The field of user experience encompasses a wide array of individual jobs including designers, researchers, information architects and product developers.

It has received attention lately for being both one of the fastest growing job sectors and notoriously difficulty to recruit qualified candidates for.

If you’re interested in breaking into the field, or just want to see what all the fuss is about, here is a list of resources:

Getting Started in UX

These articles will help you gain an appreciation for the overall field of user experience and the types of skills required.

Books and Papers

There are a lot of books and papers on the field of User Experience, here are a few that cover some fundamental concepts and are inspiring.

Courses

Want to dive a little deeper into User Experience? Here are a few online courses and videos that will introduce you to the details of experience design.

Conferences and Events

University Programs

If you’re looking to get a formal education from an accredited institution that covers UX related material check out these programs.

Bentley University Masters in Human Factors in Information Design and has some great faculty including our friend Bill Albert. Stanford University offers a number of undergraduate and graduate degrees in human computer interaction. Masters of Human Computer Interaction at Carnegie Mellon Clemson University offers a Masters in Professional Communication where our friend Tharon Howard teaches. Virginia Tech offers a Masters in Computer Science with a certificate in Human Computer Interaction

Money and Methods

And it never hurts to know what you can expect to make, depending on your specialization, in the field.