User experience (UX) designer apprenticeships - where to start
You can get into this job through
a university coursea college coursean apprenticeshipapplying directly
University
You could do a higher national diploma, degree or postgraduate award in:
- product design
- digital marketing
- graphic design
- human computer interaction (HCI)
- digital media and web design
You'll usually need 1 or 2 A-Levels, or equivalent, for a higher national diploma. You'll need 2 to 3 A-Levels, or equivalent, for a degree. For postgraduate studies, you'll nee a degree in a relevant subject.
College
You could do a college course, which may lead onto more advanced qualifications or a higher apprenticeship, or help you to get a trainee position with a company. Courses include:
- A level in Computing
- T level in Digital Production, Design and Development
- Level 4 Certificate in Digital Media Design
You may need 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English, maths and computing for A-Levels or a T Level. 1 or 2 A-Levels, a Level 3 diploma or relevant experience for a Level 4 or Level 5 course.
Apprenticeship
You could start by doing a digital user experience (UX) professional degree apprenticeship.
After completing your apprenticeship, you could find work with a digital design agency or user research company.
You'll usually need 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for a Level 3 (advanced) apprenticeship. You'll need 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A-Levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship.
Volunteering
You could get work experience by volunteering to help in research sessions, or by doing some user interviewing. You could also get involved in the online user experience community and find a mentor to help you.
Direct Application
You can apply directly to companies or go through an agency that specialises in providing digital design professionals to clients.
You'll need qualifications and lots of relevant experience to do this. You'll find it useful to have:
- knowledge of development tools like HTML and CSS
- experience of using design software like Adobe Creative Suite
- experience of creating wireframes and prototypes by hand and with software
- an understanding of agile project development methods
It'll help if you have a portfolio to showcase examples of your work.
User experience (UX) designer apprenticeships - what it takes
Skills and knowledge
You'll need:
- knowledge of computer operating systems, hardware and software
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- the ability to write computer programs
- persistence and determination
- analytical thinking skills
- to be flexible and open to change
- the ability to use your initiative
- maths knowledge
- to have a thorough understanding of computer systems and applications
User experience (UX) designer apprenticeships - what you'll do
Day-to-day tasks
On a daily basis you'll:
- help your team define the user experience (UX) strategy for its products and services
- do stakeholder research to understand service and business needs
- use personas and data to meet user needs
- support software developers with the technical demands of your ideas
- build user journeys, prototypes and wireframes that communicate your ideas to the team
- write clear specifications and guidelines for developers or designers
- work closely with visual designers to meet users needs
- work with the research team to plan and carry out user research and usability
- testing
contribute to or run UX review sessions
- analyse issues and recommend solutions
Working environment
You could work in an office, from home or at a client's business.
Career path and progression - User experience (UX) designer apprenticeships
With experience you could move into a management job and supervise other designers.
You could also move into a development role if you've got experience of programming languages.