User Experience (UX) Career Path & Salary Guide

Our UX Career Guide Series:

• UX Overview
• UX Skills & Tools
• UX Training & Education
• User Experience (UX) Career Path & Salary <– You Are Here
• UX Portfolio & Resume
• UX Interviewing

So, you’ve got your wireframes, user flows, and design thinking down—now what? Let’s take a peek behind the curtain to see where your new UX design skills can take you. From entry-level UX gigs to senior UX design roles, we’re about to break down the UX design career paths, salary ranges, and earning potential that come with designing the future of digital experiences.

UX design career path: from yearning to learning to earning

Starting down the UX design career path can feel daunting if you don’t know a widget from a wireframe—but truth be told: the route from dreamer to designer has never been quicker and more attainable, even if you’re new to tech. 

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the demand for UX designers will grow faster than the average occupation—8% from 2023–2033, adding 222,600 new jobs. Employers are filling UX design roles with skills-based hiring—great news for you. 

General Assembly’s six-hour Introduction to Figma workshop is an ideal place to begin exploring an interest in UX design. (Fun fact: knowing your way around Figma earns the average person a six-figure salary.)

If that piques your interest, continue learning with a two-month UX design short course—or launch right into the full UX Design Bootcamp experience, transitioning from novice to proficient designer in as little as three months.

UX designer career salary potential: by experience level

UX design is a path of continuous discovery and growth, whether you’re ​​a junior UX designer conducting user research in the field or a senior UX designer creating detailed prototypes that shape product direction. As your knowledge of consumer interactions with digital spaces takes shape, you’ll transition from the role of collaborator to strategist—and with this experience comes high earning potential.

Glassdoor breaks UX designer salaries down by career stage:

Entry-level / Early

Mid-career

Senior

0–1 years	1–3 years	4–6 years	7–9 years	10–14 years	15+ years
$70K – $129K	$81K – $143K	$95K – $164K	$104K – $177K	$118K – $200K	$95K – $200K+

Entry-level UX designer skills and salaries

As an entry-level UX designer, you’ll assist with user research, wireframing, prototyping, and usability testing, building a solid foundation in various aspects of the field. You’ll work closely with senior designers, applying best practices and gaining valuable hands-on experience.

Here are some of the skills you’ll practice:

• User research: Understanding basic research methods like surveys and interviews to gather insights about user needs and behaviors.

• Wireframing and prototyping: Gaining familiarity with tools like Sketch, Figma, or Adobe XD to visualize design concepts through low-fidelity wireframes and high-fidelity prototypes.
  
• Interaction design: Applying knowledge of design principles and guidelines to create intuitive and engaging buttons, menus, icons, forms, and touchpoints.
  
• Usability testing: Learning how to conduct usability tests and analyze feedback to refine designs and improve user experiences.
  
• Design systems: Understanding the basic design systems and component libraries to maintain consistency across products.
  
• Collaboration: Demonstrating strong communication skills and the ability to work well with other designers, developers, and stakeholders.

With these skills, you can expect an entry-level UX design salary between $50,000 and $80,000, depending on your location, industry, and company size. 

To maximize your earning potential early on, it’s important to:

• Build a strong portfolio showcasing your projects, even personal ones, to demonstrate your skills and thought process.
• Consider freelancing or internships to gain experience and expand your network.
• Look for opportunities at tech companies, as they tend to offer competitive salaries. 
• Also keep an open mind to opportunities in top industries hiring UX talent.
• Research companies known for investing in UX design, as they often value these roles more highly, translating to better pay.
• Keep in mind your salary includes more than base take-home pay, and you can earn an additional 25% through bonuses and stocks.

$70,000 – $143,000 Annual Junior UX Designer Salary Range

Mid-level UX designer roles and salaries

As you climb your way to mid-level UX designer, you’ll be making more independent decisions and gaining respect for your seasoned perspective. With a solid foundation in user experience principles and design tools, you’ll be expected to lead projects, conduct user research, and mentor junior team members.

This is the stage where you may begin to specialize in visual design, UI architecture, or UX research, deepening your expertise in areas that align with your interests and career goals.

Mid-career opportunities and UX design roles include: 

• Product designer: Create user-centered designs by integrating functionality and aesthetics to deliver a seamless user experience.

• UX researcher: Gather insights through interviews, surveys, and usability testing to understand user needs and inform design decisions.

• Interaction designer: Focus on designing the interactive elements of a product, ensuring that users can effectively navigate and engage with the interface.

• UX lead: Oversee the design team, guiding the user experience strategy and ensuring that design solutions align with user needs and business goals.

• Design strategist: Develop long-term design initiatives that align with the company’s vision and objectives, integrating user insights into the overall product strategy.

• Usability analyst: Evaluate products through testing and analysis, identifying areas for improvement to enhance the overall user experience.

