How To Become a UX Designer with No Experience 📱

As digitalization accelerates, the demand for UX design skills grows. LinkedIn’s top jobs list often features UX designer roles with salaries from $80,000 to $103,000 and nearly 11,000 job openings. The increasing demand for UX design professionals has piqued interest in pursuing this field, leading many to consider career shifts. While some entering this domain come with a background in graphic design, UI/UX design, or a relevant degree, a large portion begin with little to no experience.

These newcomers frequently opt for UX bootcamps, gaining essential skills efficiently and affordably, providing an alternative to the traditional academic path. For those eager to start a new career, here’s a guide to becoming a UX designer, even without prior experience.

Can You Become a UX Designer Without Experience?

Yes, you can transition into UX design without prior experience by learning the fundamentals, building a portfolio, and practicing design thinking. Engage with the design community and stay up-to-date with industry trends to accelerate your growth.

How To Become a UX Designer Regardless of Your Experience

UX designers need a vision for their career, a combination of skills, critical thinking, some practice, a UX portfolio with personal projects, and a job search strategy. The learning process is different for everyone, so you can get UX experience in a number of ways. Here’s how to go about it.

1. Determine your ideal career path

The first step to building a UX design career is to envision it. Do your research to understand what kind of UX design jobs are available. This can include roles as a UX researcher, product designer, UI designer, information architect, or content designer. While all of these are UX design roles and need an overall understanding of the field, each requires a specialized skill set. 

For instance, a content designer is a role for writers, while a UI designer is one for visual designers. So, before you embark on your UX design journey, determine your ideal career path. It need not be very specific at this point, a general direction will do. Once you decide what you’re most excited about, you can build your career accordingly.

2. Establish a strong base in UX fundamentals

Learning foundational skills in UX design is crucial for building a successful career in the field. It provides the essential knowledge and tools needed to create user-friendly and functional designs, understand user needs, solve problems, and adapt to industry changes. Mastery of these core skills enhances collaboration with other professionals, boosts confidence, and helps you create a strong portfolio that showcases your capabilities and creativity.

Together, these fundamentals form the foundation of successful UX design, leading to products that meet user needs and expectations while achieving business goals.

3. Familiarize yourself with UX tools

In UX design, there are various tools that can help streamline the design process and create high-quality user experiences. Here are some essential UX design tools and why they are important:

1. Figma: Figma is a cloud-based design tool that allows for real-time collaboration. It’s excellent for creating wireframes, mockups, and prototypes. Its ability to work seamlessly with team members makes it a favorite for many UX designers.
2. Sketch: Sketch is a popular design tool known for its ease of use and intuitive interface. It’s great for creating wireframes, mockups, and high-fidelity designs. It’s widely used in the industry, especially for web and app design.
3. Adobe XD: Adobe XD is a comprehensive design tool that combines design and prototyping capabilities. It’s user-friendly and integrates well with other Adobe products, making it a versatile choice for UX designers.
4. InVision: InVision is a prototyping tool that allows designers to create interactive prototypes and share them with team members and stakeholders. It’s great for testing designs and getting feedback early in the process.

For most UX design aspirants, an online course might be somewhat restrictive, focussing on only a few aspects of user experience. For instance, if you’re especially interested in UX research, free courses might only offer 1-2 modules in the area. For situations like these, you might gain a more in-depth look from other free resources such as blogs, UX influencers, and YouTube channels.

Blogs

There are several blogs online by UX professionals that cover the entire gamut of the field. The most popular ones are:

• UX Booth
• UX Planet
• Usability Geek

UX Influencers

One of the best ways to learn UX design is to listen. So, if you’re looking to launch a career in UX design, here are three influencers we recommend you subscribe to.

