100daysofcode - Day95
Hello friends 
, a new day is reaching the end, And ONLY 5 
days are left in this amazing journey.
Today and as usual, a lot of UX/UI stuffs are targeted and for now we will talk about, the 5 common career paths in the user experience industry. 
1- The management career path
- The management career path is probably the one that is most familiar when we think about career progression. As you gain more experience as a UX designer, there are usually opportunities to lead projects and teams, and eventually become a formal manager. This usually means taking on people management responsibilities (e.g. hiring, performance evaluation, supporting career development), and often also means taking on leadership responsibilities such as budgets and timelines.
Pros 
:
- Leadership of teams and projects
- Can be rewarding to support team member growth and career development
- Typically very well compensated at senior levels
- Opportunity to influence business decisions and strategy
Cons 
:
- Limited (if any) hands on design work, often become further from the craft of design
- People leadership is a serious responsibility, that often means you are starting over learning a new set of skills
- Can be a high stress, high responsibility role depending on the organisation and team
2- The individual contributor career path
- The individual contributor career path is one where you continue to gain seniority in your role, without taking on people management responsibilities. (Also sometimes referred to as a ‘technical’, ‘subject matter expert’ or ‘craft’ track.) This is a popular path for designers who want to continue to deepen their craft, stay practice oriented, and continue to do design work in their day to day. Over time, this path leads to roles like ‘Staff UX Designer’ or Principal Designer’.
Pros :
- Stay close to the craft and continue to do hands on design work
- Opportunities to build deep expertise and become a leading practitioner
- Typically well-compensated at senior levels (depending on the organization)
Cons :
- Not all organizations are well set up to accommodate for this role
- Pressure to contribute at high levels of expertise and knowledge
- Sometimes not compensated at the same levels as the people leadership track
3- The freelancer or solo consultant career path
- Designers often come to the freelancer or solo consultant career path after building up experience and a network, or perhaps freelancing on the side of a full time job. Freelance UX work is often project based, and relies on having a strong network of clients and prospects. Solo UX consultants are similar to freelancers but often work on higher value or more strategic projects, with freelancers tending to be more executional.
Pros :
- High level of control over the type of work you take on
- Lots of variety and different project work
- Can mean a flexible schedule or the opportunity to shape how much you work
Cons :
- Requires a lot of self discipline to create your own structure
- Means running your own business and taking on overhead on things like taxes, invoicing, finding new clients
4- The specializing or related field career path
- Many designers choose to specialize in a certain area of UX, or move into a related field. The knowledge and skills that UX Designers have translate well to other roles, and over time many designers find a niche that they want to explore further. The possibilities here are almost endless, however some common examples include becoming a UX researcher, moving into product management, or perhaps transitioning into teaching or academia.
Pros :
- Bringing UX skills and experience to another practice area
- Opportunities to explore areas of interest and craft your own path
- Development of a ‘T shaped’ design skill with a broad understanding of UX and a deep specialisation in a related area
Cons :
- May mean not practicing design craft in your day to day
- Can mean a lateral or even ‘downward’ step as you learn new skills
- Depending on the field you choose, may have less earning potential or a different career structure/pathway
5- The entrepreneurial career path
- The entrepreneurial career path can take many forms – broadly speaking this career path is starting a business. One common path is starting a design agency, and another founding a startup. This differs from the freelance or solo consultant path mainly in the scale of the business and size of the team.
Pros :
- Opportunity to build something from scratch, including a product or service, company culture, team
- Very high earning potential with a successful business or eventually being acquired
Cons :
- Can be highly financially risky and unpredictable as it can take time to build revenue
- Tends to mean a lot of focus on building a business and less on craft and day to day design work