While the field of usability has existed for decades, the number and quality of careers in the field have greatly improved in the last 10-15 years. The long-term prognosis for the industry is good: there are constant opportunities in almost every industry since new products and technology come out all the time, in usability as well as user-centered design, interaction design and user experience design.
#19479
Recruiting and Mentoring Usability Specialists 
The author’s company is continually looking for people to add to our professional staff of usability and documentation specialists. To overcome the challenges posed by geographically distributed offices, and to ensure new hires can become productive quickly, Tec-Ed takes a structured approach to screening, qualifying, and selecting new hires and then uses a hands-on, building-block approach to train them in our usability methodologies.
Shroyer, Roberta. STC Proceedings (2001). Careers>Management>Mentoring>Usability
#20628
ROI - Return on Investment - is one way of looking at the value of usability to a business. This article was originally published in the Winter 2002 User Experience Magazine as part of 'Return on Investment for Usable UI Design' by Aaron Marcus.
Usability Professionals Association. Careers>Management>Usability
#11913
Salary Survey: User Experience Professionals Earn Good Money
A survey of 1,078 user experience professionals finds that usability specialists make more money than designers and writers in the same field. In all three areas, salaries are highest in the U.S., lower in Canada and Asia, and much lower in Europe and Australia.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2001). Careers>Usability>Salaries>User Experience
#27478
Salary Trends for Usability Professionals
Over the last several years, entry-level salaries have dropped, while pay for experienced usability staff has been more stable.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2006). Careers>Usability>Salaries
#28518
So You Want to Be an Interaction Designer 2006
Five years ago, Robert Reimann wrote a seminal article for the Cooper Newsletter called 'So You Want To Be an Interaction Designer.' Like many people, I read the article and said, yep, that's what I want to be. I took Reimann's (good) advice and found both work and training as an interaction designer.
Saffer, Dan. uiGarden (2007). Careers>Usability>Interaction Design>User Centered Design
#21102
Some Thoughts on Usability and the Economy
This short article answers a few questions about entering a career in usability given the poor market conditions, and it offers some general career advice.
Rhodes, John S. WebWord (2001). Careers>Usability
#28589
Starting a Career in User Experience
This article is based upon my own experience transitioning from a career in corporate-world project management into the field of user experience design. With dedication, some talent, a few classes, and a healthy dose of self-promotion, the transition was fairly easy, very enjoyable, and took about two years. I have outlined a few key points to consider if you are planning to start a career in user experience design.
Haid, Marcus. uiGarden (2007). Careers>Usability>User Experience
#18937
Starting a Career in User Experience
This article is based upon my own experience transitioning from a career in corporate-world project management into the field of user experience design. With dedication, some talent, a few classes, and a healthy dose of self-promotion, the transition was fairly easy, very enjoyable, and took about two years. I have outlined a few key points to consider if you are planning to start a career in user experience design.
Haid, Marcus. Adaptive Path (2003). Careers>Usability>User Centered Design>User Experience
#14940
Training and Development: Guidelines for an Effective Resume and Portfolio
I recently posted a message to a popular usability discussion list to learn more about usability-oriented resumes and portfolios. I come from a technical background and my résumé lists common technologies and software. I am interested in creating a version of my resume with a focus on usability, so I wondered what types of information usability practitioners list on their resumes, as well as what usability employers look for. I was also looking for advice regarding online portfolios. Do people prefer online to paper? What types of work should I include? I received a lot of great responses. Everyone believes having an online resume and portfolio is important. Several people said it is important to tailor your resume and portfolio for each job opportunity. I agree with that, but would add that it is important to maintain a comprehensive version of both online, and then tailor the printed versions for each job.
Johnson, Tessa. Usability Interface (2002). Careers>Resumes>Usability
#31911
Twenty-Five Years in Usability
Since I started in 1983, the usability field has grown by 5,000%. It's a wonderful job — and still a promising career choice for new people.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2008). Careers>Usability>History
#20583
UK 2003 Usability Salary Survey
It’s human nature to believe that ‘others may be overpaid, but I never am’. Sure enough, about half of the survey respondents said that they were underpaid and about half said that their pay was ‘fair’. Only one person was said he was ‘overpaid’.
Usability Professionals Association (2003). Careers>Salaries>Usability>United Kingdom
#27792
UPA Member and Salary Survey (2005)
During 2005 the Usability Professionals' Association surveyed members of the user experience field to learn: who our respondents are, where they work and what they do; how much they are paid; their satisfaction with UPA.
