user experience research positions

What is a UX Researcher? The Ultimate Guide for 2024

The role of the user experience (UX) researcher is becoming more prominent, more specialized, and more in demand.

Uncovering user behaviors, needs, and motivations in order to design products and services that provide value is the crux of user experience research. When performed correctly, these methods have a huge impact on business.

So what is a UX researcher?

In this guide, we’ll take a look at what a UX researcher does and the UX research career path.

Although there is no singular path, there are four main steps to move a UX researcher forward: expanding knowledge of the user research field ; obtaining foundational skills ; crafting a portfolio; and building a network of industry peers.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• What is a user experience researcher?
• What does a user experience researcher do?
• What skills are required for a career in UX research?
• How to expand your knowledge of the UX research industry
• How to obtain the necessary foundational skills
• How to craft a convincing portfolio
• How to build a solid network of industry peers
• Final thoughts

1. What is a user experience researcher?

A user experience researcher has their hand on the pulse of user needs and goals. They are the empathetic, organized, critical thinker whose day-to-day is about the first stage of the design thinking process : empathize .

This isn’t to say that UX researchers’ work is totally separate from the rest of the process, but their work has arguably the most humanizing effect on the process. Here’s why— UX researchers know how to:

• Understand the problem or challenge at hand
• Apply a variety of methods and approaches to finding out how their users tick in the context of this problem or challenge
• Listen, observe, and ask the right kinds of questions to gather insights that can be turned into actionable ideas
• Synthesize their findings and communicate them to the rest of the team and to key stakeholders in clear, actionable, and even engaging ways

2. What does a user experience researcher do?

The purpose of the UX researcher (also referred to as “user researcher” or “design researcher”) is to unearth human insights in order to guide the application of design.

According to a recent job posting by IBM, as a design researcher, you will “help provide actionable and meaningful data-driven insights that represent the voice of multiple users. You will collaborate across development, design, and marketing teams to evaluate current and upcoming user research needs that help to improve product definition and drive business goals.”

Some typical tasks and responsibilities of the UX researcher include:

Research Planning and Recruitment

• Develop a well-crafted research plan with clear research objectives.
• Write usability research screeners and discussion guides.
• Recruit targeted end-users for specific research studies.

Data Collection

• Moderate one-on-one basic usability sessions.
• Help develop and implement quantitative surveys.
• Conduct stakeholder and client interviews .

Data Analysis

• Extract insights about user behaviors from web instrumentation tools.
• Translate user insights into actionable recommendations for the product team.

Presentation of Insights

• Craft personas and other “information radiators” (e.g. journey maps) to communicate insights across the design and development teams.
• Present design research findings to the larger team in a clear and organized fashion.
• Work closely with the product team to identify research objectives.
• Establish and implement an overall research strategy.

These are just a handful of tasks that belong to UX research. Ultimately, your job as a UX researcher is to build up a picture of your target users based on their needs, wants, motivations, and pain points. These insights enable the wider design team to create user-friendly products based on real user feedback—not just your assumptions.

As with most UX design roles, the UX researcher means different things to different companies.

To learn more about what might be expected of you as a UX researcher, browse various job sites and see how different companies advertise and describe the role. Here are some useful job portals to help you get started:

• UX Jobs Board
• Just UX Jobs
• User Experience Professionals Association
• AIGA Design Jobs

3. What skills are required for a career in UX research?

Now we’re familiar with some of the key tasks and responsibilities, let’s consider what skills are required for a career in UX research.

As such, being a UX researcher typically requires knowledge or experience in a relevant field that studies human behavior, such as cognitive science, behavioral economics, anthropology, sociology, or psychology. Ultimately, it’s important to be adept at reading people and empathizing with the user, and equally at home handling data and analytics.

Ideal candidates are typically “passionate, curious, and self-driven team players” who have experience working in fast-paced environments while applying both generative and evaluative research methods to build a larger understanding of users.

It’s also important to have a solid understanding of the design thinking process, as well as a passion and know-how for influencing design strategy.

Obtaining these skills can be done through identifying research opportunities with a current employer, volunteering for a design project with an external organization (e.g. VolunteerMatch), or completing research for a personal project of your own.

Overall, practice makes perfect, and refining these skills as often as you can prepare you for your future role. You can even get a design thinking certification by taking a course or program in the discipline, to show potential employers and clients that you truly know your stuff.

4. How to expand your user research knowledge

As already mentioned, there are four key steps to forging a career in UX research:

• Expand your user research knowledge.
• Obtain the foundational skills.
• Craft a portfolio of experience.
• Build a network of peers.

Let’s start with that first step: Expanding your knowledge of the UX research field. In addition to browsing job descriptions, there are plenty of things you can do to learn more about the industry — but where to begin?

Start with the basics and learn all about UX design in this comprehensive guide , and understand the critical role UX research plays in UX design in this article.

From there, learn about the difference between qualitative , quantitative , attitudinal, and behavioral research. Next, you can familiarize yourself with some common UX research methods, such as card sorting, usability testing, and user interviews.

You’ll find an introduction to some of the most important UX research methods on the CareerFoundry YouTube channel (and be sure to take a look at these free UX research tutorials ).

Be sure to watch the video below, in which CareerFoundry graduate and professional UX designer Maureen Herben explains the different techniques and tools used in qualitative user research:

As part of your own research into the UX research field, you’ll also want to consider things such as salary and career options. Sites like Glassdoor and Payscale provide up-to-date salary reports for a range of different locations.

