Design
UX Research
Find out what users actually need through structured studies, then make the findings impossible to ignore.
What you'd actually do
- Scope a research question narrowly enough to actually answer it.
- Recruit participants and run interviews or usability sessions.
- Synthesize patterns into findings with the evidence attached.
- Present to the team, then track what actually changed.
Common job titles
Entry level
- UX Researcher
- Research Assistant
- ResearchOps Coordinator
Mid-level
- Senior UX Researcher
- Mixed-Methods Researcher
Senior
- Staff Researcher
- Research Manager
- Head of Research
Broad U.S. compensation context
Entry level
$90K–$120K
Mid-career
$130K–$170K
Senior
$185K+
Varies by level, location, company, and date; use as directional context.
Common employers
FigmaDuolingoRedditAirbnbAsanaAtlassianShopifySpotify
Core skills
Study designInterviewing without leadingUsability testingSurvey design and basic statisticsSynthesis and storytellingStakeholder management
Common backgrounds
- Psychology, sociology, anthropology, or HCI programs
- Market research and insights roles
- Academic research backgrounds moving into industry
- Designers or support leads specializing into research
What success looks like
- Teams change decisions because of their work, not just cite it.
- They state what the evidence does and does not support.
- They pick the cheapest method that answers the question.
Career path
- Researcher
- Senior Researcher
- Staff Researcher
- Research Manager
- Head of Research
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