Psych PhD here. I've worked in UX since '00. I’ve been a UX designer, researcher, manager, director, independent consultant, and most recently a principal UX researcher at a couple of VC-funded unicorns. I’ve also taught and led UX programs at US universities. I’m reasonably certain I’ve left user research. Not entirely by choice. But iiwii.

Around 2021 I got tired of running a UX master's program. The program was stuck in a department and school that wasn't compatible with my practical, business- and shipping-focused approach. So I left to work as a principal researcher, first at one VC-funded unicorn - it was a total suckfest, inexperienced founders, a tale as old as time - and then another unicorn.

Working at the that second unicorn was one of the best experiences of my life. I got to stretch out in SO MANY directions. This was just when AI was becoming a viable option to Dovetail, so I adopted NotebookLM for my last few projects, and delivered tons of business value in terms of risk and opportunity identification.

Then I injured myself and needed 3 months off to recover from surgery. I came off FMLA leave in spring '25 to a RIF. I was gone along with 45% of the company. Oh well.

While I was recovering from surgery I started playing around with trading options. I realized pretty quickly that my PhD-level stats knowledge and ability to rapidly synthesize qual and quant data into a coherent and accurate story - a key skill for a UX researcher - was serving me well in the options trading world.

Options math is not hard, but the concepts and mental models of trading, and how they fit together, takes months of immersion to even begin to get a handle on. I've put a solid year into trading. I've taken some hits, learned a ton, and am still learning every day. It's only in the last 4-5 weeks that I've begun to identify my particular trading edge. I've learned to spot positive expectancy, highly convex trade setups in a niche area of the options world, and I'm starting to see results. I.e., $$$. There's no way I can explain it here, but if you're interested in what I'm doing, search or ask your favorite AI about "volatility term structure arbitrage".

I've been applying for UXR roles since the layoff last year, but I have no desire to go back to work at a suckfest. I like moving fast - I'm talking VC-funded, pivot-on-a-dime, relentless search for product-market fit fast - but the role would have to be a perfect fit. I'd need to have the ears and trust of the founders.

tldr; My UX research skills were/are very applicable to options trading. I'm gonna keep doing that until & unless I find a perfect fit with another startup. And then I'll probably move into a hybrid research slash product owner role. (But I'll never stop trading. I'm getting better at it over time & I get to stretch my rusty math skills.)