Probably the least exciting part, but most crucial part of any field is the salaries that people get doing it. Higher salaries means that more people are interested and that people who practice are most likely valued more. I think it’s an interesting metric to gauge design and specifically interaction design’s place in our culture, especially considering that some form of what we do qualifies as one of the best careers of 2008.

As the end of the master’s program approaches, it’s more relevant than ever for all of us second year students. That being said, I came across two documents, one from Carnegie Mellon and one from the Institute of Design in Chicago that polled some graduates:

IIT puts the median at $80-$90k, CMU gives a conservative $66k, and US News has some pretty high numbers, except for Pittsburgh. Of course, these should all be taken cautiously, considering the number of people who responded, the various levels of experience that people might have, and what the job actually is.

Also, pulled these from the IxDA discussion list:
AIGA Design Salaries Website
AIGA Survey of Design Salaries 2007
Information Architecture Institute Salary Survey 2006
Usability Professionals’ Assocation Salary Survey 2005
Jakob Nielson’s Salary Trends for Usability Professionals 2006
Peak Usability Salary Survey 2002, 2004

The types of work and titles are questionable… but if anyone has any other sources, I’d like to hear about em.

I wanted to get a post in before the year ended, but it looks like I’ll have to settle for the first day of the new year. Instead of giving a large summary of things, I’m just going to link to some recent links that I have found interesting and might say something about the future.

Technology
Regardless of people’s view of technology in the world, designers should always have a good sense of what is happening and what will happen with the potential materials of their products. It gives us more resources to solve problems, but also more ways to screw up. BBC has a pair of lists one that is looks back at technology with impact, and one that looks forward at technologies on the rise. It’ll be interesting to see whatever happens with WIMAX, especially with regards to services that aren’t just about getting entertainment to people at higher bandwidths and with higher resolution.

Ideas and People
To do anything worthwhile with the technology, not only is there a need for people to design successful products, but there is also a need for someone to monetize it and distribute it to others.

From the always-interesting Springwise, they posted the top ten telecom and mobile business ideas of 2007 . With all the mobile stuff I’ve been involved with, it’s a nice look at some ideas people have had and developed into businesses of some sort.

There’s also a great interview with Trent Reznor by Wired in either text or audio. Most of it is him describing the ARG (Alternative Reality Game) that he developed with 42 entertainment for the release of his previous album. I think what’s great about it is not only his realization that he needs to keep up with new generations of listeners, but the fact that he understands what is going and is passionate about doing things right for his audience. I see parallels with what interaction or experience designers do, in that the value is no longer only in the traditional product (in this case the music tracks), but the entire experience surrounding it. I think if anyone wants to be ahead of the game, they either have to distribute media in ways that are faster and more convenient than the illegal channels or they have to approach their product with the assumption that the media is free and they need to build something else related to it that will bring in profits.

On the opposite ends of creation for profit is an audio interview with Tony Dunne and Fiona Raby by Core77, which many people probably came across through the experientia blog. It’s great hearing them talk about what they do, and it makes me want to grab their books.

Usability/User Experience Specialist
Despite the awkward title and contradictory descriptions, its probably a good thing that the type of work we do is on the list of Best Careers of 2008 (hopefully much longer too, eh?). The link comes from the IxDA discussion list, and even just browsing I could tell it created quite a stir, especially with the nearly six-figure salary they tacked on. Although there references are all about HCI and Human Factors, I think the day in the life description sounds a bit more like design.

Knowing
A final link, again to BBC, is a nice little list about 100 things we didn’t know last year. Reminds me that even with the catastrophes that mark time, there is also progress in our generation of knowledge as a society, even if its only random tidbits of info.