They witness
- Roxane LacotteUX researcher, co-founder of the start-up Panash
- Romain Asse, UX Designer and Researcher, speaker of the UX & CX Innovation Masters of the Efrei school. This two-year course can take place alternately (900 euros registration fee) and is accessible to graduates with at least a Bac +3.
- Mary Schneider, Senior UX Researcher at Docusign
- Thibault GeenenCEO of Ferpection, a consulting company in UX Research
- Matthew LombardHead of UX at Ferpection
- Alexia Moitydirector of ECV Paris, a school offering a work-study master’s degree in UX design and research
- Anne-Sophie Guillousenior UX researcher at Criteo
UX Research: a profession that is becoming essential in companies
UX Research (user research in French) is in its infancy in France. But given the importance of its missions (schematically, the study of the needs of users of a product or service), the function is becoming essential in all companies.
UX professions are increasingly internalized by companiesbut the profession is also practiced by many independents.
Roxane Lacotte
“When I started my career, remembers Roxane Lacotte, 29-year-old UX researcher, co-founder of the start-up Panash, I could count on one or two salaried job offers when I did a search. Today there are hundreds of them. It is now a highly sought-after position with employers expanding teams from one to twenty specialists in UX Research”.
Romain Asse
Recruitments are very important but still difficult to quantify. “The sector is currently buoyant, confirms Romain Asse, UX Designer and Researcher, speaker of the UX & CX Innovation Masters at the Efrei school. We we have a lot of requests from large companies, innovation laboratories or startups. »
The UX Researchers we interviewed say they can find a job within three months if they want to leave their current job. “I just have to accept the requests that come to me regularly…”adds a senior Researcher who also wishes to work in full telework because she does not wish to leave her region.
Multidisciplinary soft skills
Thibault Geenen
Thibault Geenen, who runs Ferpection, a UX Research consulting company, employs 20 people. He plans to hire 5 more in 2023.
“I am looking for UX researchers who have, above all, soft skills such as empathy, listening and analytical skills. A good UX Researcher must also know how to convince his client, influence him, advise him ».
The sector is not hostile to self-taught people who started out as freelancers. But the job is becoming more professional and graduates are obviously highly valued.
“In this business, experience counts above all, says Marie Schneider, senior UX researcher, 7 years of seniority, working for the American company Docusign, which secures the dematerialization of contracts. And it is not necessary to have obtained a course in UX research ».
Having said that, knowledge of several languages, including English, is a career accelerator because it allows you to canvass American companies, the country where UX Research was born. Or to carry out research in several languages.
Who can convert to UX Research?
The profession lacks “brains”. Employers are therefore (relatively) ready to hire people who started out in other disciplines. Specialists in marketing, research, sociology, journalism, psychology can therefore apply having taken care, beforehand, to train in UX Research.
Anne-Sophie Guillou
“Conversion is possible, confirms Anne-Sophie Guillou, 37-year-old senior UX researcher who exercises her talents for Criteo, the company responsible for the advertisements that track you once you have visited a site… However, it is necessary to have basics in UX which are acquired by training. Then, it is essential to practice through associations, relatives. We learn by doing. »
The start-up Panash thus allows training over 5 weeks (2490 euros per course). Of course, the novice in UX research will have to assume himself as a junior and get his hands on studies with friendly employers while creating a UX Research culture. It is also recommended to get closer to your (future) peers by joining groups created to professionalize the profession, such as the Flupa association.
How to self-train in UX Research?
Matthew Lombard
“Self-training is possible to get started in the profession, adds Mathieu Lombard, 33, head of UX for Ferpection. If the profession appeals, it will then be possible to follow the courses of the Nielsen Norman group, the reference or those of the “Interaction design foundation”. You can also get information via our blog at Ferpection or at UX Republic or even at Usabilis which offer free introductory webinars “.
Other ways to forge a UX culture and improve your skills: Roxane Lacotte’s podcasts or Nikki Anderson’s program.
How much does a UX Researcher earn?
1- How much does a beginner UX Researcher earn?
In UX research, a young bac +4/5 graduate will start with a salary revolving around €35,000. It is a little less in the region with a drop of around 15 to 20% for a salary of around 30,000 euros.
Alexia Moity
Better then to work in a “home office” for a Parisian company… “Our graduates in UX research receive, at the start of their career, from 35,000 to 38,000 euros gross per year, confirms Alexia Moity, director of ECV Paris, a school offering a work-study master’s degree in UX design and research. After two years of experience, they will receive around 40,000 euros gross per year. There is work in the area. We have no problem finding companies for our apprentices with 50 employer requests for promotions of 30 students. They therefore have the possibility of being demanding”.
Young engineers graduating from a school like Efrei will receive, this is what the establishment reports, €38,900 precisely for a UX Researcher position.
2- How much does a confirmed UX Researcher earn?
After 5 years of experience, a UX researcher can, on average, earn between 44,000 and 50,000 euros gross per year in Ile-de-France (37,000-43,000 in the region) and around 65,000 to 70,000 euros gross per year for the most experienced such as this senior UX researcher who has just taken up a position with a distribution company clothing. Gross annual salary: 70,000 euros. Then, some rare positions are around more than 100,000 euros gross per year with a ceiling of 60,000 euros gross per year for specialists working in the regions.