The pathway
How you actually get there, here
How you become one varies far more by country than what one does. This is the UK route. Most people take one of these ways in; the right one depends on where you're starting from.
- 1
Associate User Tester (L1)
1-2 yearsSkills to master
- Meticulous note-taking, executing pre-defined test scripts, basic data entry and organisation, understanding ethical research practices, clear communication of observations.
You're ready to move on when
- Consistently delivers accurate and well-organised session notes.
- Can run a standard moderated test session with minimal supervision.
- Demonstrates a foundational understanding of user-centred design principles.
- Proactively asks clarifying questions to ensure task understanding.
- 2
Junior UX Researcher (from another company)
2-3 yearsSkills to master
- Adapting to our specific R&D product domain, understanding our internal processes and tools, building relationships with our product and design teams, refining report writing for our stakeholders.
You're ready to move on when
- Successfully onboarded and integrated into our R&D team within 3 months.
- Can independently manage a small research project from start to finish.
- Demonstrates a good grasp of our product's user base and their key challenges.
- Proactively seeks feedback on their work and applies learnings.
- 3
Product Support Analyst (Internal Move)
2-4 yearsSkills to master
- Transitioning from reactive problem-solving to proactive user understanding, learning formal research methodologies, developing moderation and interviewing skills, data synthesis and presentation for product teams.
You're ready to move on when
- Has a deep understanding of customer pain points from support interactions.
- Shows a strong desire to understand 'why' users struggle, not just 'how to fix it'.
- Has taken initiative to shadow user tests or complete basic UX research courses.
- Can articulate how their support experience translates to research value.