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The differences between usability specialists and user experience designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a usability specialist, becoming a user experience designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a user experience designer has an average salary of $91,159, which is higher than the $86,253 average annual salary of a usability specialist.
The top three skills for a usability specialist include user experience, web application and user interface. The most important skills for a user experience designer are sketch, UI, and user research.
| Usability Specialist | User Experience Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $86,253 | $91,159 |
| Hourly rate | $41.47 | $43.83 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 790 | 52,582 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 42 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
Usability specialists and user experience designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Usability Specialist | User Experience Designer | |
| Average salary | $86,253 | $91,159 |
| Salary range | Between $51,000 And $143,000 | Between $65,000 And $127,000 |
| Highest paying City | Oakland, CA | San Bruno, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Washington |
| Best paying company | Blue Shield of California | BitGo |
| Best paying industry | Media | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a usability specialist and a user experience designer in terms of educational background:
| Usability Specialist | User Experience Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between usability specialists' and user experience designers' demographics:
| Usability Specialist | User Experience Designer | |
| Average age | 42 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 59.5% Female, 40.5% | Male, 59.6% Female, 40.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.5% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 13.9% White, 66.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | 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 | 4% | 13% |