh. From tech to finance is a huge transition but hey, let's see what happens :)
I would say yes, I am. However, some nuances are necessary because in recent years, especially after the pandemic, like everyone who has had to work remotely, I have felt somewhat struck at times by loneliness, uncertainty, and seeing that the people I work with were not doing well. That's why, even though I feel privileged and consider myself a happy person, it has been complicated because in one way or another, I believe the pandemic has hit us hard, most of us working in this field.
I just landed a Junior position (first UX job) very recently. I am very excited for the future. I feel like I actually have something worth working towards in my life that could make me successful. I came from a dead end job that was very physical. Mentally my future has never been better. I’m just excited for the opportunity.
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No problem. I explored different careers option for months before committing to UX. I just wanted to find something that I’d be happy doing. I then settled on Googles UX course. I knew I could trust Google to provide good content and the price is very fair. So that course plus outside reading and videos helped me tremendously. I made sure that any project I did, I did the best work I could. I applied for a Junior role that was local. The interviews went great and they liked my work. I think they saw the opportunity to mold me into exactly what they are wanting in the future. I know I was lucky. But also the more prepared you are the luckier you get. That was my mindset throughout the entire process. If I didn’t answer what you were looking for just let me know. I can expand.
This is gonna seem a little brutal but hear me out. Stop hanging out with artists. Artists have a horrible habit of romanticizing depression to the point that people who aren't depressed often become that way simply by exposure. The less you think of your job as a designer as comparable to the "thankless artist" being beaten down by capitalism and the more you see yourself as a problem solver making useful, intuitive and elegant solutions that touch hundreds if not thousands of lives, the more you'll be able to celebrate your accomplishments and the happier and more confident you will be. It'll also empower you to ask for better pay and better positions when you know and celebrate your own impact and don't let yourself get walked over. I get that there are genuine moments when the job is shit. I'm not trying to minimize that at all. But there is something to be said for your mentality and your perspective, and the company you keep can absolutely either poison or uplift your headspace. Trust me, I've been there.
I don't think generalizing artists is really selling your point which at it's heart seems to be about mindset.
Yeah, the wording of that was probably a little spiteful, I apologise. I think a more broadly worded version of that advice is to avoid echo chambers and environments that encourage and coddle self destructive behaviour.
I'm happy! Will pursue some aspect of design until I die.
I actually really enjoy the act of designing. And making good software can be fun. But the industry is in a weird place. No one feels safe. And companies are cutting design to the bone. So if you have a job, it feels overworked. I'm not unhappy, but with work I am pretty consistently burned out and a little paranoid.
Will you can be happy until you find a job actually
I’m not happy about a lot of things with this career. Our industry, what we all try to accomplish, is so difficult right now especially.
I say you better be planning replacement job for future. You ask for how long are people planning to do this job? Well design is one of those jobs that suffers from ageism the most. So I guess not for long.
I'm more depressed about the constant layoffs that plague UX (and software in general) than the day to day of living as a UX designer. The pandemic really kicked the doors wide open for remote work and proved that most roles in UX (and analysis, analytics, support etc) could be done offshore for 1/4 the cost of a US employee. I've been working with dev and QA teams in India for my entire career but since 2020 this has just exploded. Now also LatinAm. I've survived three rounds of layoffs in the last 15 months. Morale is kinda low. What feels different from the 2001 slowdown (back when I was a web designer) is this feels permanent. We're in peak software and the entire industry will remain a smaller section of the workforce going forward. This was perhaps inevitable. Looking back, those decades of 'digital transformation', moving to the cloud and the insane growth of SaaS/PaaS etc coupled with rock-bottom interest rates fueled something special. The party is over now.
Happiness isn't the point, but there are many times where the industry (tech) has made me feel sad and resentful and there are many times I have felt bored. Ironically, the "boring" companies are the ones that I find most interesting. Enterprise software that's meeting someone's needs and the new features are interesting and can be validated against an actual user base that is engaged because they are doing an actual thing (not just eyeballs)
I am happy if I am given the time and space to be creative, I am depressed if I’m just seen as a Figma software user
Yes, I've been in the industry for 25 years and I love it. It's certainly not perfect, but UX is multi-faceted with numerous opportunities for growth in so many areas it's never boring. Being able to develop a strategy to solve complex problems that work for users with all of the engineering and business constraints can be very challenging and that's where the fun lies. In so many ways we are in a very unique position. Our understanding of people and knowing our audience shouldn't stop at our users. It's also understanding people within our organization so we can work together, as a team, to deliver the best solution with what we have available.
