#122- Exploring UX Research Career Options with Marieke McCloskey of LinkedIn

#122- Exploring UX Research Career Options with Marieke McCloskey of LinkedIn

Author: User Interviews March 29, 2023 Duration: 42:51

What are the best UX career options? How do you vet a potential employer to ensure it’s the right fit? Should you join a smaller firm that offers plenty of autonomy and flexibility, or does it make more sense to work for a larger company with a ton of resources? Erin, JH, and Marieke McClosky, Director of UX Research at LinkedIn, address these questions, examining UX research as a career and a practice as they discuss Marieke’s journey as a UX researcher. 


In this episode, we discuss:

  • Navigating a career path in UX research
  • Making career moves that align with your goals
  • How to start a career in UX research
  • Pros and cons of different working environments 
  • Vetting potential employers

Highlights

  • [01:27] Marieke’s first job was at Nielsen Norman Group
  • [04:42] The benefits of working at a large organization like LinkedIn
  • [7:12] Getting started with– choosing a direction when you are new to UX research
  • [12:57] How to vetMarieke shares valuable advice on vetting employers
  • [19:37] How does the UX research team come up with research questions?
  • [25:29] TJH summarizes the differences between working at a large company vs. a smaller firm
  • [39:24] The best thing about consulting is “the breadth of who you get to work with, the different industries, different teams”


About our guest

Marieke McCloskey is the Director of UX Research at LinkedIn. For over a decade, she has worked as a UX researcher and consultant with the world’s most innovative companies, including Nielsen Norman Group and the NFL. She completed her undergraduate degree in Neuroscience at the University College Utrecht and earned a MA in Cognitive Science at John Hopkins University


Awkward Silences is a conversation about the human side of building things. Hosts Erin May and Carol Guest, both VPs at User Interviews, don't just talk about theory-they get into the messy, real-world practice of talking to users and making sense of what they say. Each episode pulls back the curtain on the craft of user research, featuring candid chats with the practitioners who do this work every day. You'll hear stories about navigating tricky interviews, the weight of interpreting qualitative data, and how genuine understanding directly shapes better products and smarter business decisions. This isn't a dry lecture; it's a geeky, relatable dive into the questions and quiet moments that define UX research. The Awkward Silences podcast lives in the intersection of technology and business, focusing on the people and processes that connect them. Listen for practical insights, empathetic strategies, and the occasional shared laugh about the inevitable fumbles that come with trying to understand anyone. It’s for anyone who believes that building effectively starts with listening well.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

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