If you can, reach out to people who are already donning the UX researcher job title. Do they tend to work remote or in-house? What kinds of companies employ UX researchers? Again, job sites can help you out here if you don’t have any contacts in the industry (yet!).

Before you commit to the UX researcher route, it’s important to learn as much as you can about the industry and what the role entails.

5. How to obtain the foundational skills necessary for a career as a UX researcher

If you’re keen to forge a career in UX research, you’ll need to start learning some of the key skills. As with any profession, it’s important to build a solid foundation of knowledge before jumping into real-world problem-solving.

Assuming that you already have some knowledge in a related area (cognitive science, sociology, psychology, etc.), there are plenty of ways to learn the fundamentals of user research. Let’s consider those now.

• Human-Computer Interaction: An Empirical Perspective : learn about the foundational topics about one of the precursors to UX design. As well as being a neat introduction to HCI , this book includes historical context, the human factor, interaction elements, and the fundamentals of science and research.
• User Research: A Practical Guide to Designing Better Products and Services : learn about all the key research methods including face-to-face user testing, card sorting, surveys, and A/B testing.

Online resources

Industry blogs are a great way to start learning the ins and outs of the field. Some useful (and trustworthy!) sources include:

• Nielsen Norman Group
• UX Collective
• Inside Design

Conferences and meetups

If possible, consider attending a UX research conference or a local meetup. You’ll find a list of the top UX research conferences to attend in 2019 here , and can search for local UX research groups on meetup.com .

In addition to the examples above, finding an apprenticeship or a more senior researcher who is willing to let you shadow their process is a great way to immerse yourself in the context of a UX researcher while learning “on the job.”

6. How to craft a convincing UX research portfolio

As with any design role, a compelling portfolio is key to proving you’ve got the right skills for the job. So how do you go about creating a convincing UX research portfolio ?

As you practice refining your skills, keep a record of your work to present to future employers. Crafting an online portfolio is a great supplement to a resume or CV when highlighting case studies that show hiring managers what you can do. According to Senior UX Recruiter Tom Cotterill:

“Your portfolio should show cultural suitability for the company where you are applying. Don’t be afraid to add a touch of character or your own style to your portfolio. It’s your chance to wow the hiring manager and demonstrate that you stand out from the crowd. A good portfolio indicates, in short, that this person has taken time to represent themselves in the best possible light, and they’re clued up enough to showcase their most relevant work in an aesthetic and logical way.”

Ultimately, your portfolio should include the following sections:

• The problem or design challenge your research aimed to solve.
• The team you collaborated with.
• The research process (how did you go about solving the problem?).
• The tools you used to recruit, collect and analyze data, and present insights.
• The final outcome and the handoff of the design for development .

For more insight on how to refine a great UX research portfolio, check out How to Wow Me With Your UX Research Portfolio and How to Create a Powerful Case Study for Your UX Portfolio . Another great resource for inspiration is  Bestfolios , the largest curation of best UX research and designer portfolios, resumes, case studies , and design resources.

7. How to build a network within the UX research industry

You’re in the process of mastering the right skills and crafting your portfolio. Now it’s time to network! Networking is one of the best ways to meet people in the UX field and potentially land a new job.

Let’s consider some of the best opportunities for making industry connections.

Current Co-Workers

If you are currently employed, look to see if there are any user experience researchers in your organization, and ask them what it’s like! Also request to shadow them during a research session and take notes.

Future Employers

Informational interviews are also a great way to get candid feedback with people working at great companies, such as IBM, Google, or Amazon. Using LinkedIn or Twitter to find and invite UX researchers for coffee is a solid way to get an idea of what it may be like to work for your company of interest, and also how to get in the door.

Online UX Communities

Actively participate in online UX communities (e.g. Facebook groups) relevant to your professional interests and learning goals. Here are a few to start with:

• Useful Usability
• The UX School

UX Research Organizations

Lastly, join 1-2 user experience research organizations, such as the User Experience Research Professionals Association or the Design Research Society to see if there are any upcoming events you can attend.

8. Final thoughts

UX is a growing field, and the role of the user experience researcher is becoming more and more pivotal. Equipping yourself with the necessary skills and knowledge, and learning to conduct UX research like a professional , while surrounding yourself with peers in the field who you can learn from are essential to becoming a UX researcher yourself.

Overall, the value of understanding the needs of the customer cannot be ignored, and user experience researchers will have an increasingly valuable role to play in the future of design.

If you’d like to learn more about UX research, check out the following guides:

• What is the UX research salary?
• A 5-Point Roadmap For Any UX Research Project
• How to conduct a UX audit
• Top 5 Mistakes to Avoid in Your UX Research Portfolio
• Interview Toolkit: Top 5 UX Research Questions to Prepare For

UX Research Jobs

User experience research is the systematic study of target users and their needs. UX research jobs aim to determine user behaviors and requirements before providing valuable insights that help design products and services.

Over the years, the user experience researcher role has become all the more significant, and this is why UX research positions are in high demand nowadays.

Professionals in UX researcher jobs are needed in multiple industries. User researchers often work alongside designers, engineers, and programmers during all production stages, from conceiving an idea to creating a product.

What Do UX Researchers Do?

A good UX researcher must be able to provide data-driven insights at the planning stage of a company’s products. Moreover, a user experience researcher’s primary task is to provide useful data to designers, enabling them to create the best possible experience for website users.