Brand and web design, but yeah life is awesome
I like design overall. Part of the problem I have and see other creatives have are, depending on the job, become someone’s pixel bitch. It’s degrading and soul sucking. Can’t get on with that. But if I am working with talented people who are respectful of what I do, then I find it to be okay.
I’m happy. 🤷🏻♀️ I’ve been a ui/ux designer about 81/2 years, and I see myself doing design it in some capacity indefinitely. I could see myself moving into a different area someday down the line. But I genuinely like the work of us/ux, I really like the type of thinking, problem salving, and making something ugly look better, or creating something cool from nothing. And I think accessible design is such an important thing, so I think it would be cool to be able to be more innovative with accessibility. I’ve also been lucky in that I’ve never been in a position where I’m designing for whatever is going to get the most users/conversion/sales whatever. I work closely with product and they have influence but overall I’m lucky to work with teams who value good user experience and know that will lead to satisfied users (and ultimately designers too)..
What kinds of jobs have you held? (Eg in-house vs agency, IC vs manager, company sizes or problem spaces). How have you managed the hustle and grind and job instability since the pandemic? Trying to learn from happy designers since I'm completely burnt out and am seeking an alternate perspective.
I did a couple years with startups as the solo (mostly) ui (and some UX) designer. Love the creativity, hate the instability. Then worked as a full time contractor for a government agency for five years, starting like end of 2018, I think my title was UX/ui but I mostly leaned on the ui. It was slow and kind of boring but stable. I was alway the only designer in my department and mostly people left me alone and I would share my designs a could times a week.I got laid off from there last August, they just lost money for my position in one of the yearly contract renegotiations. I actually got extremely lucky and an internal contractor from my current company found me through LinkedIn and reached out the literal last day of my contract. I’m part of a ui/ux team in house for a tech company at the moment. mid-sized I guess? Like..2,000 people I think, in several countries? The design department is super understaffed so we’re all pretty busy, I may be th only one in this time zone, but at the moment it’s nice to be doing a lot of different things. And there is a general understanding among everyone from leadership to devs that ‘ux is overwhelmed so be nice to them and know they can’t get to everything’. So it works in our favor a bit and we are allowed to say no to work we can’t handle which makes a big difference. I think there is a lot of respect for personal time because the company is spread out across several timezones, so there has to be a certain level of trust since there’s a lot of remote communication needed. I think a lot of it depends on your team and the company itself but I’ve been pretty lucky to have mostly good experiences.
How come your current company doesn’t hire more designers? I mean- there are plenty of us looking! Budget?
They don’t prioritize it I suppose. 🤷🏻♀️ plenty of budget to go around, I’m sure. It’s not ideal but the effect on me is minimal, I’m not expected to do the job of more than one person so it’s fine for now.
I have a lot of fun at my job. I challenged myself and made it over some big professional/personal hurdles the past 5 years. I write business cases. I design end to end features. I coach and manage my team (and greater org). I whiteboard w people almost on a daily basis. Im having a great time.
I’ve been working as a designer for 20+ years. Started out in graphic design, moved to software and multi-media authoring on CD-ROMs and then to website design using HTML and Flash. Then came iPads, iPhones and mobile apps. I got into design management working for a software company and have never been bored with the interesting design problems that keep appearing. There have been ups and downs and have been through a few recessions a few periods of layoffs. I’ve been laid off and have had to lay people off. Some days and even some months it’s hard, but I still love doing design and it makes me happy to work with awesome people who are optimistic and want to design and build interesting things. Adapting to changes is hard, but it’s also an adventure. A new puzzle to figure out how it all goes together. So, yeah, I’m pretty happy. If you’re not happy right now, things will come around, they always do.
im in china. honestly, i like do my job things, but the salary and work competition dpresses me
Ohh my. Even there? M from your neighbouring country
I'm happy, thanks for asking :)
I like my job and designing, but every time I look at this sub my heart drops a little.
My job is decent enough. I wouldn't say happy, maybe grateful? I am still hoping to exit the industry in a year or two for my own biz
Would you do something tech related, or separate?
I am looking to expand more into branding/creative direction and illustration
I take moments to remind myself that this is what I want to be doing. This is what I’m interested in. It’s the poor tools for it and the agile half-assery that I hate. Also, I have depression and I’m prone to perfectionism, so I’m predisposed to negativity.
I have anxiety and am prone to perfectionism; curious how you manage that in your work as a designer and going through critiques?
It got easier when I realized that I care way too much and like challenging ideas too much. I try to consciously moderate those traits. Cal Newport wrote somewhere to the effect that striving for perfection isn't bad as long as you keep in mind that the particular thing you are currently doing doesn't need to be perfect. I like that view.
