ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author talks about the curse of the unicorn, that is, the mistake job seekers or employers make when they classify user experience (UX) as a single career, not a set of compatible and often overlapping careers. Sometimes, particularly in certain areas of UX such as user research and human factors, jobs will require or at least highly prefer applicants to have a master’s degree. Similar to a bachelor’s degree, having any master’s degree will typically be respected in any UX field. Even more of concern is that in some environments, those with a Ph.D. are sometimes assumed by hiring managers to be more interested in theory than in business, and they may also be assumed to be overly concerned about doing things in a formal and proper way without concern for profitability. Unlike the United States–based certification programs, in which the certifier and the trainer are one and same, the UXQB is a consortium of individuals.