This is achieved by making websites as easy to use as possible. Part of any UX researcher job, besides researching user behavior and preferences, is to check website content thoroughly before developing improvements for various design features, such as colors and images.

UX Researchers Duties

Professionals employed in any user experience researcher job must provide solutions to challenges related to a product’s design and production. UX researchers are required to uncover what consumers want or need by conducting thorough research.

Here are some of the primary tasks and responsibilities you should expect to see listed in any UX researcher job description:

• Meeting with clients to gather information on what needs to be researched, designed, or corrected.
• Putting user experience first; making sure that design is simple, easy to use, and visually appealing.
• Developing and implementing a well-constructed research plan with clear objectives so the company can reach its goals.
• Being tech-savvy.
• Keeping track of costs and budgets.
• Taking part in recruitment procedures for user research.
• Having the presentation skills needed to explain all design progress stages to business users.

Types of UX Researcher Jobs

UX research positions can vary, ranging from low-level assignments to more serious roles, depending on user researchers’ experience and knowledge. That said, all positions involve the analysis of customer behavior, preferences, and needs.

UX Research Jobs at Entry Level  

The first thing UX research professionals at entry level jobs need to learn is how to manage user research and concept development. Then, they should be ready to research and investigate buyer behavior before working closely with marketing and product management teams to learn how to identify research topics.

UX Research Assistant

Becoming a research assistant is one of the best ways to learn new research techniques, improve your skills, and acquire invaluable working experience. Research assistants are usually employed by universities, UX research companies, or other private organizations. Most of the time, these professionals are hired on temporary contracts that involve projects aiming to assist in academic studies or private research.

Junior User Researcher

Junior UX researcher jobs require carrying out user research activities. Although junior UX researchers possess some practical experience and knowledge, they are regularly supervised, guided, and trained to make sure they deliver the best results. They usually work on teams led by a senior user researcher.

Mid-Level User Researcher

Mid-level user researchers are responsible for planning and carrying out user research activities and don’t need much guidance. This UX research job description entails working either independently or as part of a team.

Senior User Researcher

Senior user researchers are responsible for planning and leading user research activities in larger teams and can undertake more complex tasks. A senior user experience researcher job description also includes occasionally supervising and helping junior UX professionals and mid-level user researchers upgrade their skills.

Lead User Researcher

Lead user researchers are tasked with leading and supervising all user research activities across several teams. In these UX research jobs, one of the primary duties is to ensure that teams adopt a user-centered, evidence-based approach to help designers deliver the best possible results. 

Head of User Research

Professionals in this user experience research job are responsible for all user researcher related matters in an organization, including hiring new UX researchers and improving existing employees’ skills. They are UX experts with years of experience who can define and perform the best practices, develop optimal strategies, and collaborate with colleagues for the company’s benefit.

Internships and remote UX jobs are also among the various types of jobs available to UX professionals. These types of UX related jobs are quite popular among UX professionals, so here’s a brief overview of both: 

UX Research Internship

An internship is an excellent way to improve your skills while gaining knowledge and experience. UX interns learn new techniques that help them design their research approaches, analyze results, and formulate hypotheses. Interns usually work closely with a supervisor who guides and encourages them.

UX Research Remote Jobs

One of the advantages of UX researchers working remotely is that they get to choose their working hours. Remote UX researchers work from home to research target customers and their user experience. 

People in remote UX research jobs are involved in analyzing the buyers’ use of a company’s products, testing audience changes, making the most of review results to collect users’ opinions about products or services, and interviewing random customers to gather additional data. 

Other duties professionals in UX research remote jobs have include identifying usability concerns, determining how to test and deliver the best user experience, managing partnerships with other companies, and providing data-supported suggestions and recommendations.

Remote researchers also need to use virtual office software for communication purposes with coworkers.

Work Environment

User experience researcher jobs exist in virtually every industry, such as banks, digital marketing agencies, telecommunications companies, media, retail, web development agencies, and others.

People aspiring to be employed as UX professionals need to remember that this line of work is ideal for team players. Furthermore, they should expect that they will be working in an environment that promotes social interaction.

Injuries and Illnesses 

User experience research jobs are carried out in an office environment. Therefore, they entail sitting in front of a computer for many hours on end, which can cause narrowing of the spinal channel, also known as spinal stenosis.

Moreover, spending many hours in front of a computer screen can cause eyestrain. Eyes may become dry and irritated, and employees may, eventually, find it difficult to focus. 

Work Schedules

Except for professionals in UX researcher remote jobs, UX researchers generally work regular office hours (9 am to 5 pm) from Monday to Friday. However, sometimes there may be some weekend or overtime work, especially when there’s a deadline coming.

How to Become a UX Researcher 

If you want to follow a user experience researcher career, you either need a degree in design, computing science, psychology, web development, or any other related field, or vast working experience. Knowledge and experience are probably the most critical assets. Employers look for experienced candidates with an impressive employment history. 

Important Qualities

If you’re keen on having a successful career as a user experience researcher, you need to have some of the skills required in most UX researcher jobs:

• Excellent team working skills
• Communication skills
• Understanding user needs 
• Creativity and innovation
• Superb presentation skills
• Experience in qualitative and quantitative research

Having a degree in a specific field isn’t necessary to get a UX research job, but you must have a deep understanding of user behavior. Around 35.4% of user experience researchers have a Bachelor’s degree, while another 43.1% boasts a Master’s degree. 

Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations

Although not mandatory, every UX researcher should pursue a license or certification if they want to stand out in this industry. The main reason is that, according to many experts, it’s predicted that insurance companies will soon stop covering organizations that employ unlicensed researchers. 

Advancement in UX Research Jobs 

Depending on how much effort you put into your work, a senior UX role promotion can happen in just two years. With hard work and dedication, you can even land a head UX research position within five to ten years.

The UX researcher salary varies, depending on which industry you’re working in. That said, most UX researchers earn between $100,000 and $149,000. The average salary for a user experience researcher in the US is around $82,687.

Entry level research jobs offer an average salary of $76,947, while mid-career researchers earn about $101,012. The average salary for experienced researchers is $116,768.

User experience researchers in the United Kingdom earn £33,370, while the average salary in Germany is €50,629.

Job Outlook

UX is a growing field, and the user experience researcher role is becoming all the more pivotal. Nowadays, most companies understand the need for UX researchers. Therefore, the demand for UX research jobs is expected to rise by 14.9% over the next ten years.

Job Prospects

This career path seems to have a bright future. As your knowledge and skills increase, so should your level of responsibility and pay. In a US popularity rank for jobs conducted in 2017, the user experience researcher job role came in at number 39, with estimated job growth of around 19%.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is ux research a good career.

As this field continues to grow, choosing a career as a UX researcher is not a wrong move. Besides the job’s financial aspect, several research studies show that only one in seven UX researchers isn’t satisfied with their job. According to statistics, most UX professionals report high job satisfaction. This shows that UX research is definitely a good career choice.

Is UX design still in demand?

UX design remains one of the most in-demand fields and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. Therefore, pursuing one of many entry level UX research jobs is the best way to start. That said, most full-time job openings are skewed towards senior level design positions, with companies increasingly focusing on hiring people for more specialized and tactical design roles. 

What’s a UX researcher?

A UX researcher is a market analyst and data scientist tasked with seeking and understanding the reasons behind users’ behavior, needs, and priorities when interacting with a company’s products. UX researchers are responsible for providing insights during all production stages through detailed written, oral, and visual presentations.

What skills do you need to be a UX researcher?

Every UX researcher must have analytical skills and knowledge on how to read data. It’s most certainly beneficial to have a background in a relevant field, such as marketing, information science, cognitive science, psychology, or economics. 

Ideal candidates for the best UX research jobs are typically passionate and curious team players with previous experience working in fast-paced environments. They should also be familiar with generative and evaluative research methods to gain a thorough understanding of user behavior.

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Games User Research Jobs

The most up-to-date user research and UX jobs in the games industry

Getting a job in the games industry is hard, and competition can be fierce. Here’s how to get ahead of everyone else and start your new career in games user research today.

The latest games user research jobs

The games industry is full of passionate and inspired people, and can be a fantastic industry for running interesting, relevant and fun UX + user research studies, and professional quality playtests.

Grow your games career and discover a new role in the industry. See the latest games UX + user research roles for every stage of your career below:

• UX Lead, Google Play – Google Published 4 hours ago
• Associate Professorship in Game Psychology and HCI at IT University of Copenhagen – HAFNIA LAW FIRM Published 3 days ago
• UX Research Lead – CD Projekt Red Published 3 days ago
• Senior Manager, Research Operations/Gestionnaire sénior·e des opérations de recherche – EA Published 4 days ago
• UX Research Intern – Nexon America Published 23 days ago
• Senior Manager, Research – Teamfight Tactics – Riot Games Published 24 days ago
• Notice to candidates – Scopely, Inc Published 28 days ago
• User Experience Researcher – Games – Embark Studios Published 1 month ago
• Senior UX Researcher – Rovio Entertainment Corporation Published 1 month ago
• Senior User Researcher – ServiceNow Published 1 month ago
• UX Researcher – Xsolla Published 1 month ago
• Senior Games Researcher – Scopely Published 1 month ago
• User Experience Research Manager / Gestionnaire de la recherche en matière d’expérience utilisateur – EA Published 1 month ago
• Senior User Researcher – Call of Duty Multiplayer Lead – Activision Published 1 month ago
• Sr. UXR Manager APEX – Electronic Arts Published 2 months ago
• [Global Publishing Services Div.] User Researcher – Studio Supporter 전환 가능 포지션 (5년 이상) – KRAFTON Inc. Published 2 months ago
• Senior Product Insights Research Manager – Hasbro Published 2 months ago
• UX Researcher – Electronic Arts Published 2 months ago
• Game UX Researcher – Techland Published 2 months ago
• User Research Project Manager [New IP] (617) – Ubisoft Published 2 months ago
• Market and User Research Expert/Lead, Tencent Games – Tencent Published 2 months ago
• Senior UX Researcher – Outfit7 Published 2 months ago
• Mission – Duolingo Published 2 months ago
• User Experience Researcher – Electronic Arts Published 2 months ago
• User Research Assistant (Temp) – WB Games Montréal – WB Games Montreal Published 3 months ago

Ace the interview

The bestselling book  How To Be A Games User Researcher has helped hundreds of readers get their first job in games. It explains how user research fits within game development, how to run high-quality studies, and how to get ahead in your job hunt.

The career section of the book covers:

• How to get and demonstrate experience without a job
• What skills are employers looking for?
• How to prepare a CV and portfolio
• What it’s like working in the games industry

Learn more about how to start your career in games, and how to run great studies in the full book

Resources for job-seekers

17 Games UX Research Job Interview Questions To Prepare For

You’ve got the interview for the games studio of your dreams. Learn what you will be asked, and how to answer games user research interview questions.