Your ability to advocate for user-centered design will be highly valued as you collaborate with cross-functional teams and influence product direction. With this experience, you’ll have the opportunity to elevate your earning potential and take on greater responsibilities within your organization, transitioning into roles such as product designer, product manager, or technical lead. With average salaries for positions like product manager and technical lead reaching up to $180,000, expanding your skill set in mid-career is, indeed, worthwhile. 

$95,000 – $177,000 Annual Mid-Level UX Designer Salary Range

Senior UX designer roles and salaries

As you ascend to the senior UX designer level, your employer will value your ability to advocate for user-centered design as you collaborate with cross-functional teams, influencing design decisions that impact both user engagement and revenue. 

A significant portion of your time will be spent contemplating how various elements connect—across devices, sites, and even brands or industries. Your UX design-focused perspective differentiates between stylistic preference vs. elements that genuinely impact business profitability. 

With your advanced skill set, you’ll approach design challenges through a contextual lens, observing how subtle design differences can shift target demographics, alter feature importance, or impact future product development. 

In this landscape, there are several lateral moves you can make. For instance, you might lean into strategic thinking in a design lead or product manager role. Or if you prefer a more hands-on approach, you could pursue specialized positions like visual designer or animation designer. 

For those aiming higher on the UX design ladder, executive leadership roles like UX director or VP of user experience offer opportunities to shape an organization’s entire UX strategy, manage teams, and align design practices with business goals.

Other top-paying UX design careers include:

• Chief experience officer (CXO): Responsible for the overall customer and user experience strategy, which includes both digital and physical touchpoints.

• UX architect: Focuses on the structural design of digital products, creating complex systems that ensure usability and scalability across multiple platforms.

• UX design manager: Manages and leads teams of UX designers, researchers, and developers to ensure high-quality user experience in line with business objectives.

As for senior UX designer salaries, roles like UX directors and VPs can pay over $200,000 annually in larger organizations or tech companies. CXOs typically earn even more, between $200,000 to $400,000, especially in high-demand sectors like tech, finance, and healthcare.

$118,000 – $200,000+Annual Senior UX Designer Salary Range

Top industries for UX jobs include finance, healthcare, and government

In addition to experience, earning potential varies substantially depending on industry demand and a company’s competitiveness. The tech industry unemployment rate remains a low 2.3%, suggesting sustained demand for skilled workers, including UX designers. Many bootcamp graduates secure positions at top Fortune 500 firms like Amazon, Microsoft, and IBM.

But that’s not all—opportunities are booming across sectors, particularly:

• Finance: The finance industry is embracing digital transformation to compete with digital challengers like Revolut, N26, and Monzo. For example, NatWest Group is investing $2.3 billion in digital transformation, while JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley say they’re building new UX teams to create “visually compelling web interfaces.”
  
• Healthcare: Healthcare is also experiencing a surge in UX opportunities. The global healthcare market is expected to hit $781.5 billion by 2030, with the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) reaching $187.6 billion by 2028. This growth in digital healthcare is driving the need for designers who can create easy-to-use and accessible systems.

• Government: Government sectors are following suit, with growing demand for UX talent in the US, UK, and Ireland. The UK government plans to hire 2,500 tech roles by 2025, prioritizing UX and data. Similarly, the US Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Labor are investing heavily in improving user experience within their systems.

Wherever UX talent is in high demand, you can expect competitive pay and benefits to follow.

UX designer salaries around the world

Exploring opportunities in different geographic locations offers another way to boost your UX design earning potential or enrich your overall work experience. Given the prevalence of remote work in the field, you’re free to seek out employers from other states—or even overseas.

The highest paying UX design jobs are in the United States—in metros like: Annapolis Junction ($146,306), New York City ($143,605), Santa Clara ($134,421), Seattle ($134,123), Houston ($125,261), Orlando ($115,330), Austin ($114,866), and Indianapolis ($106,476). 

As of September 2024, the bottom 10% earners bank $83,271, while top earners command $183,040. According to Indeed, the median US wage is around $123,458 ($56.10/hour). 

If you’re looking for a different type of work experience or quality of life, try one of the following international tech hubs where General Assembly alumni are employed:

Country	Average Salary
Canada	79,558 CAD ($59,000 USD)
Singapore	64,356 SGD ($50,052 USD)1
Australia	88,724 AUD ($61,000 USD)
United Kingdom	35,830 GBP ($48,000 USD)
The Netherlands	38,976 EUR ($43,463 USD)2
Sweden	607,920 SEK ($60,046 USD)3
Norway	736,689 NOK ($70,653 USD)4
Germany	46,637 EUR ($52,000 USD)
Switzerland	105,799 CHF ($124,992 USD)5
Israel	171,528 ILS ($45,653 USD)6

General Assembly’s online UX design courses are open to anyone, anywhere in the world (with an internet connection). Our global network of alumni spans from NYC and London to Singapore and Australia, opening the door to endless opportunities to learn, grow, and live your best life–no matter where you land.
Interested in leveling up your UX design career and pursuing high-paying roles?
Sign up for our next UX design info session to learn more.