UX Researcher Says Being Down-to-Earth Is Helpful

Name: Sherman Kwok (he/him)

PhD: Social Psychology, University of Waterloo, 2021

What was your main area of research?

I studied how personality traits like self-esteem and agreeableness affect communications in romantic relationships.

What is your current job?

I am a Senior User Experience Researcher for the Government of Canada in Ottawa, Canada.

I use quantitative and qualitative research methods to identify client needs and pain points and make suggestions to improve digital services and policies. I liaise with stakeholders and product owners to understand their needs and address them with research.

What is your favorite thing about your job?

I love seeing how others actually use my research findings to inform their decision making (eg, what changes to make in policies).

What is the most important skill you developed or experience you had during your PhD that now helps you in your current position?

• Communications of scientific findings and methods in lay language.

• Writing skills.

• Research methods and statistics

How did you build the skills necessary for your current role?

On the job experience

How did you find this position? What were the career steps you took to get to where you are now?

Networking

PhD graduate ➡️ Consultant in Big 4 ➡️ Researcher in public service

If someone is interested in a similar role, what would you recommend they start doing now to prepare?

Gain any experience outside of academia to showcase that you’re available to work with people from a different background other than research and apply research methods to solve applied problems.

Why did you decide to not pursue a career in academia?

I am unwilling to move outside of my area of residence, and I do not enjoy publishing or obtaining research funding. It was an easy decision.

What advice do you have for someone getting their PhD and looking to pursue a career outside of academia?

Be open-minded and network to learn about how other fields work.

Understand that research is one part of the bigger picture. Oftentimes I see new PhDs thinking that they are entitled to seniority because they are an expert. That’s true, but at the same time also understand that there are many other types of experts with different education and humility goes a long way to help people establish a career outside of academia.

Are there any components of your identity you would like to share, including how they have impacted your journey?

Humility and communicating / talking to others in lay language and a concise, easily understandable manner are two frequent traits that I’ve heard positive feedback on for me. I think people sometimes see a PhD and expect them to “lecture,” or that they’re hard to understand.

But if one is able to actually be “down to earth”, it’s going to be super helpful.