How to get games user research experience (before you have a job)

No experience holding you back? Learn how to get games experience before you get your first job in games UX research.

Make a games user research portfolio

Discover whether a portfolio is required for games user research, and how to make one.

Get Insider Access to the games industry

Get monthly new articles teaching you how to be a games user researcher. Join the most interesting conversations about games user research, discover job opportunities, and be introduced to new ways to think about developing your games user research career.

A better virtual reality experience

Monday, Apr 29, 2024 • Brian Lopez : contact

A University of Texas at Arlington computer scientist hopes to understand the quality of users’ experiences in virtual reality (VR) by using artificial intelligence (AI) to quantify physiological reactions to immersive videos.

Ming Li, associate professor of computer science and engineering, earned a $600,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for her research. Yingying Zhu, assistant professor in the department, is co-principal investigator. Wei Li at Georgia State University (GSU) is also working with Li and will receive $250,000 from the grant to investigate how to protect user data privacy without compromising quantification accuracy.

Li and her team hope to build a novel system to assess users’ quality of experience when engaging with 360-degree VR immersive videos. The team will use eye gaze trackers, sensors and internal cameras on VR devices to capture behavioral and physiological data and create a model to assess users’ engagement with the content they are viewing.

For instance, according to Li’s preliminary studies, users who are more engaged in a VR scene tend to look in one direction or focus on one object. The rate at which they blink, their pupil size, how fast they move their head and their facial expressions are also measured. The team will take the sensor and process data and build an AI model that will provide quantitative analysis of the experience, which could be provided in real time to service providers like Meta and YouTube.

“This information could allow video service providers to enhance the end-user experience because they will be able to better engage with their users and render their videos better,” Li said. “If we can assess quality of experience in real time, providers can adjust how much network resource they assign to a particular user and make the quality better per an individual user’s need. It’s not possible in the current framework, but we hope this can be a first step toward that kind of user interaction.”

The GSU group will determine how to keep any shared data secure without sacrificing modeling accuracy.

Li said her work is part of a “bigger vision” that could impact online gaming, video conferencing and other networking services.

“The classic network techniques are designed without thinking of the end user’s perspective or input, but what if user-centered networking is possible?” Li asked. “With this kind of measurement, we can give content providers insight into real-time user experiences. They can adjust their service-provisioning strategies accordingly and the user will play a greater role in future decisions.”

- Written by Jeremy Agor , College of Engineering

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How to Answer an Open-Ended Question from a Job Candidate

• Marlo Lyons

Five strategies for interviewers.

Interviewers should prepare for interviews just as thoroughly as candidates do. Being equipped with compelling stories and setting aside dedicated preparation time, such as 30 minutes beforehand, allows interviewers to mentally prepare and be fully present during the interview. Like with candidates, it’s not only the content of what is said that matters, but also the manner in which it’s conveyed. Demonstrating enthusiasm for the company and the position can leave a lasting impression on candidates, instilling confidence and enthusiasm in their decision-making process.

While interviewers often assume they hold all the power during the interview process, candidates are increasingly asking more insightful questions to assess whether they should make a move to a new company. Just as candidates prepare for interviews, interviewers need to be ready to answer open-ended questions from candidates because the responses could either ignite their enthusiasm or dampen their interest in the opportunity.

• Marlo Lyons is a career, executive, and team coach, as well as the award-winning author of Wanted – A New Career: The Definitive Playbook for Transitioning to a New Career or Finding Your Dream Job . You can reach her at marlolyonscoaching.com .

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A woman said her tattoos got her rejected for a job, but experts say personality is far more important

• A tattooed content creator sparked a debate about hiring biases after being rejected by T.J. Maxx.
• Experts said tattoos could influence hiring decisions, especially in customer-facing roles.
• But overall, personality and cultural fit are more important, they said.

A TikToker, Ash Putnam, was frustrated after T.J. Maxx denied her application — and she said she thought her tattoos were to blame.

Some of her designs that are visible when she's dressed are a skull with horns on her neck, solid black patches on her arms, and a pattern on her forehead. Putnam, 23, also has multiple facial piercings , including a large silver ring hanging from her septum.

"I hate that my tattoos are such a defining factor for me getting a job or not," she said in a recent TikTok. "Just because I have tattoos doesn't mean I'm not going to be a good worker."

Putnam, from California, said she went into the store to ask why she hadn't gotten the job and that the hiring manager told her she didn't have enough experience. The hiring manager also denied that her tattoos played any role in the rejection, she said. T.J. Maxx did not respond to a request for comment.

She wasn't convinced and took to TikTok to complain. Many commentators claimed her attitude may have been to blame, rather than her tattoos. Others said they thought her body art likely played a role in the rejection.

While the jury is out over whether tattoos can damage your prospects of being hired, experts told BI that the personality of a candidate was likely more important for recruiters.

Putnam's story went viral

Putnam's video amassed 7.4 million views, and it struck a nerve.

"HR supervisor here," one person commented. "There is no way any company would put you in front of customers like T.J. Maxx."

Another commenter, who said they used to be a hiring manager for the store, said: "I will tell you it's the facial piercings and tattoos."

@ashxobrien I want to know who is also having a hard time finding a job right now! #jobs #jobmarket ♬ original sound - Ash🖤

Some fellow content creators criticized Putnam's approach.

