I had the pleasure of discussing user experience work at Infrakit with Sarah Meronen, our UX Lead. Sarah is a member of our Product team at Infrakit HQ.

Sarah, could you tell us what does your regular day consist of, or is there such a thing as a regular day?

It really depends on what I’m working on – and which product of ours. Sometimes I’m more design focused, those days I will spend most of my time in Figma and going back and forth with people on feedback. Focusing on research, I could be setting up user tests, analysing data in spreadsheets, and the like.

What got you interested in UX?

I always enjoyed making websites and creating art growing up. When I was working construction after finishing high school, I looked up what types of jobs could be done with the web and found “UX”, so I signed up for design school.

What’s the most exciting part in user experience work?

For me, that I get to be hands on in the full depth of what ux work is – from understanding a problem, researching, designing, testing.

What’s something that people don’t know about UX but is very critical in your work?

UI (user interface) does not equal UX, but UI is a part of the UX. Focusing purely on UI can mean missing opportunities that go beyond the surface level.

If we think about product and R&D functions in general, we still don’t have enough diversity in those. Many girls don’t really have role models to look up to in coding, for example. What would you say to young women interested in your field of expertise?

UX careers are more balanced than other fields in STEM if I do a quick google search. And I’d say that is mostly my experience in recent years. I think its important for young women, especially, to have confidence in their work and their worth. Also, finding someone you can relate to and confide in helps your career in so many ways. I have worked with wonderful people who have helped increase my confidence and given great resources to learn with, from managers to a more senior ux researcher who left a lasting impact.