Senior IC to UX Manager, any advice?
I'm in the Midwest at about 7-8 YOE currently senior UX designer role getting offered a UX Manager role. Base salary would go from roughly 100k to 120-130k. A good increase for the area. But what gives me pause is that I currently work fully remote and have a pretty good setup where I have time to freelance quite a bit and that's starting to take off. This year I could probably match the TC increase of this new job. I've never managed before and would need to hire two people beneath me and would likely be in the office way more, more meetings, less of WLB which I really love right now being remote with having young kids and a wife with health problems. But...the TC increase would be nice, job would be local, and I'd be the only UX manager in a 100 mile radius in a growing tech scene. So I feel like I could be putting myself in a great position to be UX mgr, dir, VP in the coming years as more tech grows around here and begins to hire more UX. Has anyone else been in a similar situation design or otherwise as far as choosing really flexible ideal job with one that has more responsibility but could set you up well for the future? Or could I be hosed because there's no other mature tech companies in the area hiring senior UX people? #design #remote #ux
Yes. That's clearly stated. Senior designer with 7+ years experience.
Prioritize WLB. Your kids will only be young once, and your wifeโs health is more important than anything work related.
Being a UX manager will give the ability to have better understanding of the product overall and may pave the way into product management, if thatโs something that youโre interested in. So I think you should think about it from that perspective too. There are plenty of growth opportunities in product management. I think far more than in UX design.
Do NOT switch. I cannot stress this enough. Your technical skills as a designer Will always be in demand. 20k extra is not remotely worth it, esp given that you will work more hours. There are mature ux places in the Midwest but they don't pay really well. If you want money you need to jump into the Lions den of consulting.
Are you a UX designer now?