Ivy Johnson, for example, who also has many tattoos, said she worked in corporate America as a hiring manager before starting her apothecary business.

"Your tattoos are very aggressive," she said. With customer-facing positions, she said, "that doesn't always go over well."

Johnson said she also thought Putnam had "a really bad attitude."

"If you had come into my business after an interview, or even applying and chatting on the phone, even if I didn't even know that you're a heavily tattooed person, I'd be like, 'Yo, bye, there's the door,'" she said.

Related stories

"You have to put your best foot forward in an interviewing circumstance, no matter what you do, what you're applying for, or what you look like," she added.

@svvampfae #stitch with @Ash🖤 #heavilytattooed #tattoo #facetattoo #hiring #jobtips #job ♬ original sound - svvampfae

It depends on the role

Almost one-third (32%) of US workers in a 2023 Pew Research Center survey said they had a tattoo, and 22% said they had more than one.

Some studies have suggested that tattoos can affect someone's career progression. In a 2018 LinkedIn survey, 40% of respondents said they had rejected a candidate for a job because they had a visible tattoo. Eighty-eight percent of recruiters and human-resources professionals who responded said they thought tattoos limited a candidate's prospects.

However, research from the University of Miami that same year found tattooed job seekers were no less likely to be employed than those without.

The stigma of tattoos is lessening every day, with many employers no longer having an issue with hiring tattooed employees, according to Indeed .

There may still be a line, though, and some of Putnam's viewers argued that she crossed it. Putnam declined to comment for this article, but she told the UK publication The Daily Star : "I am not going to change who I am for minimum-wage jobs."

Adam Collins, the founder and CEO of Ignite SEO, told BI that as someone who hired people to work at his company, he thought "tattoos can make a big impact on how a candidate is perceived."

"I wouldn't say that tattoos make or break an interview because it depends on the role," he said. "A candidate applying to be an account manager for our clients and is supposed to speak to our clients directly should definitely appear trustworthy and clean-cut, so face and neck tattoos would affect that."

On the other hand, with someone who isn't directly working with clients, appearance is less important.

In technical and operational roles, for example, "it's not a big deal," Collins said.

Michelle Enjoli, a career coach, told BI the visibility and type of tattoos someone has could make a difference.

"Tattoos are personal and typically represent something for that person," she said. "People represent companies, and therefore if a tattoo represents something that a company would not want to be associated with, it can definitely be an issue for a hiring manager."

How likely it is that a tattoo will determine the course of an interview depends on how visible they are and what they may represent, Enjoli added. Tattoos are nowhere near as much of a taboo as they used to be, but some people still hold judgment over them.

In Putnam's case, her tattoos were considered extreme, Enjoli said, and "seemed to be a big part of her identity."

"In other cases, where someone might have a smaller tattoo on their arm or visible area, it might not matter as much as it is less obvious," Enjoli said.

"I think a company demanding that an employee not have any tattoos regardless of visibility or meaning is definitely outdated as they have become a big part of the modern culture."

Personality matters more

Justina Raskauskiene, the HR team lead at Omnisend, told BI as tattoos had become more common, it's likely recruiters and hiring managers barely paid attention to them "unless they are offensive or distracting."

"Sometimes hiring managers may even prefer an employee with a tattoo because it can be evidence of an interesting personality," Raskauskiene said.

"Discriminating against those people would mean missing out on some talented people in the industry."

Rachel Pelta, a hiring expert who is the head writer at the virtual-work-experience platform Forage, told BI that overall, hiring managers were looking at skills and abilities.

"The thing is, everyone who's interviewing probably has the skills and abilities I'm looking for," she said. "So then it comes down to, how well are you selling yourself in the interview? Are you making the case for why you're the best person for the role? If you're not doing that, you won't get the job."

As for tattoos, piercings, or anything else that could be considered unusual, such as bright hair colors, hiring managers "shouldn't evaluate a candidate on their appearance," Pelta added.

But some companies are traditional or conservative, and for them, these things could be a "big deal."

"Unless you're willing to cover or remove them, you'll have to keep searching until you find a company that accepts you as you," she said. "And they are out there. It just may take you a bit longer to find one."

Watch: I got faux freckles tattooed

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Crows , chimps and elephants : these and many other birds and mammals behave in ways that suggest they might be conscious . And the list does not end with vertebrates. Researchers are expanding their investigations of consciousness to a wider range of animals, including octopuses and even bees and flies.

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Congress approved a TikTok ban. Why it could still be years before it takes effect.

TikTok’s fate in the U.S. has never been more in doubt after Congress approved a bill that gives its parent company two options: sell it to an approved buyer or see it banned.

President Joe Biden signed the legislation into law on Wednesday. 

But it could take years for the TikTok ban to actually go into effect, since its Chinese-owned parent company, ByteDance, is likely to challenge the statute in court. 

And even if it survives a legal challenge, no one is quite sure what would happen next. 

How soon could a potential ban take effect?

It would probably be several years from now.

According to the statute’s language, ByteDance would have nine months to divest and find an American buyer for TikTok once the bill is signed into law. 

On top of that, the president can push back the deadline by an additional 90 days. 

That means, without a sale, the soonest TikTok could shut down in the U.S. would be more than one year from now.  

But it’s more complicated than that. 

If ByteDance sues to block the implementation of the statute — which it has said it would do — the bill will be taken up by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, according to Isaac Boltansky, director of policy for the financial services firm BTIG.

