Is UX design a jaded profession?

Is it time to go?

Here’s the fact: the market now values immediate output over strategic headcounts.

I have been in the UX industry or profession for close to 20 years. I started without knowing or realising that this would be a profession or path that I carry on until now. I cannot imagine doing anything else right now.

I was super motivated until maybe like 2023. That was the height of my career, and I think that coincided with two important milestones in the industry: the advent of AI and also the waves of layoffs from big tech a.k.a tech winter.

Many tech workers, including designers, product managers and engineers alike feel the crunch and many of them take sabbaticals. This is something unimaginable before. Who dared to take a year off from their CV? What would recruiters and hiring manager think?

I lost my job twice in 2025. One due to a layoff, the other one due to a mismatch in expectation. I think that set further precedence to my heavy burnout in the industry. I left Singapore in January 2026, d…