UX Designer Career Change | The 7 Key Steps

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What are the steps to take for a transition to UX designer?

Are you considering a transition to UX designer? UX design, which emerged with the rise of digital technology, is a rapidly growing profession. According to a study by BFMTV, there are nearly 85,000 unfilled positions in the digital sector, representing an excellent opportunity for professional retraining. That’s why, at Weepo, as an umbrella company specializing in tech professions, we provide you with the key steps to become a UX designer. From the tasks of the UX designer to salary, training, and the concept of user experience, discover the 7 steps to transition into UX design.

Understanding the UX designer profession

Its tasks

The UX designer is a contraction of user experience. Thus, the role of UX design is to improve the experience of users of a website, application, or software by creating an intuitive navigation path. Among its main tasks are:

  • Analyzing user behavior: they collect data on users to understand their needs, goals, and motivations.
  • Creating user personas: based on the collected data, they identify the main user groups to create representative personas, useful for developing typical scenarios.
  • Determining the information architecture: they organize the architecture of a website or application so that users can easily find the information they are looking for. E.g., a site map, a chatbot…
  • Designing interface mockups: also known as wireframes, these are simplified representations of a product design and the user journey when interacting with the product.
  • Organizing testing campaigns: this step aims to verify the proper functioning of the product and the absence of obstacles during the user journey. E.g., functionality of add-to-cart buttons…
  • Maintaining constant vigilance: vigilance allows the UX designer to make adjustments based on feedback and new user needs.

Required qualities

The UX designer profession requires technical skills such as proficiency in graphic design software (Adobe suite) or prototyping tools (like Sketch).

Beyond technical mastery, the UX designer must possess strong human qualities to gather user feedback, demonstrate creativity, curiosity, and adapt accordingly.

Analyzing past experiences

To facilitate your transition into UX design, consider analyzing your past experiences. If you have previously worked in digital professions such as web design, web marketing, or if you have been a project manager, you may already possess some qualities of a UX designer.

Trace your previous career and conduct an assessment of all your acquired soft skills. This will allow you to compare your skills with the required qualities mentioned above and thus identify your areas for improvement to enhance your skills.

Additionally, check out our guide to successfully transition into digital.

Training

Bachelor's level training

Once you have completed your skills assessment, it’s time to find the right training to transition into UX design. Generally, a BAC+3 level training is highly recommended. Among these, we find:

  • The MMI degree (multimedia and internet professions): it focuses on communication, content production, web development, and project management.
  • The professional license in “design professions”: it trains students to understand the stakes of graphic design and the use of digital tools.
  • The bachelor’s degree from a design school (formerly UX/UI design): it specifically trains students in designing graphical interfaces to meet user experience needs.

💡Good to know: it is possible to directly join the second year if you have already obtained a degree in digital or if you have professional experience in the field.

Master's level training

If you are aiming for team leader or manager positions, you can consider training at the BAC+5 level:

  • The master's degree in “digital creations”;
  • The master's degree from design, multimedia, or computer science schools;
  • The DSAA in design and digital creation.

Diploma training

If you are already a multimedia designer or project manager, you can consider diploma training offered by private training organizations. The advantage is that they are taught remotely and you can learn at your own pace.

💡Good to know: you can finance your training through approved schemes like the CPF (personal training account), conventioned training actions (AFC)… Check with France Travail for more information.

Building your ideal profile

Finding your positioning

Once you have completed your training, you will need to build your ideal UX designer profile and find your positioning to stand out from the competition. To do this, you need to create your own definition of UX: do you want to focus solely on the digital interface, or do you prefer to consider the overall experience of a website?

Clarify your motivation and share your ideas with those around you. Based on the feedback received, revise your goals, your pitch, and thus build a solid transition project.

Building your portfolio

To solidify your positioning, consider building your portfolio by selecting your most relevant achievements. The goal is to reflect your capabilities in the field. If you haven’t secured any projects yet, you can offer your services to volunteer organizations, for example, which will allow you to include some achievements in your portfolio.

Actively applying

Once you have found your positioning and your offer, refine your applications to spark the desire to hire you. Accompany them with a UX designer CV and a compelling cover letter. Apply to a maximum of job offers to increase your chances. Consider building a professional network to stay informed about job offers, new opportunities, and references in UX design to follow.

💡Good to know: if you are considering transitioning to UX design as a freelancer, think about the alternative of wage portage with Weepo, our umbrella company focused on tech and digital professions.

Preparing for job interviews

Challenging yourself with use case scenarios

To maximize your chances in a job interview, challenge yourself with use case scenarios. Start from a situation you know well and create a use case scenario from A to Z. This not only allows you to confront the reality of the field but also serves as an example to present in the interview.

Concrete example of a use case:
Imagine modeling the user journey around a running application.
The scenario can trace the experience of a user who downloads the app, creates an account, starts their first run, tracks their performance, and progresses over time.
⇒ At each step, we identify their needs, emotions, potential frustrations, and imagine improvements.

With this type of use case, you demonstrate your ability to understand user expectations and propose solutions to facilitate their daily lives. This is what every UX designer recruiter is looking for.

Convincing the recruiter

As with any traditional job interview, don’t forget to prepare the fundamental elements, namely:

  • Research the company and the current trends in UX design;
  • Demonstrate your motivation by highlighting your transition;
  • Ask questions at the end of the interview.

Negotiating your salary

The final step in your transition is to negotiate your salary. Define your salary based on the remunerations in your sector and the company that hires you.

💡Good to know: the average salary of a UX designer is around €42,000/year, or about €3,000 per month.

Keep in mind that your remuneration also depends on any specializations you may have and your experience in digital professions.

The essence of the article summarized in 7 points

You now know the main steps to follow for a successful UX designer transition. Here they are:

  1. Research the required qualities to become a UX designer as well as its tasks.
  2. Analyze your past experiences to uncover any skills acquired related to UX design.
  3. Train with BAC+3 level training, BAC+5 if you aim for a position with responsibilities, or certified training if you already have experience in digital.
  4. Find your positioning, your specialization, and build a solid portfolio to stand out.
  5. Polish your applications and consider looking at offers in wage portage.
  6. Excel in your job interviews by presenting concrete UX cases, researching the company, and highlighting your transition project.
  7. Negotiate your salary based on the market remuneration, your future company, and your specialization.

To go further, also check out our complete guide on professional transition at 50.

Photo de profil de Lina MOREL

Responsable Marketing & Communication chez Weepo, je suis passionnée par l'animation du réseau et l'accompagnement de nos consultants. J'organise des événements parisiens et accompagne nos équipes régionales pour créer des moments d'échange enrichissants dans l'écosystème du portage salarial.