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The differences between lead user experience designers and user experience designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a lead user experience designer and a user experience designer. Additionally, a lead user experience designer has an average salary of $115,214, which is higher than the $91,159 average annual salary of a user experience designer.
The top three skills for a lead user experience designer include sketch, user experience and UI. The most important skills for a user experience designer are sketch, UI, and user research.
| Lead User Experience Designer | User Experience Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $115,214 | $91,159 |
| Hourly rate | $55.39 | $43.83 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 53,712 | 52,582 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
Lead User Experience Designers are responsible for providing strategy and direction in designing a user's experience for a digital product or service. They work with cross-functional teams such as user researchers, product design teams, and project managers to deliver a specified timeline. Their duties include developing information architecture, designing wireframes, prototyping, creating content, and performing usability testing of system interaction. Lead user experience designers must know Adobe Suites and specialist wireframing and prototyping design tools such as Axure, Marvel, Invision to translate the design to product. They also liaise with clients regularly to ensure the design meets the business goal.
A User Experience (UX) designer is an individual who measures and optimizes applications to improve the experience of end-users. His/Her or her duties and responsibilities include considering a design's human-computer interaction element, defining interaction models, and working with creative directors and designers. The key skills for UX designers include strong mathematical and problem-solving skills and excellent information technology and programming skills. Having a bachelor's degree in a design or computing-related subject is an advantage to qualify for the UX designer position.
Lead user experience designers and user experience designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead User Experience Designer | User Experience Designer | |
| Average salary | $115,214 | $91,159 |
| Salary range | Between $83,000 And $158,000 | Between $65,000 And $127,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Bruno, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | Airbnb | BitGo |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a lead user experience designer and a user experience designer in terms of educational background:
| Lead User Experience Designer | User Experience Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between lead user experience designers' and user experience designers' demographics:
| Lead User Experience Designer | User Experience Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.5% Female, 25.5% | Male, 59.6% Female, 40.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 10.4% White, 70.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 10.4% White, 70.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 13% | 13% |