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The differences between product designers and user experience researchers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a product designer, becoming a user experience researcher takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a product designer has an average salary of $102,033, which is higher than the $99,849 average annual salary of a user experience researcher.
The top three skills for a product designer include sketch, visual design and UI. The most important skills for a user experience researcher are user research, user experience, and research methods.
| Product Designer | User Experience Researcher | |
| Yearly salary | $102,033 | $99,849 |
| Hourly rate | $49.05 | $48.00 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 19% |
| Number of jobs | 98,465 | 24,148 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 40 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
A product designer's key responsibilities are to perform design research, selecting the best materials, and develop user storyboards for the client and users' best interest. Product designers usually work with a whole design team, documenting suggestions to deliver high-quality outputs or improve existing products to match the market trends. They must also communicate with other skilled professionals to enhance their ideas and consult clients for any necessary adjustments that would affect the total user experience. A product designer should also have extensive knowledge of the consumer's preference to make the design more appealing and engaging.
A user experience (UX) researcher is an individual who is responsible for analyzing actual consumer behavior and needs to design products and services that may have an impact on business companies. User experience researchers provide informed insights and then work with product managers to turn these insights into consumer-centric results that resonate with customers. They are required to conduct in-depth and advanced research both in qualitative and quantitative methods to identify user needs and goals and provide recommendations for improvement. User experience researchers are also required to participate in the recruitment activities for user research.
Product designers and user experience researchers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Designer | User Experience Researcher | |
| Average salary | $102,033 | $99,849 |
| Salary range | Between $68,000 And $152,000 | Between $73,000 And $135,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sacramento, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | Netflix | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a product designer and a user experience researcher in terms of educational background:
| Product Designer | User Experience Researcher | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Psychology |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | University of Maryland - College Park |
Here are the differences between product designers' and user experience researchers' demographics:
| Product Designer | User Experience Researcher | |
| Average age | 40 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.2% Female, 25.8% | Male, 44.2% Female, 55.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 1.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.3% Asian, 10.1% White, 76.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.4% Asian, 14.4% White, 64.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 10% |