Sherman, Paul J. Usability Professionals Association (2006). Careers>Usability>Salaries
#23025
A collection of job listings for usability professionals in the Twin Cities area.
#20650
Underneath the carnival excitement of the information revolution I hear a quiet but persistent murmur warning of an emerging technology crisis. Not everything is right in the information economy.
Kreitzberg, Charles B. Usability Professionals Association (1999). Careers>Usability>Workplace>Technology
#18581
Usability Consultants Tapped to Untangle Web Sites
Having a beautiful Web site with all the latest sales technology won’t help your business if visitors can’t find their way around. But how can you fix navigation problems when exploring your Web site seems as confusing as tracing a single strand in a plate of spaghetti?
Wagner, Mitch. BtoB (2002). Careers>Consulting>Usability
#20629
Usability is not just about research and labs. It has a real impact on real projects in the real world. This section includes case studies, news stories, facts and examples to help make the case that usability is a critical part of any product development effort.
Usability Professionals Association. Careers>Management>Usability
#21031
Barnum discusses the importance of usability testing and suggests ways that managers of technical communication departments can convince their organizations to invest in usability.
Barnum, Carol M. Intercom (2003). Careers>Usability>Management
#10538
Usability Professionals Association: Job Bank
Job postings will be removed after 3 months unless you notify the UPA office. A short reference to your job posting on the UPA website will be included in 1 issue of the Common Ground newsletter. To advertise the full job posting in the Common Ground, contact the UPA office at office@upassoc.org for ad sizes and rates.
#26661
There are two basic alternatives for structuring a usability/UCD group within an organization: members of the group can be centralized in a single department, or, members can be distributed among development teams.
#18161
A positive user experience is critical to the success of your business. Improving the usability of offerings is a sound business strategy, and by following good engineering practices, you can do this, delighting your users, differentiating yourselves from your competition, and enhancing your success.
#19312
Is your organisation in need of a user champion? It might not be the perfect solution, but as a first step it can have far-reaching consequences. If your organisation already has significant resources assisting with interface development, but tends to make key decisions on the basis of hunches or personal opinions, a single individual with a remit to judge the interface from the users point of view may be beneficial. Of course, any appointment must be more than a gesture. A user champion must be confident of management support and fully involved in the development and design process, at every stage.
Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Careers>Web Design>Usability
#21136
Web Developers: On Being Too Wired
I was wondering if anyone else is starting to feel ill at ease about the work that we do. I personally do a lot of web development work. I regularly conduct usability testing on people so that web sites, and other technology, fit better with humans. I make it a point to stress that good design work yields higher profits, growth, and strategic advantage for our clients. While these things are acceptable and fit with our social norms, I feel like we are becoming the defense contractors of the new economy. I remember when folks at General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Boeing were getting heat for being baby killers and the like. Will the masses start revolting against us?
Rhodes, John S. WebWord (2000). Careers>Web Design>Usability
#18596
Web Shops Add Services to Rival Traditional Agencies
There's room for speciality design agencies, Web developers and full-service interactive agencies. A former director of media resources and research at Bates Worldwide, New York, Mr. Gugel said he thought it was only natural that an interactive agency offer everything a traditional agency does--but modified for the Web: account management, media planning, strategic planning and research capabilities.
Riedman, Patricia. AdAge.com (1998). Careers>Web Design>Usability
#29325
What is Our Role as Usability Professionals?
As Usability people we usually tend to focus on making things easier to use. To allow for good usability and an excellent user experience we integrate user centered design methods and standardized usability processes into our daily work. We are used to doing this; we advocate for it day after day; we even try to persuade our clients and the people around us to do the same because we have a strong belief in it. And without question, making things easier to use is an honorable thing to do, because it generally enhances the overall user experience. However, we as Usability Professionals have the potential to reach beyond!
Zimmermann, Silvia. Usability Professionals Association (2007). Careers>Usability>Professionalism
#10541
The other day I enrolled my daughter for her first school class. The application interview went well. That is, until I was asked: 'What is your occupation?' I was lost for words. The same happens to me each time I go to a party. Inevitably, somebody will ask: 'What are you doing for a living?' I used to call myself a 'usability engineer'. Not that I like the term particularly. But it sounds respectable. Unfortunately, that got me into trouble with the Association of Professional Engineers. You cannot call yourself an engineer unless you are a member. Well, I am not a member. And I am not planning to become one soon, either.
Wolfmaier, Thomas. HCIRN (1998). Careers>Usability