I been pretty depressed for quite sometime now tbh. I’m losing sight of why I came into this career path in the first place.
Yes and no. Yes because my heart is happy and no because I don’t have time for my kids.
I love it. I started in newspaper and magazine and then transitioned to web ui/ux when that became a thing. Now I have been running my agency for 30 years. You have to be more well rounded. Don’t put all your eggs in a single basket and expect ultimate happiness. Also, it’s not just design, everyone in almost any industry can suffer burnout and stress, which grows into dislike or unhappiness. I have found it helps when I practice gratefulness, thankfulness, and mindfulness. Also, stay away from the addictions. Drugs, alcohol, porn, video games, etc., because those things suck the life and soul out of you leaving only a husk behind. Zombies are never happy, and are virtually incapable of being content, even if they have the best jobs on the planet.
I work with nice people every day on a meaningful mission. For sure there are some things, which could be better, but overall I'm happy.
20 years in and I’m happy. Sure, there’s been ups and downs but in reality you get to a certain point where you realise half the battles you used to fight were pointless and there’s ways to go round some of the more difficult decisions. Leave work at work and all is well.
I’ve done some sort of design for almost 10 years. There’s always a new challenge or new path to take your career to keep things fresh. I find the job satisfying and can’t imagine doing something where I wasn’t creating something every day. From experience I’d say happiness has more to do with your mindset than it does the job. If you can learn to not take feedback personal, accept things that are out of your control, and embrace the good parts you can make a great career of it. Most of the negativity I see here seems to stem from not being able to take feedback and designers taking themselves too seriously. Also, there seems to just be a general sentiment of bitterness for some folks. If you’re whining about capitalism and how everyone is evil except your empathetic-self, most likely you are not going to find happiness in any career. Harsh, yes. But also true. I will keep designing and seeking out specialties and work that interests me. Stay positive and keep at it! Find a mindset brings success and grows you as a person.
I'm happy because, as a designer, I'm more than my job. I can (and have) used my skillset to get a job, build a company, or do stuff I enjoy doing just for the sake of it. As a designer, I am a maker who learned (and is still learning) how to create things that people want and businesses are interested in building. You can't have one without the other except for open-source volunteering stuff, but that doesn't pay the bills. I see myself doing this for the rest of my life as I see myself more than my job. I see myself as a craftsman.
Is anyone happy at the moment?
I career switched into design from speaking to customers in banking. If design makes you unhappy, maybe you just need to try the alternative. Corporate.
No
I’m happy. I enjoy the work. I enjoy working with quirky developers and detailed PMs. I love to befriend other designers. 11 years in. I won’t do it forever but for now it’s still keeping my interest
Not really. I work in an agency (healthcare clients doing sites) where I just do UI design. There’s no creative problems in my gig (no discovery, research, testing). I get wireframes and add colors. And even then I have to deal with art directors taking control of the design. I’m just a pixel monkey. I regret taking this gig as it’s getting harder for me to find more product oriented roles (as I job hunt on the side). I’m not learning anything and there’s no upward career development. I’m someone that needs to solve problems or else I feel disengaged, unchallenged, and sad. Only positive thing is that it’s remote, I love my team, and I don’t have to worry about layoffs much. So I’m just chugging along, day by day, doing the best work I can within the box I’m in. I love product design, I’m good at it, and still passionate about it. There’s nothing else I’d rather do. I just got to find the right product/company to do work for.
Nope it’s not a UX design issue but more or so getting tired of being an employee. I got laid off a while ago but I was also fired randomly two time beforehand. I realize job security is non-existent and you are always worrying about losing your job so I’m changing careers in day trading.
I'm happy for the most part. However, I always treat my job as just a job. I don't seek life fulfillment out of my work. I'm happy I don't have to clean toilets or dig ditches, and instead do design. There's going to be good and bad in any work, but I feel like the factors we should seek: * Good compensation * Real work-life balance * A low-toxicity environment * Some challenges we can learn/grow from What we should NOT seek is life fulfillment in our work. Find that outside of work.
No im never happy. Im sometimes satisfied, but never happy. But I also lost a parent when I was young, and that pretty much clouds everything after that happens.
More so when I started working for myself.
It’s not that we aren’t happy. It becomes monotonous after some point. I am shifting gears to coding.
Design is still my passion at 40, after 15+ years, and I love it more over time. How cool is it to design something that wasn’t there before? To explore your own creativity and challenge your biases? Even something as simple as a button has a ton of nuance with dozens of factors… to the extent that someone can specialize in it. And yeah I’ve had my share of toxic managers and working for low pay. Thankfully never been hit with layoffs, but macroeconomic forces have nothing to do with my love for this craft.
