Career pathways and progress ladders can be hard to map. Some content folks go into design or product leadership, but there aren’t a lot of specific content leadership roles above director level—or often even at the director level. So we asked people to tell us what they wanted their next career step to be. What we heard was simple: “No fancy wishes.” Just stability, recognition, job satisfaction—and maybe a raise.

A few wanted to retire (soon). A number of people in product companies said they wanted to work somewhere other than a product company or high-level agency: civic tech, mission-driven organizations, non-profits, or going freelance.

We don’t read this as a lack of ambition, but more a desire for equilibrium—which, at a time of what seems like perpetual chaos, is an ambition in its own right. This means there’s a real opportunity for smaller companies and non-tech organizations to create roles for passionate content folks who’d love to help them thrive.

Keep doing the same thing, but with a little more impact and appreciation.

Most people want to continue growing, whether it’s up a management track, transitioning into UX leadership, climbing an individual contributor ladder, or into operations or strategy. Some want the chance to build a practice from scratch, or grow a team. A few people wanted to have a hybrid function, such as “a content niche across product design and marketing,” or “to set up a team that has org-wide remit to work on content across product, sales, and customer service.”

Whatever the goal, there are a lot of plans to find meaningful work in organizations that actively value content and the people who work on it—without all the explaining.

I’m currently looking for a new opportunity where I don’t have to spend as much energy explaining what I do and why my team and I need to be involved earlier and often.

—Senior manager of content design, USA

In stressful times, stability is a goal in its own right.

Again, we saw the impact of the layoffs. Finding another job in the field. Feeling lost. Jumping back onto a team with better support frameworks, or pivoting into another area of UX, like product design or research.

But it wasn’t all worries. We heard from plenty of people that they feel satisfied with where they are, and would like to work toward personal career goals, like giving talks or building new skills. But the sense of doom in the world felt pretty strong, with one reporting that they thought about starting a freelance agency, but “that’s a pretty daunting feat with the career world and economy in its current state.”

Just for things to take a turn and be less crazy and volatile than they’ve been in the past 3 to 4 years. Basically having the sense of stability and security is important to even go beyond and dream big sometimes.

—Senior content designer, Netherlands

I’d love to start giving talks, writing articles and just become better every day. No fancy wishes.

—UX writer, Switzerland

Frankly, I’ve spent a long time overachieving. I kind of want to stay where I’m at for a few years. No climbing, just producing good work.

—Staff content designer, USA

A lot of people want to be anywhere but a tech company.

The majority of people who responded to the survey work in a product company or other digital company, but that isn’t in everyone’s forever plan. There was significant interest in working in civic tech, edtech, government, and nonprofits, but still doing content work—even though, as one respondent wrote, “the money will be less, but my hope is that I’ll be happier when rooted in my values and not my bank account.”

Some want to work in different industries, outside of tech or software, where they can move faster, have more impact, and feel more connected to the mission. But there’s a real frustration with the lack of options in other areas. Some can’t absorb the pay cut, or there are simply fewer opportunities visible or accessible to them.

There’s a lot of love for this work, and even for colleagues and teammates, but the layoffs have dented a lot of the desire to work in the tech industry for longer than necessary, with some reporting feeling stuck or trapped, and others dreaming of, or actively planning, an exit strategy. 

While I would love to go to a cool, mission-driven startup (preferably something in the wellness or mental health space), I realistically need excellent insurance benefits and flexible PTO/sick day policies due to my disability. As such, I will likely end up at another large tech company, even if it means moving cities when I don’t particularly want to.

—Content designer, USA 

In seeing how tech has behaved with layoffs, it has me questioning so much about if it’s a good idea to work in it. I feel like the ultimate goal is to automate everything, which is opposed to the very empathetic nature of UX. I want to find a bootstrapped company because they are more trustworthy.

—Content designer, USA 

I want to be embraced as a design leader who happens to frame design decisions through a content lens, not a writing leader who happens to work in design. And I want to do it in a smaller company where it’s actually possible to move quickly, make an impact, and have fun while you're doing it. F*** if this’ll be possible, though—I have three kids, a mortgage, and a spouse who was recently laid off, so I suspect I’ll continue to grind myself to the bone in this current role until the kids are financially independent.

—Senior director, content design, USA