[Sigia-l] Calling Senior UX Consultants! - Full UCD

[Will Evans]

Respect Joe.

No matter how you slice it, 3-4 years is a junior ux professional level.
This is where a person learns their craft, focusing on the core activities
under the mentorship of more senior ux designers. 5-8 years is a mid-level
ux professional level. As for compensation, assuming industry standards for
education and training, the market rate for a junior (<4 years experience)
is between $50-$70K. This isn't just NYC rates, this is nationwide average
compensation. For a mid-level ux professional with 5-8 years experience and
references, the compensation is between $65K-$85K. Anyone thinking that
they can secure a senior contributor ux professional (lead, but not
manager), for less than $85K is hitting the bong a little too hard, and
should perhaps ease off the Phish concerts and patchouli-scented drum
circles.

These numbers aren't just pulled out of my proverbial ass - they are backed
up by the UPA Salary Survey and the IAI Salary Survey, the purpose of which
is to gather and report on compensations for ux professionals by location,
experience, title, etc.

Link: http://www.iainstitute.org/en/learn/research/salary_survey.php

The key is to properly educate clients and hiring managers/hr professionals
so that they don't waste time attempting to source for a position, level,
compensation that simply doesn't exist. Is it possible, perhaps, to find a
junior to mid-level ux professional for anything less than $60K? Perhaps,
if you expand the definition of mid-level and professional to such an
extent that it loses all meaning. For true ux professionals with verified,
referenced skills, it simply is not possible - you'll be getting the McRib
of UX, and it's not our fault when your project goes south like a duck in
winter because the client was too piss-ass cheap to pay for a real
professional.

What's A McRib Made Of:
http://consumerist.com/2011/11/whats-a-mcrib-made-of.html



~ will

"Where you innovate, how you innovate,
and what you innovate are design problems"



On Fri, Nov 4, 2011 at 6:00 AM, Joe Sokohl <jsokohl at mac.com> wrote:

> First of all, 3-4 years isn't senior.
> Second of all, $45,000 isn't a senior consultant's salary.
>
> joe
> Joe Sokohl
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