In modern society we interact with multiple devices daily, in many different ways. Our graduates go out into the world and seek to improve the usability of these human-machine interfaces and improve the quality of our daily interactions with technology.
Possibilities include a wide range of jobs in product development, web design, software development, consulting (HCI focused firms and more general), and quality assurance. The most popular job titles for our graduates include :
Many people assume that all of our graduates go to work for large software companies in Silicon Valley (Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft etc.), and while a bunch of our grads do work for these tech giants, most of our students don't get their first job with these companies fresh out of college. Our graduates start their careers with a wide range of companies all over the USA and internationally, anyone who sells things online needs HCI people. Our graduates work for banks, fashion houses, games companies, research organizations, grocery chains, museums, film companies, online retailers, educational institutions, medical providers, insurance firms, music studios, product design companies, and every year, a few choose to continue their education and go on to study for a PhD.
Over the last few years the average starting salary of our graduates has been around $80K per year. Most of the graduates who earn the higher salaries relocate to large cities, students who are in rural locations tend to earn lower salaries.
For a number of years now the masters degree has been seen as the entry level qualification for many professions, this is particularly true for many technical fields, such as HCI (New York Times).
A masters degree in HCI has been classed as one of the best graduate masters degrees in the country based on multiple criteria :
Bryan Kern : After graduating with an undergraduate degree in Cognitive Science, Bryan joined the HCI Program, and while at Oswego he undertook a study abroad experience in Brazil. After graduation, Bryan worked for UserTesting in Mountainview, California as a UX Researcher. He was responsible for the user testing of many of the large tech company's corporate websites. He then accepted a job at Apple and now works as a Senior Product Lead at their headquarters in Cupertino, California.
Patricia (Trish) Terrance : After graduating with an undergraduate degree in History, Trish joined the HCI Program. During her time at Oswego, she also spent time on a study abroad experience in Brazil. She worked mainly on educational technology projects during her MA and published her research in well-respected journals. After graduation, Trish initially worked as a User Experience Designer for the Xerox Corporation in Rochester. She then took a job as a Senior User Experience Researcher for Wells Fargo Bank, in North Carolina. Currently, she works for the financial services firm, Edward Jones, as a Senior Research Strategist.
Theo Johnson : After graduating with an undergraduate degree in Psychology, Theo joined the HCI Program. Theo mainly worked on video gaming and augmented reality projects during his time at Oswego and published his research in multiple academic journals. After graduation, Theo's first job was as a User Experience Researcher for Meijer. Within a year of graduating Theo moved to a new job as a Lead UX Researcher for Sony Music, working with recording artists on their digital presence. After a short contract with Apple as a UX Researcher, Theo now works for Microsoft, as a Senior Design Researcher.
Up until recently the job market for our HCI master graduates was exceptionally strong. However, since the pandemic, many large technology companies have been shedding employees - leaving the technology sector flooded with highly skilled people loking for work. There is no doubt that over the last year or two this has definitely made the job market more challenging for our graduates.
However, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment in computer and information technology occupations is still projected to grow over 11 percent by 2030.
One final comment, if you will be appying for your first job after graduation, the HCI masters program is designed to help you build a portfolio, something to show employers what you can do. This is what will get you employed, not the degree itself.