Boltansky said ByteDance would file a suit no later than this fall. And while the case is under judicial review, the “clock” on any ban is effectively paused, he said. 

Once the D.C. court issues its ruling, whichever side loses is likely to request a review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

That would forestall the ban by another year — meaning nothing would go into effect until 2026, Boltansky said.

TikTok will argue that the ban is unconstitutional and that it’s also taken steps to protect American users’ data. The app has already launched an aggressive lobbying campaign, featuring a number of small-business owners and influencers who say it's their lifeblood.

“We have got to make enough noise so that they don’t take away our voice,” TikTok user @dadlifejason, who has 13.8 million followers, says in a TikTok ad shared on social media.

What about finding a buyer?

The bill stipulates that TikTok can continue to operate in the U.S. if ByteDance sells the app to a U.S.-approved firm. 

While large U.S. tech companies would love to get their hands on the platform, Boltansky said that Biden administration regulators — not to mention GOP critics of Big Tech firms — have no interest in expanding the power, reach or influence of such companies.  

Some other outside groups might emerge. At least one led by Steve Mnuchin, who was Treasury secretary in the Trump administration, has already sought to make a bid, telling CNBC in March that he was putting together an investor group . The Wall Street Journal has also reported that former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick was looking for potential buyer partners. While ByteDance, which owns other companies, is worth hundreds of billions of dollars, TikTok would fetch less than that, experts say — especially if it is sold without its powerful recommendation algorithm.  

But Boltansky believes ByteDance is unlikely to agree to any kind of sale. The Chinese government has said as much, arguing that it regards the algorithm as a national security asset. And without that, TikTok becomes much less appealing to potential buyers.    

So is TikTok in the U.S. going away?

It might — but the ultimate impact may be limited. The fact is, most TikTok users already have a presence on other platforms, so the impact on their livelihoods to the extent that they operate businesses on TikTok could be limited.

According to a survey from the financial services group Wedbush, approximately 60% of TikTok user respondents said they’d simply migrate to Instagram (or Facebook) in the event of a sale, while 19% said they’d go to YouTube. 

Analysts with financial services company Bernstein arrived at similar estimates. In a note to clients, they forecast that Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, would take over as much as 60% of TikTok’s U.S. ad revenue, with YouTube gaining 25%. Snapchat would also benefit, they said. 

Why did lawmakers feel they needed to take this drastic step?

Boltansky said many political pundits remain surprised that the bill got over the finish line. But a wave of anxiety about both Chinese influence and the impact of social media on youth converged to get it passed.

“This has been noteworthy,” Boltansky said. “Everyone is so conditioned to D.C. doing nothing or the bare minimum to keep the lights on.”

As tensions with Beijing have grown, congressional lawmakers, along with top law enforcement officials, have warned that TikTok is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and is a national security threat to the United States.

“It screams out with national security concerns,” FBI Director Christopher Wray testified on Capitol Hill last year

U.S. officials fear that the Chinese government is using TikTok to access data from, and spy on, its American users, spreading disinformation and conspiracy theories.

It felt like a TikTok ban was moving slowly, then quickly. What happened?

The House passed its standalone TikTok bill on a big bipartisan vote in March. But the Senate appeared in no hurry to take up the measure as Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., drafted her own legislation.

That all changed when Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., working with the White House, rolled out his $95 billion foreign aid supplemental plan last week that included billions of dollars for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. 

Included in that sweeping aid package: the House’s TikTok bill, with some minor changes. Johnson pushed the package through his chamber, then sent the House on a recess, forcing the Senate to take it or leave it.

Rather than further delay the critical, long-stalled military and humanitarian aid, the Democratic-controlled Senate is moving to quickly pass the package — including the TikTok bill and other Johnson priorities.

Rob Wile is a breaking business news reporter for NBC News Digital.

Scott Wong is a senior congressional reporter for NBC News.

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Black workers’ views and experiences in the U.S. labor force stand out in key ways

There are more than 21 million Black Americans in the U.S. labor force today. Their workforce experiences are varied but stand out from people of other races and ethnicities on several important measures: They are more likely to be employed in certain postal work, transit, health care and security fields; report experiencing more racial discrimination on the job; and place a higher value on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the workplace.

For Labor Day, here are facts about Black workers’ labor force experiences and attitudes, drawn from federal data sources and recent Pew Research Center surveys.

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to understand the views and experiences of Black workers in the United States and how they differ from those of people from other racial or ethnic backgrounds. Findings are based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Census Bureau and Center surveys. Additional information about each survey and its methodology can be found in the links in the text of this post.

In the Center surveys, references to workers or employed adults include those who are employed part time or full time; are not self-employed; have only one job or have multiple jobs but consider one their primary job; and whose company or organization has 10 or more people.

References to White, Black and Asian adults include those who are not Hispanic and identify as only one race. Hispanics are of any race. Asian American respondents include only English speakers.  

Black Americans make up large shares of workers in certain transit, health and security occupations, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data from 2022, the most recent year available. Black workers account for about 13% of all U.S. workers, including those who work full time, part time and are self-employed. They make up especially large shares of employees in certain occupations, including postal service clerks (40.4%), transit and intercity bus drivers (36.6%), nursing assistants (36.0%), security guards and gambling surveillance officers (34.5%), and home health aides (32.5%).

