Here's how you can handle salary negotiations when switching from a different field to User Experience (UX).

When you're moving to a UX job from another field, it's a big step. You should know that the different skills you have are valuable! Before you talk about pay, look up what UX jobs usually pay where you live. This helps you know what salary to ask for. Think about the skills you already have that can help in UX, like solving problems, talking well with others, and any tech skills. Talk about how these can help in UX work. It's good to show you're learning more about UX, like taking courses. The aim is to agree on a pay that's fair for what you know and can do. Be sure of yourself and clear when you talk about this. If they offer less than you want, it's okay to think it over based on what you've learned and your skills!

Know Salary Standards: Research typical UX salaries in your area. Highlight Transferable Skills: Emphasize relevant skills from your previous field. Show UX Knowledge: Showcase coursework, certifications, or projects in UX. Share Relevant Experience: Highlight any related experience, like research or testing. Focus on Value: Explain how your skills can benefit UX goals.

I think that if you are trying to get into UX it is a good idea to specialise in a specific area of UX by leveraging what you have done in the past. For example, when I got into UX I did not have much first hand experience. However, I utilised past skills and knowledge of marketing as my specialisation. In interviews I would highlight how these skills improved my ability to storyboard from the perspective of the user because I had learnt how to empathise with the users needs. Additionally, in marketing it is beneficial to understand the psychology of why people buy. This focus on human psychology has adapted my mindset when creating user-centric interfaces.

When I was interviewing for my current role, I did something remarkable (my employer had to say so). I was offered a figure, and I responded with something like, "To reduce how much time we would take to decide, let's round that figure to the nearest whole number." That was all! While that appears so simple, you need to learn to utilize psychological tactics like this in negotiations (sometimes called anchoring and framing). But more importantly, you need to think about the long-term benefits of working in that company, which was my priority at that time. So discussing long-term career growth and opportunities within the company should be a part of your negotiations.

A very often missed strategy is to interview people in the field who are already doing stuff. Request to interview them. Ask them about: - What they actually do - What their day-to-day job looks like - What resources helped them get to where they are Doing this can cut the overwhelm that comes with transition by over 50%

Find people you like who are like you. Places like ADP mentors and SuperPeer allow you to engage with individuals for peer learning and study groups. Ask loads of questions. This one-to-one environment will give you huge data points They can help you discover what you're not considering especially as regards the hiring process and salary negotiations

Acquire practical experience through internships or volunteer projects. Before getting a job, I volunteered for an NFT startup as a product designer in order to understand what working in a new country looks/feels like. They gave me ideas of actual salaries from their day jobs.