9 in 10 UX practitioners are thinking about quitting

The truth is that most of our jobs, no matter how you slice it, serve the purpose of profit for the ultra-wealthy. The gutting of federal departments and illegal firings of civil servants, orchestrated by a certain loser garbage human who shall not be named, is not a coincidental power play. In an oligarchy, the titans of industry join powers with political leaders to exact total control over the public and private sphere.

Looking at the day to day of UX and tech work, we’re indefinitely hitting our heads against the wall just trying to do our damn jobs, cycling through burnout mode. The fight for a seat at the table is often a lost cause, and somehow we continue to be blamed for “not showing value” by largely unaccountable “design leadership”. These things aren’t even new, they’ve just gotten worse.

I could go on, but you can also check out this laundry list of reasons why UX practitioners are fed up over on LinkedIn.

Survey says… people wanna bail 💩

There’s no question about this growing trend. It’s a regular topic in my coaching work and in online forums, like this post about career alternatives to UX research from Janelle Ward, and this heartfelt share from Matthew Johnson about leaving UX with no other options lined up. There are numerous discussions to be found on r/UXDesign.

Resources on the topic are popping up everywhere, like this article from Roberta Dombrowski about transferrable UXR skills, and Kim Whitten and Meltem Naz’s Leaving UX newsletter.

Out of quantitative curiosity (and as fan of data triangulation), I ran an unscientific poll on LinkedIn to see how people are feeling about things.

The results? A whopping 9 out of 10 respondents have considered leaving UX, for all of the reasons above, and more. Notably, 4 out of 10 have decided to stay, at least for the mean time. No doubt many are holding tight given the state of the job market and economy, and the risk of making a big change.

Look around and you’ll see people considering or pursuing adjacent or entirely new work paths into product management, development, marketing, entrepreneurship, customer success, therapy, retiring early, and for some real outliers: farming, opening a Play It Again Sports franchise, and an ice cream cart. Honestly, those last two sound kind of appealing right about now.

Is it your turn to GTFO?

I would bet money that most readers of this fair newsletter have either considered leaving UX and making a career transition, or they know someone who is mulling it over. Perhaps you, or they, have already blown this popsicle stand.

I’m in this bucket, too—I left corporate UX in 2018 (couldn’t take it anymore, see above reasons). Then I quit UX consulting in 2021 (got bored). Now as a coach for UXers, I’ve also been impacted by the fallout. I regularly ask myself the same question: what’s next for me? Is it time for another shift? How can I diversify my income, or reinvent myself altogether?

We’re all trying to figure this out, but the choice is ultimately up to every individual: You can hold tight. Stay and fight. Play the game. Quiet quit. Burn it all down. Design your own game with your own rules. Any path forward is a valid one.

P.S. Want to explore working with me on your UX job search, career goals, and workplace challenges? Check out my offerings, or reply to this email and let me know what I can help with! ✨