Becoming a Quantitative UX Researcher is messy
Don't expect to land the title easily, heck, don't even go for the title
For some reason I’ve been asked about becoming a Quantitative UXR multiple times in the past couple of months, apparently because of the post I wrote a year ago about how I wound up being a Quant UXR. Since the position is very slowly growing out in the wild, I figured I should put down what the current state of the world is for those curious about how to become one.
Quant UXR is just a newer label for a job that always (kinda) existed
Quant UX Researchers right now are essentially a generalist form of data scientist that prefers to focus on understanding user behavior than building other kinds of models. As such, they can be considered a form of data scientist (which means the they have a blend of analyst, researcher, and engineering skills). The generalist part is probably just there because the role is fairly new and specialization hasn’t been necessary.
But the function of this role predates data science.
There have always been people who had a quantitative leaning (survey gurus, people with market research backgrounds, etc) that worked on understanding users. Analysts (and analysts who would become data scientists), as well as user researchers. These people would work closely with product teams to figure out where the product should go. All of the roles have their own semi-unique toolboxes, but ultimately these people were a product-focused subclass of their main class.
So what happened was that at larger organizations that built up a UX research arm (which is traditionally a more qualitative field), the need to work with large amounts of data arose. Data scientists had the skills to work with the data, but their mandates were typically tied to creating tools and products for users. Advanced analysts could also do the work, but they were often tied towards business goals. So this need came up and people with the relevant skills and interest in users went to fill it.
Forget the title, aim for the role
When people ask me “how do I find a Quant UXR role?” I tell them, don’t look for that specific title. Only a handful of companies even have such a role, the big FAANGs, and it is very difficult to get in without prior experience in the data science/analytics/researcher space. At such competitive companies, the skills are almost table stakes and domain knowledge and experience becomes a differentiating point.
So instead of competing under those conditions, someone looking to get into the field is going to best served looking at researcher, analyst, and data science positions that are aimed at helping product teams work better. These roles are out there, but aren’t differentiated in an easily searchable way. It’s a pain, but every product-based company will have a need for these people, whether they articulate it or not.
You’ll want to look for teams that work closely with product teams.
Would you work directly with engineers, designers, and product managers?
Will you have access to data?
Does the team help inform product strategy?
Can you run experiments or make changes to collect data?
Are there other data teams (analyst, science, engineering) to work with?
What’s the interaction model? Consultancy, embedded team member, etc.
The more you have access to those things, the more you’ll be able to do quantitative UX work. Some things are more important that others, but it’s rare for everything to be available. Expect to do a fair amount of advocating, building infrastructure, and building trust and allies to get things done.
This is not an entry level position in 2020. Expect to climb up into the role
Much like the early days of the data scientist, Quant UXRs tend to be generalists because the role is new and unclear. The ambiguity is probably why so many are these weird all-rounder data scientist/researcher types. There’s a strong need to be flexible enough to do what’s necessary to get the research done, even if it means spinning up your own data collection and analysis infrastructure for the survey system that you write.
It also means that quants have to make a lot more use of “soft” skills. Your manager is likely not a quant, no one might not know what a quant should do. You’re going to get requests for work that aren’t related to user research work, with an impossible deadline. You’re going to need the skills to manage expectations, push back, build relationships across functions and teams, request resources, present work, and show value and impact. This is all hard stuff.
If you don’t already have some idea of how to do those soft functions, you definitely don’t want to be forced to learn the soft skills while also learning the domain and the hard skills. It’s too much to learn at once. The most effective way to learn all this stuff is to find a position where you can be useful with your effective strength, and then learn all the other things.
You’re going to want a team
It is extremely stressful being a lone quant because you’ll have to juggle all the things I mentioned above. I’ve been bouncing around startups as the solo analyst/quant for over 5 years now, and it’s still hard work. But before those 5 years, I spent almost 6 years flying under the wing of a good manager and team while I learned. Without those years to learn, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
So you definitely do not want to be the first person to work with data at a company unless you have a lot of support from a direct manager who knows a thing or two about using data. That’s for people who have years of experience under their belt.
You’ll probably want something smaller/mid-sized
Smaller organizations (either companies or product teams that are <150 people) are more likely to have roles that let you drift into a product supporting role by virtue that they’ll let people wear more hats. The company itself doesn’t have to be small, there are often subdivisions/groups within larger organizations that more or less act autonomously.
The goal is to find a place that has a certain degree of role-ambiguity. That’s your opportunity to take on stretch goals and grow into a quant role.
Don’t expect this to be a full career ladder, it’s just a role
Just like with data science, the field is too young to have an actual career ladder. At best there may eventually be junior, and senior distinctions. No one has any idea what a Quant UXR with 15 years experience is going to look like. You can of course just keep doing the work indefinitely, but there’s not much available in terms of taking on “more”.
Moving up beyond being a researcher would involve either leading a team of quants, or branching out to leading entire research programs, both quantitative and qualitative. Transferring into other roles like UX leader, project management and product leads, is also possible with all the cross-functional skills and domain knowledge at your disposal. All of those require you to expand your skill set even beyond what they are now.
Good luck out there
It’s confusing out there. Do your best. People can always feel free to ping me on twitter (@Randy_Au) with questions, and I can always write a followup based on those.