Exploring What Decades of Expertise Can Do Outside a Traditional Tech Role
Summary
For senior UX, design, and IA professionals, full-time employment is no longer the only viable option and, in some cases, may not even be the most realistic one. Whether the job has ended or is just starting to feel less secure, most people reach for the same thing: another full-time role at another company. The actual landscape is wider: fractional leadership, independent consulting, advisory and board work, portfolio careers, and others that most senior practitioners have considered in passing but not deliberately. Greg Baker is co-founder of DesignMap, a 20-year UX strategy firm, and author of the Substack The Sustainable Practice. He shares what he's noticed watching directors, VPs, and principal practitioners navigate the shift.
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