Things You Should Know About Being a Contract UX Designer!

what's up youtube fam this is wesley and welcome back to the channel so if you don't know i'm currently a contract ux designer which means that i'm working for a company for a certain period of time until we mutually part ways my current contract is actually coming to an end pretty sadly so i thought now would be a good time to share with you guys about my experience and then more specifically talk through about some of the pros and cons that i've seen as a contract ux designer so i feel like contract positions it usually kind of gets a bad rap just because it's kind of correlated with having an unsafe and unstable job where you probably won't get the full benefits that you might receive from a full-time employment which is kind of the reason why people won't even look at contract positions at all when i decided to quit my full-time job for a contract one i had a lot of different reactions from different people some of them coming up to me and being like whoa wesley why would you quit your full-time job for a contract one as if i'm downgrading my career somehow even with the certain cons that do exist as a contractor i think that there are actually a lot of upsides as well that can help you grow in your career as a ux designer it's just a matter of how flexible you are in your career in your life and if you're kind of open-minded to see where contract positions can possibly take you so with that being said i wanted to provide a little more knowledge clarity and insights from my experience being a contractor and then list out some of the pros and cons so that way you can decide if this can be a good fit for yourself so let's first start off with the pros all the good stuff number one you get paid a lot higher than a full-time employee yes this is correct a lot of people don't know this but you do actually get paid pretty well as a contractor from what i've researched and looked into you do get paid a lot more just because you don't receive that full benefit that you might receive as a full-time employee so that's to kind of help balance things out and help cover for that number two you're given the flexibility to work with various companies and on different projects let's just say that you're the type of person who gets bored very easily especially when you're working for the same company industry and on the same projects and you like to be able to work on a lot of different things then i would say contract position is actually a good fit for you you basically can decide to work for a certain company for a set period of time and then once that's done then you decide to work for another company which may be in a complete different industry and that has different products so for example for six months i could work for a retail company and then once that contract ends i move to a company that's surrounded around fintech and work for them for four months and then the next three months i get to work for a fan company this basically gives you the opportunity to really diversify your career experience and portfolio number three you get to work with companies that you might not have a chance to work for if you were applying for a full-time position for example with my current skills and experience i'm not sure if i'm competitive enough to work for like a top fan company such as meta as a full-time employee not only is it a very competitive company where a lot of other designers obviously wants to work for them as well you also have to go through a very intensive interview process that can last between a month two months or even longer now if meta was looking for a contract ux designer that process might actually be a little bit easier and quicker for contract positions they're usually looking for a designer to come in and help out fairly quickly for a set period of time and they're not taking too much time to really think through if you're a good fit for the company long term full-time positions they're not usually in a rush to find someone but contracts they are looking to bring in someone fairly quickly so for those following reasons the interview process for a contract position can go through fairly quickly you might even be able to land a job as short as two weeks lastly there is an opportunity for a contract extension or a full-time conversion for contract extensions that usually happens if the contract needs more work so the contract gets extended and they want you to continue working on that project instead of having you leave and then bringing on another contract ux designer who's fairly new to the space now for a full-time conversion this can happen if the company feels like you can be a good long-term commitment and fit for the company and team so as long as you do your job and you put in the good work they can offer you a full-time position but one quick note with the contract extension or even full-time conversion this is not guaranteed at all whatsoever even though that may come up early in the conversation with your recruiter or even with the manager i just wouldn't put all your eggs into one basket so you got to be willing to have your plan b c or d however many you need in order to have your next job lined up all right i've talked about some of the good stuff about having a contract position now let's talk about the cons all the bad stuff number one the top thing that does come to mind is that there is no job stability or security you're agreeing to work for a company for a specific period of time and then once that contract finishes you have to go ahead and look for the next job and this can be a bit chaotic as you have to kind of put yourself back out there into the job market and look for the next best fit for yourself i don't think i have to explain to you guys how stressful that can be especially if you're going through the job hunt under a time crunch now if you had a full-time job you can hold on to that job indefinitely while you're looking for the next opportunity but with contract once it ends you're jobless so you're trying to plan and do everything you can to find that next job and have that lined up right after the contract ends one thing i will say is that if the recruiter from the employment agency that gave you the position if they do their job right and if they're in consistent communication with you they'll actually help you out during this transition period where they should come to you with other contract positions that are available so that way you can plan ahead and have another job lined up as soon as the current contract ends my quick suggestion is that it's probably best to start looking for your next role about two to three months before the contract end date number two most of the time you will receive no benefits and that means there's a good chance that you won't receive the health vision and dental insurance the 401k plan or pto now if you're lucky you might find an employment agency that at least offers the insurance part so the health dental envision but getting the 401k and the pto that i would say is very highly unlikely and that's the reason why you get paid higher as a contractor also if the company that you're working for has any internal benefits or discounts you probably won't get those either because you're not considered an internal employee so for example during my time at dick's sporting goods i would receive a discounted gym membership i would receive discounts at the sporting goods stores but if i was to work for them as a contractor i don't get any of those also since you're not an internal employee you won't be included in any of the company events or happenings so if the company decides to do a town hall event a special employee announcement or even a company party or event you won't be included in any of that sadly now all of this exclusivity may make you feel like an outsider to be honest and that's all dependent on the manager or the team you're working for and how much they include you alright last but not least you might not be given that long-term mentorship or long-term plan for your career growth because you're not staying at a company long term it's hard for a manager to really help map out your long-term career goals and plan they'll help you plan out the duration of your contract in terms of the work that you might be doing or the things that you might be designing but career-wise that's kind of a bit of a different story usually the company wants you to come in do your work and get out honestly this really depends on your manager they may be really helpful and supportive of your position but they may not necessarily be helpful when it comes to your career and your long-term plans this is where i would say that you would have to initiate these type of conversations through your one-on-ones or your coffee chats i highly recommend that you come into these conversations with topics around your career talk to them about your long-term plans or ask them good questions around career growth well those are all the pros and cons that i can think of as a contract ux designer i'd say if you're in a position where you're looking for a job i definitely encourage you guys to consider a contract position as a way to really grow in your career and get a new ux experience if you're single you don't have a family you're feeling kind of adventurous with the different industries and products that are out there or if you're feeling a little daring i would say a contract position is the right fit for you if you need something stable you got a family and you got big financial responsibilities then maybe a contract position is not the best fit for you and that's up to you guys to decide based off of where you're at in your life in your career and your experience i hope this was helpful for you guys would love to hear your guys's thoughts in the comments sections did i miss any pros or cons please list them out let's have a civilized conversation thanks again for watching to the end i will see you guys in the next video and peace out [Music] you

Channel: WesleyHong

Views: 2,187

Keywords: ux, ui, ux/ui, ux/ui design, ux/ui designer, user experience, user interface, ux design, ui design, ux designer, ui designer, product design, product designer, design, creative, career, tech, tech career, tech job, creative career, creative job

Id: EcuDBgAUFXs

Length: 8min 50sec (530 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 15 2022