I'd like to start this reply with a pre-emptive "thank you" for reading along in case it gets a bit wordy; this is a topic very near/dear to me.
I too have noticed on twitter, and on the various nonMonster job boards that words like "usability", "user experience", are being mixed in more and more with the UX / UI / IxD tags thrown in as well. This is relatively "fresh" and not the usual 'web developer' posts that I've been used to seeing for years now. Fresh has it's questionable freshness factor though (as was commented on numerous times in the comments preceding mine) - it seems that someone in HR doing the posting for many of these companies replaced the former "IT" position with that of the "web developer" to the current "senior UX/___ developer" positions that seem so fresh and vibrant on the job and helpwanted area's. "Junior Usability Guru/Ninja/Coordinator/Developer/Evangelist/Etc wanted * " Oh cool, something for ME! - junior level, something I can learn more of the ropes with, something to advance on, and give back to a company in the near future as I develop further... oh wait, an asterisk? * - oh... junior to this company stands for having mastered 4 programming languages, with 5 years of experience, with the added pre-req' for having managerial experience in a specific field. oh.. ok, gotcha. (gulp). As someone that is (pardon the capslock) SINCERELY looking for a junior level position, that was raised on his own non-O'Reilly-coding-only diet of Zeldman, Krug, Nielsen, Garrett and others on the side to his university required programming/design courses that didn't include many of these UX/Standardista "titans" of industry - I have seen nearly ZERO job posts in the past 5 years with a legitimate "junior" position to work at, and WITH UX/UI. An internship here or there? sure, a handful out of 1,000 potential internships, that'll really "reach" the next generation of UX/UI'ers out there. People flock to the conferences as gold. People retweet one designers approval of another designers redesign as gold. Many people are buying the books, and are retooling their "role" in the IT department, in the Web team, in their immediate world; and are forgetting to give back, and to share, and to open doors for the next generation of UX'ers that exists. There is an entire generation of UX'ers that are not "former (insert internet language programmer title here)", or are not a hybrid of a former position that worked out and now they wear a new hat, or are not former artschool graduates that ground away at earlier photoshop or quark software on box monitors and now can boss others about typography... There is an entire generation of new, UX-minded, UX-from the ground-up future workers that are seeing that they have to go "freelance" if they don't have that ridiculous toolset - as being too well-rounded is a downfall that doesn't get you interviewed like these positions call for. This is not a cry for help, not at all - but an honest remark from my end to yours - how many 'experts', how many 'senior level', how many of those directors, managers, consultants, or other leaders of this UX/UI world that is bursting with life these days are willing to take on an intern? To take on an 'apprentice' that lives locally? To take on a 'shadow' that learns, works, and gives back to the company/team-project, and also builds for the future ahead? In all honesty, I can pull out 20? (30?!) names and emails that would be willing to work for free. Not one penny. Not one "oh, the economy is bad" excuse - as the money will come some day, but the c..h..a..n..c..e.. doesn't - because there is no job listing for "chance". A bulletin board by the coffee maker, an online forum for UXSUPERJOBS'ETC that posts on twitter the same post that another one reposted 4 minutes ago, a Linked'In job listing area doesn't exactly cover that, list that, or offer that. Beside the university that offers (some/limited) help in placing students into a UX based position, or a freelancer willing to grind away and learn the rough world of being on your own (but hey - you can write a great inspirational blog post someday of how you "did it", no?) - Where is that current and previous generation of coders, "IT guys", of those that attempted to convert a coworker into a 'usability expert' that COULD reach out to the new generation that is already grounded in best-practices, accessability, content quality-kings/queens ? Are there more UX/UI postings and listings? Yup. But where are the jobs that are cheap on your monthly/yearly budget that offer a double reward (extra productivity - an extra helping hand to free you up, and doing something to help someone advance their career, hopes, or dreams to hopefully give back later on down the road!) Those job posts don't exist (yet). Junior... isn't. Thanks again for reading along. I would like to finish on the thought that I >> am . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=49535 ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [email protected] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
