Is UI Design a Good Career?

Yes, UI design can be a very good career, providing ample opportunities and a competitive salary. There are, in fact, quite a few benefits to a career as a UI Designer. If you have a fine eye for visuals and a strong creative impulse, UI design can be a great way to scratch that itch. As a UI Designer, you’ll be working in the world of shape and color, typography and layout, photos, and illustrations.

But you’ll also be engaged on the technical, problem-solving side as you work to make your designs seamlessly functional. And when a project is done, you can step back and admire the fruits of your labors in the form of a tangible accomplishment.

In fact, that sense of accomplishment and making an impact with your work is one of the best parts about being a UI Designer. Websites, apps, and software are everywhere now, so UI Designers have a very real influence on the look and feel of the digital space. You’ll be working toward making your company and its product as successful as possible, while also making the world around us a little bit more functional and beautiful.

UI Designers, especially those with the ability to work remotely, work abroad, or even simply on a freelance or consulting basis, enjoy a great variety of working conditions. They can expect to enjoy a variety of work, as well—UI Designers contribute to a wide range of product types for an even wider range of clients, so there’s always something new to learn, and a new challenge to take on.

Are UI Designers in Demand?

That same variety means UI Designers have plenty of opportunities to branch out, diversify, and work cross-disciplinarily. Tech is always changing, and new frontiers of UI design are being invented every day—working in different types of media, on different devices, and in different spaces. Whether you’re a generalist or an uber-specialist, the field of UI is wide and varied enough that you’ll never need to feel bored.

By the nature of their work, UI Designers also get to be very self-directed while also enjoying the feeling of being part of a team. As a bridge between aesthetics and function, UI design is highly collaborative, placing you at the center of the development process, where you’ll work closely with UX Designers, Content Writers, Graphic Designers and Illustrators, Project Managers, and potentially even users.

Last (but not least), UI Designers are in high demand, giving them better job security and more competitive salaries. For UI Designers with experience in the art of persuasion—advertising, marketing, and how to turn clicks into sales—the role may even be insulated from economic ups and down, as this specialty becomes even more crucial as overall development slows down.

How Long Does It Take to Become a UI Designer?

You can learn the skills needed to become a UI Designer in as little as 10 weeks, which is why it has become increasingly common for aspiring Designers to attend UI design courses and bootcamps. Courses like these provide more hands-on learning and targeted skills development, allowing you to build out your base of design knowledge; learn the fundamentals of UI research, ideation, wireframing, and prototyping; familiarize yourself with the tools a UI Designer uses;

and even put together the basis for a professional portfolio.Of course, mastering design can take years, but you can begin practicing design as soon as you’ve got a handle on the principles and basic tools, and grow from there.Ultimately, how long it will take you to become a UI Designer depends to a large extent on the scope of your skills going into it. If you are already a Web Designer or Web Developer, it should take you much less time to acquire the specific skills you’ll need to call....

...yourself a UI Designer than if you’re starting from scratch, with no background in design or development. By continuing to practice your skills and polish your portfolio, you could be calling yourself a UI Designer in no time.