• Jen Romano Bergstrom
• Cory Lebson
• Ioana Teleanu

YouTube Channels 

YouTube channels offer visual tutorials, expert insights, and practical tips to help you learn UX design effectively. You can subscribe to the following four channels:

• UX Mastery
• The Futur Academy
• Tutvid
• Nielsen Norman Group

5. Opt for a course

If you are new to the field, completing a prep course that introduces you to the world of design can be hugely beneficial. You’ll learn everything you need to know about design, UI/UX concepts, tools, and the industry in general. It’s a great launchpad for budding designers. You can also leverage free resources:

Take a free course

Taking a free UX design online course will allow you to test the waters of UX design. Before taking the plunge into a UX design career, you can explore what it entails, what skills you need, what kind of work you might do, etc. This way, you can try your hand at UX design and see if you are still excited. Below are some of our recommendations.

6. Get a certification

Another way to gain the credentials that make designers stand out in the market is to get a certification. Here are some of the best certificate programs available today.

7. Work on UX projects

Once you’ve had the chance to read, listen, and watch experts discuss UX design, it’s time to gain some hands-on experience. Begin working on some personal UX projects. You can pick from an idea you already have, an imaginary brand/business, participate in online contests, or volunteer to help a local small business in its digital presence. While beginning to work on projects, start small to make things manageable.

• Freelance projects: Offer your services on freelance platforms or through personal connections. Working with clients on small projects can provide practical experience and build your portfolio.
• Personal projects: Create your own projects to build your portfolio. Design apps, websites, or other digital products that showcase your skills and understanding of UX principles.

Here are a few project ideas to get you started:

8. Gain UX experience

While you don’t need professional experience to get started, some hands-on practice doesn’t hurt when you’re on the hunt for your first job. Here are some ways to do that:

11. Apply for entry-level UX jobs

Applying for entry-level UX jobs requires a strategic approach to showcase your skills, enthusiasm, and potential. Here’s how you can prepare and apply effectively:

1. Build a portfolio: Create a portfolio showcasing your UX projects, including wireframes, prototypes, user research, and case studies. Include detailed explanations of your process and your role in each project.
2. Tailor your resume: Customize your resume for each job application, highlighting relevant skills, experiences, and education. Emphasize any projects or internships related to UX design.
3. Leverage online job boards: Use online job boards like LinkedIn, Indeed, and Glassdoor to find entry-level UX job openings. Set up job alerts for UX positions in your area or preferred companies.

Essential Skills for a UX Designer

A UX designer needs a combination of technical and soft skills to excel in the field.

Technical skills

A UX design expert must be skilled in the following areas:

Soft Skills

Soft skills are the people and practical skills that allow you to navigate and bring value to a professional environment.

By mastering these technical and soft skills, UX designers can create user-centric designs and work effectively within multidisciplinary teams.

Can Non-Designers Transition to a UX Career?

It may feel like it’s impossible, but it’s not. If you want to get a UX job and are willing to work for it, you can! Many graphic designers, researchers, and web developers have successfully changed careers with help from tips like these:

• Look for transferable skills: If you want to get a UX job, highlight any transferable skills you have. For example, if you have an undergraduate degree in graphic design, research, or consumer behavior, you may be able to land a UX job based on those skills. Furthermore, skills like problem-solving, research, and empathy are valuable in UX design. Use your existing strengths to your advantage.
• Learn UX fundamentals: Read books and watch videos, opt for online courses or bootcamps to understand the basics of UX design, including user research, wireframing, and prototyping. It’s a great place to start if you want to familiarize yourself with UX basics.
• Seek mentorship: Connect with UX professionals through online communities, industry events, or mentorship programs. Mentor support can lead to valuable insights and job opportunities.
• Stay open to feedback: Feedback helps you grow as a designer. Seek input on your work and learn from it to improve your skills.
• Stay curious and adaptable: UX is an ever-evolving field. Stay updated on industry trends and be open to learning new tools and techniques.

5 Entry-Level UX Jobs You Can Get Without Experience

How To Increase the Odds of Getting Hired as a UX Designer

As we’ve seen above, there are plenty of opportunities in UX design. Organizations are open to hiring fresh graduates and career transitioners without prior experience in the field. To make yourself attractive for entry-level UX jobs, make sure of the following.

By following these strategies, you can increase your odds of landing a UX design job and making a positive impression on potential employers.

FAQs about Getting Into UX Design with No Experience

Here are some FAQs on how to land your first UX design role without experience.

Since you’re here…
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