Table of Contents
- Are UX Designers Rich?
- Entry-Level UX Designer Salary
- Senior UX Designer Salary
- How to negotiate your first UX job salary
- Tip 1: Research the industry standards
- Tip 2: Leverage your non-design skills/experiences
- Tip 3: Be confident and open to compromise (for other benefits):
- How to (realistically) Earn More as a UX Designer
- Become a multi-skilled Designer
- Develop Your Thought Leadership
- Summary
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Read time: under 8 minutes
Are UX Designers Rich?
It’s a well-known myth that UX Designers are “high-income earners”.
As a UX Designer working in tech for the last 10 years, my opinion on this myth is…
Like any profession, a UX designer's salary can vary widely based on your experience, location, and many other factors.
In this post, we'll talk about UX designer salaries for both entry-level and senior, and provide you tips for realistically maximizing your earning potential:
Let’s dive in 👇
Entry-Level UX Designer Salary
For entry-level UX designers, the average salary varies depending on:
- Location
- Company size
- Macro-economy
Examples of Entry-level UX Designer salaries in 5 megacities:
- Tokyo, Japan 🇯🇵 : 4.2 million yen/year ($38,000 USD).
- Delhi, India 🇮🇳 : 400,000-500,000 Indian rupees/year ($5,500-$6,800 USD).
- Shanghai, China 🇨🇳 : 70,000-80,000 Chinese yuan/year ($10,000-$12,000 USD).
- Sao Paulo, Brazil 🇧🇷 : 45,000-60,000 Brazilian reals/year ($8,000-$11,000 USD).
- New York City, USA 🇺🇸 : $65,000-$85,000 USD/year, depending on the company and industry.
Source: Glassdoor
Senior UX Designer Salary
For senior UX designers, the salary can be significantly higher than that of an entry-level designer.
Examples of Senior-Leader UX Designer salaries in 5 megacities:
- Tokyo, Japan 🇯🇵 : 9 million yen per year ($82,000 USD).
- Sao Paulo, Brazil 🇧🇷 : 150,000-200,000 Brazilian reals/year ($27,000-$37,000 USD).
- Shanghai, China 🇨🇳 : ~250,000-300,000 Chinese yuan/year ($38,000-$45,000 USD).
- Delhi, India 🇮🇳 : ~1.5 million-2.5 million Indian rupees per year ($20,000-$34,000 USD).
- New York City, USA 🇺🇸 : $110,000-$140,000 USD/year, depending on the company and industry. But it’s not uncommon for senior UX designers in expensive cities like NY to earn upwards of $200,000 USD/year, particularly in tech.
Source: Glassdoor
Snacks To Supercharge Your UX Career AMA with Jeremy Miller
How to negotiate your first UX job salary
UX Designers who earn significantly higher than their peers are the ones that ask for more
Negotiating your first UX job offer is intimidating, but if you don't do it, you’re at a loss. Here’s why:
As a newbie, you don't have as much leverage as a pro with > 5 years of experience.
Your best chance to earn more is to successfully negotiate a higher base salary in your first job.
Then you can be more confident to ask for an increased amount in your next role or even charge your freelance clients higher.
Don’t start your UX career with a low-balled offer, it’d hurt your earning potential later on.
Let’s get into the tips:
Tip 1: Research the industry standards
Before entering any salary negotiation, you must do the homework:
- Use salary review sites like Glassdoor or Indeed to see what other companies are paying for.
- Research the industry standards to understand how much Designers in your area typically earn.
- Speak or consult with seasoned Designers in your industry to get a better idea of salary expectations.
The KEY of this step:
Determine a REALISTIC salary range and know your WORTH.
Your salary range should always:
- Start with a MIN:
The minimum average amount entry-level Designers in your area and industry are currently earning.
Be firm with this number as you DO NOT want to accept any offer that lowballs you.
(Lowballing offers are harming us all!)
- End with a MAX:
The maximum amount you want to earn (called this your desired salary) based on your research. Consider your experience, you can't aim too high if you’re just starting out.
Tip 2: Leverage your non-design skills/experiences
As an entry-level UX designer, you may not have a lot of direct experience in UX yet. But you likely have other transferable skills that are valuable in a UX design role.
If you’re completely new, mention any relevant coursework, internships, or side projects that can showcase your non-design skills and passion for UX design.
For example: Say you have experience in graphic design or web development.
Highlight your past experiences by:
- Demonstrating to potential employers how you can use these skills in your design process
- Mentioning your past achievements/successes thanks to this skill set.
- Positioning yourself as a multi-skilled UX Designer.
Tip 3: Be confident and open to compromise (for other benefits):
Here’s how you can show up confidently and unapologetically in a salary negotiation:
- Use your realistic salary range as an anchor
- Make a specific list of proofs to prove you deserve this range
- Leverage your non-design experiences as an additional value for employers
Have trust in your skills.
Remember how much value and impact you’re bringing to the table.
However, salary negotiation is not always about money.
If the employer can't meet your salary expectations, you can always negotiate for additional benefits:
- More vacation time
- Flexible working hours
- A performance-based raise after a probationary period
Getting to a salary negotiation is a telltale sign that the employers are already invested in you
So might as well ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT 🙂
How to (realistically) Earn More as a UX Designer
Become a multi-skilled Designer
The world we’re living in needs more and more Generalists, especially if you work in tech.
By developing a wide range of skills as UX designers, you can:
- Increase your value in the job market
- Ask for higher salaries
Trust me when I say this:
Multi-skilled Designers have HIGHER chances of getting high-earning jobs than a Designer who just, well, designs.
I’d suggest you approach learning and skills acquiring like you’re a start-up business owner (I mean it).
This mindset helps expand your perspectives/knowledge, giving you powerful influences at any job, as most stakeholders you work with are not designers.
There are non-design skills that are valuable to you in both the short and long terms, such as:
- Sales
- Writing
- Marketing
- Project management
- Business acumen/strategy
Become obsessed with learning these skills and your future career will thank you.
Develop Your Thought Leadership
Growing yourself to become a Thought Leader - in any field, not just design - should be your career ultimate goal (Unless you want to live small forever or to be replaced by AI in the next 10 years 🙂).
Your unique knowledge and experience are the foundation for thought leadership.
Start honing them rigorously and SHARING what you’ve learned + known with others by:
- Posting your thoughts online
- Publishing articles on Medium
- Building a knowledge-sharing community
- Writing blog posts that linked to your design portfolio
The obvious benefits of sharing your expertise online:
- More visibility
- Opportunities for new projects/clients
- Establishing a network with other Designers
→ Bringing you multiple sources of income
→ MORE MONEY.
Summary
As a UX designer, your earning potential is only limited by…YOU
For entry-level designers, salary negotiation is what helps you earn more:
- Research your market and industry thoroughly to form a realistic salary range.
- Leverage your non-design skills/experiences to add more value.
- Be confident with what you know, how you do things, and why YOU deserve it.
For seasoned Designers, here’s how you can make more money (w/o climbing the corporate ladder or overworking):
- Learn multiple skill sets (valuable enough to help you build your own business)
- Establish yourself as a Thought Leader
- Share your expertise to help others grow
- Expand your network with the power of social media
Thank you for reading, see you in next week’s blog post ✌️
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