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The differences between user experience designers and product designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a user experience designer, becoming a product designer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a product designer has an average salary of $102,033, which is higher than the $91,159 average annual salary of a user experience designer.
The top three skills for a user experience designer include sketch, UI and user research. The most important skills for a product designer are sketch, visual design, and UI.
| User Experience Designer | Product Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $91,159 | $102,033 |
| Hourly rate | $43.83 | $49.05 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 52,582 | 98,465 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 38 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 4 |
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.
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.
User experience designers and product designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| User Experience Designer | Product Designer | |
| Average salary | $91,159 | $102,033 |
| Salary range | Between $65,000 And $127,000 | Between $68,000 And $152,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Bruno, CA | Sacramento, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | BitGo | Netflix |
| Best paying industry | Start-up | Technology |
There are a few differences between a user experience designer and a product designer in terms of educational background:
| User Experience Designer | Product Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Carnegie Mellon University |
Here are the differences between user experience designers' and product designers' demographics:
| User Experience Designer | Product Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 59.6% Female, 40.4% | Male, 74.2% Female, 25.8% |
| 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, 1.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.3% Asian, 10.1% White, 76.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 13% | 8% |