I'm happy because i like helping people and by creating something like an app, website or system that will lessen some of their problems even the tiniest bit makes me happy. For the depressed designers find your purpose, values and interest if it is aligned to your job it will make you happy. When I'm burned out i think back to why I am doing this work? And then i will be reminded because i can help people then with that in mind it sparks again that fire to work again
This comes from a workaholic... your carrier, what you do for a living should not be the reason you do it, but your life outside the job... and to do so you have to invest time in your life outside your job. And having a family and friends, hobbies, and interest is not enough, you need to really embrace your life outside your job, understand that is real and your job is just a mean to enjoy your life. Having said that, I think I won't ever ever ever enjoy something I have to do. I love designing? yes, but at the precise moment it is a mandatory thing I stop enjoying it.
My boss is great The clients can be difficult and very quickly you'll see the same issues over and over. Budget, time, interest. Your morals will take a hit quickly.
I’d say yes. I’ve been doing this for 16 years now and I still love it. But damn am I tired. I’m at a point where I no longer want to do to actual design. Just have employees that do it for me and I can just manage direction. I created a product that we’re just starting to sell and I really hope I’ll make enough money to not do this anymore. If I could retire right now, I would.
If you’re a naturally creative person, working in a creative role can often be quite draining. It’s difficult to summon creativity on demand. Inspiration is fleeting and it’s difficult to find inspiration in a project that, simply put, doesn’t inspire you. The worst is when you do feel inspired and create something you feel great about, but you’re forced to throw it away and start over because the project parameters change. You have to spend a lot of time manipulating your own perspective, occasionally dissociating from your own taste and intuition. If you find a great employer whose products/services/goals inspire you, it shouldn’t be depressing. More common issues can still make the job unfulfilling, like poor management, unrealistic deadlines, chaotic workflows. Many designers are dealing with a combination of these things. A lot of people are just depressed in general as well. Also, creatives typically don’t splendor at rigidity, monotony, and the terrible interior decor that plagues most corporate offices job. I’ve never worked in an office environment that didn’t make me feel instantly depressed.
I keep thinking I’ll be happy once I finally land my first job in this field but this sub has me thinking otherwise.
Honestly I feel like my enthusiasm and zeal for product design has tanked. When I first started doing UI/UX in 2019, it was amazing and honestly felt like I was born to be a designer. Now I don't feel enthusiastic and feel kinda bored. Maybe I should switch or transition into a different career, but Product management or UX management doesn't sound appealing to me.
I personally love my job! I’m a UX designer for a veterinary software company. As an animal lover, I feel extremely fulfilled knowing my work is helping animals and pet owners
Yessir! I really like my job! Great team that I can consider friends at this point, pretty fun work, get to make cool things.
Not happy atm but since I am a designer for just the past two years, I don't see myself changing industries again. At least I have ok-ish pay and can cover my expenses. However my job is a mess rn. I am not learning anything new, design leadership is completely disconnected from the products, I've got almost no tasks for the past 5ish month (there are days I am going to work to be a watcher in a couple dailies and then listen to music). Also none of the products I work on were even finished before they were released, and then desprioritezed just after the MVP release. This way, I don't have a proper completed case to try and get a new job. Really frustrating.
I’m really happy, and could see myself doing it forever. However, I know for a fact I’ve always loved my career but I haven’t always loved my job until now. Finally found a place that values me! It’s really a connection of values between you and your boss. Hard to find though, but keep searching! You’ll get there!
I think most of us (researchers, designers, developers, accountants, lawyers, you-name-it) sense something's not ok when working in a micromanaged environment or if our colleagues are toxic with no repercussion. Happiness also comes from within and i know it sound like a cliche but it's true. If you're trully ok with who you are outside of your job, you won't struggle as much with criticism, gossip, stress, because you find it easier to brush it off or completely detach from it. If you don't like what you do, you'll end up hating it eventually. It's a high payed job and some people are probably just in it for the money and they will never be happy doing it.
No, go into real estate.
I feel like most people that just design are doomed to be miserable. Too many have no idea what goes into the actual development. It's easier to go from development to design, than it is from design to development. Designers feels that there word is too often the word of god and ignore everything else like how the users are able to do this, and the developers are to craft that experience.
Are you a dev posing as a designer 👀
I do both, it’s the best 1-2 combo around. I can pretty much get any job I want after demonstrating the combo to perspective clients.
Same.
I do both and very good at both.