Building a UX research career in 2026 | Mujaahida Shakur | #78

September 17
33 mins

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Episode Description

Mujaahida Shakur, a behavior scientist and UX researcher with a background in public health and experience at Amazon Web Services, reflects on her journey into UX research and the challenge of translating a nontraditional career path into a compelling professional story. She explores career pivots, resume language, AI in hiring and research, inclusive recruitment, and the realities of navigating today’s job market. She also explains how she turned networking into a research project and how her curiosity turned career conversations into opportunities for learning, self-discovery, and genuine connection.

UPD: During the editing process of this episode, Mujaahida was hired at the SteerBridge as a User Experience Researcher. We wish her best of luck at her new company.


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https://www.uxtweak.com/podcast/mujaahida-shakur-ux-research-career


Episode highlights

00:01:52 - Every UX research career is unique 

00:02:58 - AI in the interview process

00:04:12 - Using AI in UX research 

00:05:51 - Switching the industries 

00:10:38 - Representation in UX research studies 

00:11:58 - Framing your resume for success 

00:13:01 - Importance of networking 

00:19:13 - Discovering your strengths and weaknesses 

00:22:40 - Learning from your connections 

00:28:26 - Final advice 


About our guest 

Mujaahida is a Behavioral Scientist with 10 years of experience. With a background in Psychology and Public Health, she has dedicated her career to increasing equitable access to products, programs, and services that support traditionally marginalized populations. She has applied this interest across a variety of industries, including Education, Non-profit, Public Health, and Tech. She's currently working as a UXR, studying the ways people use and interact with technology to drive product and program strategy and development.


👉 Did you know that UXtweak also offers a series of webinars packed with practical knowledge for UX professionals? Check out the episode with Maria Rosala from NN/g, where she talks about using AI as a UX research partner: https://www.youtube.com/live/hRWLkpCBiyg?si=Bee9a1Ek7b7HKUqN 


About this podcast:

Welcome to UX Research Geeks, where Petra Rajkov, a senior UX researcher and product thinker, talks with researchers from around the globe about topics that matter to them. 


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