Black workers make up much smaller shares of farmers, ranchers and other agricultural managers (1.5%). They also tend to be underrepresented in some science, engineering and technology occupations such as veterinarians (2.2%), mechanical engineers (3.6%) and electrical and electronics engineers (6.0%).

A 2021 Center survey found that Black adults see barriers for Black workers in STEM fields, including an unwelcoming professional environment and the need for more mentorship and representation for young people in science, technology, engineering and math.

Black workers generally earn less than U.S. workers overall, according to BLS data from 2022. Among full-time wage and salary workers, the median weekly earnings for Black workers ages 16 and older are $878, compared with $1,059 for all U.S. workers in the same age group. Among workers of other races and ethnicities in the same age group, the median weekly earnings are $823 for Hispanic workers, $1,085 for White workers and $1,401 for Asian workers. And the differences hold when accounting for education level – Black workers earn less than those in other groups even among workers with bachelor’s or advanced degrees.

Household income for Black Americans has lagged behind that for Americans of other races for several decades, according to U.S. Census Bureau data .

The unemployment rate for Black Americans is the highest of any racial or ethnic group and roughly double the rate for the U.S. overall, BLS data shows. In 2022, the unemployment rate for Americans ages 16 and older was 3.7% for men and 3.6% for women, according to BLS annual averages . Among Black Americans, the unemployment rate was 6.3% for men and 6.0% for women. This compared with around 3% each for White and Asian men and women and about 4% each for Hispanic men and women.

Monthly unemployment figures showed a record-low unemployment rate for Black Americans in April of this year, but it has begun to tick back up .

As with gaps in household income, Black Americans have experienced higher unemployment rates than their White counterparts for decades. Researchers have identified a variety of factors causing this trend , including racial discrimination and gaps in education, skills and work experience.

Black workers are the most likely to say they’ve experienced discrimination at work because of their race or ethnicity, according to a February 2023 Center survey of U.S. workers . About four-in-ten Black workers (41%) say they have experienced discrimination or been treated unfairly by an employer in hiring, pay or promotions because of their race or ethnicity. Much smaller shares of Asian (25%), Hispanic (20%) and White (8%) workers say the same.

Among Black workers, 48% of men and 36% of women say they’ve experienced discrimination or unfair treatment by an employer due to their race. There are no gender differences among White and Hispanic workers, and the sample size for Asian workers is too small to analyze men and women separately.

A quarter of U.S. workers say being Black makes it harder to succeed where they work, the February survey shows. Just 8% of U.S. workers say being Black makes it a little or a lot easier to be successful where they work, 50% say it makes it neither easier nor harder, and 17% aren’t sure.

Among Black workers, 51% say that being Black makes it harder to succeed where they work. By comparison, 41% of Asian, 23% of Hispanic and 18% of White workers view being Black as a disadvantage in their workplace. And about four-in-ten or fewer among Asian (39%), Hispanic (29%) and White (7%) workers say that being their own race or ethnicity makes it harder to be successful where they work.

Majorities of Black Americans see racial and ethnic bias as a major problem in hiring and performance evaluations generally, according to a separate Center survey of all U.S. adults conducted in December 2022 . Some 64% of Black adults say that, in hiring generally, bias and unfair treatment based on job applicants’ race or ethnicity is a major problem. This compares with 49% of Asian, 41% of Hispanic and 30% of White adults who view racial and ethnic bias in hiring as a major problem.

When it comes to performance evaluations, 56% of Black adults say that, in general, racial and ethnic bias is a major problem. About four-in-ten Asian or Hispanic adults and 23% of White adults say the same.

Black workers especially value diversity in their workplace, the February survey of workers found. Regardless of how diverse their workplace is, 53% of Black workers say it is extremely or very important to them to work somewhere with a mix of employees of different races and ethnicities. That percentage is larger than the shares of Hispanic, White and Asian workers who say this. And 42% of Black workers say they highly value a workplace with employees of different ages, compared with smaller shares of workers who are Hispanic (33%), Asian (30%) or White (24%).

There is a similar trend in views of workplace accessibility: 62% of Black workers say it is extremely or very important to them to work at a place that is accessible for people with physical disabilities, compared with 51% of Hispanic, 48% of White and 43% of Asian workers.

The vast majority of Black workers say that increasing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) at work is a good thing, but a sizable share give their employer low marks in this area, according to the February workers survey .

Around eight-in-ten Black workers (78%) say that focusing on increasing DEI at work is a good thing. Just 1% of Black workers say this is a bad thing, and 20% view it as neither good nor bad. While majorities of Asian (72%) and Hispanic (65%) workers also say that focusing on increasing DEI is a good thing, roughly half (47%) of White workers hold this view. In fact, 21% of White workers say it’s a bad thing.

But when it comes to their own employer’s DEI efforts, 28% of Black workers say their company or organization pays too little attention to increasing DEI – the largest share of any racial or ethnic group. Black workers are also the least likely to say that their company or organization pays too much attention to DEI. Just 3% hold this view, compared with one-in-ten or more among Hispanic (11%), White (16%) and Asian (18%) workers.

• Black Americans
• Business & Workplace
• Discrimination & Prejudice
• Economy & Work
• Racial Bias & Discrimination

Katherine Schaeffer is a research analyst at Pew Research Center

A look at Black-owned businesses in the U.S.

8 facts about black americans and the news, black americans’ views on success in the u.s., among black adults, those with higher incomes are most likely to say they are happy, fewer than half of black americans say the news often covers the issues that are important to them, most popular.

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