Why I Stopped Applying For UX Jobs (And Why You Likely Will, Too)

The realities of tech and the grim future that lies ahead

UX, like the Wicked Witch of the west, is in meltdown.

UX as we know it is in decline. It’s a pretty controversial topic that is being discussed more in the space, and we’re all familiar with the layoffs that took the tech industry by storm after the purchase of Twitter by a certain South African gentleman who decided to cut over 80% of staff. We know that UX as a field began long before the iPhone, and yet much of what constitutes UX terminology today can be traced back to its usage in the development of mobile apps and modern websites. We aren’t sure, as a collective at least, where UX is going anymore — and you can thank the modern tech industry for that.

Personally, I think there are conversation topics that just aren’t being given enough attention in the UX community. After all, it’s hard to figure out what is the cause of this decline without having to sort through all of the noise.

First, we’re seeing the advent of AI, much of which was originally only capable of auto-generating text and images. But now, it’s being added to the design software that most UX professionals use to do their work. AI is effectively being deployed and, in a similar fashion, used to profit from the designs of the collective community that uses their platform. It’s a sickening thought that this could even happen, and it has caused a serious uproar in the design community (and rightfully so!).

Second, design as a discipline has become lost in trend-obsession and this sense that UX is more of a nice-to-have than a discipline that is essential to the success of organizations. When tools like AI and accessible courses by Google give product managers and developers this artificial courage to think they can design because they can use Figma, it creates a culture of delegitimization around UX. The result is a poorly equipped team of people unfamiliar with something that they deceive themselves into thinking they understand. It’s a runaway effect, one that plays a likely role in the layoffs that are uprooting even the most experienced UX professionals from their organizations.

Third and most importantly, the tech industry in general is experiencing a wave of change (see: correction) and we will…