Andrew and Katrin come up with questions and answers. Pretty straight forward, but let's see what happens!
<aside> 💡 published in July, 2021.
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K: That's a tough one! I think, it highly depends, what your background is. Someone fresh from uni with a degree in UX could be at the same level zero for UX writing as a person who has worked in HR or IT for a decade. This is the non-writer archetype—so-to-speak.
But there is also the group of people who are transitioning to UX writing from a classical writing field such as PR, copywriting, social media content production, and similar disciplines. Meet the writer archetype.
On the hunt for a UX writer job? Stand out of the crowd with a UX writing portfolio
<aside> 💡 I have no idea whether this is an unpopular opinion, but as a UX writer you do not necessarily need the most brilliant regular writing skills.
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UX is a practice. It is a continuously evolving place where you need to follow guidelines and rules of general UX rules such as Norman/Nielsen group's recommendations, the UI-heavy gestalt principles should ring a bell any time you are confronted with a site's or app's structure or a user flow, and some basic knowledge of accessibility and inclusivity won't hurt either.
You can prep with courses and get certified—fighting that impostor syndrome self-talk and showing the world your worth at the same time. I talk about gaining experience and honing your skills in detail here:
Bias in UX hiring is less about age, but more about greenness
To sum up, I think you can work on the whole package and you will be on the way to becoming a UX writer faster than you can imagine 😉
A: Great advice! Your comment about “UX is a practice” can’t be stressed enough. To an extent, I think you need to be a nerd about digital experiences, words, and how content can help people accomplish their goals.
But to me, there's no "right" path to get to where you want to go! Don't feel intimidated. Actions such as showing interest in the field and some ability to do the work, whether that's through freelance assignments or samples from a course, are helpful as you try to find a job.
Each week, I talk to people interested in breaking into the industry. I tell everyone they should do what feels best for them. Don't feel pressured into anything. Some of the courses available are great and offer so many valuable lessons. But they can involve large time and financial commitments.
Before entering the industry, I never took a course or had formal training in UX writing. I was lucky to get a job, but I learned so much doing the work after I was hired.
<aside> 💡 With anything, you learn best when you're placed into real-world situations or situations that simulate the real world as closely as possible.
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