What if your UX design skills could help people make better decisions during a disaster?

In this episode of Majors, Minors & Maybes, we uncover the unexpected career of the Disaster Response UX Designer. A career at the intersection of UX design, human-centered design, technology, psychology, accessibility, and emergency management.

When a hurricane approaches, an evacuation order is issued, or first responders are working in chaotic conditions, having the right information isn't enough. People need to be able to find it, understand it, and act on it quickly. That's where UX design can make a critical difference.

We'll follow a day in the life of a disaster response UX designer and explore what happens behind the scenes when designers create digital tools for emergency managers, first responders, and communities. From user research and usability testing to accessibility, information architecture, prototyping, and designing for people under stress, this career goes far beyond making an app or website look good.

In this episode, Dr. W explores:

• What does a Disaster Response UX Designer actually do?
• How does human behavior change during an emergency and why does that matter for UX design?
• How can UX design improve emergency alerts, evacuation tools, dashboards, and disaster-response technology?
• What should you major in if you're interested in UX, emergency management, psychology, or human-centered design?
• Where can students find internships and experiences that combine technology, design, and disaster response?
• What can you expect to earn in a UX design career?

Whether you're a high school student exploring STEM careers, a college student choosing a major, a parent helping a student navigate career options, or simply someone fascinated by unusual careers, this episode is your reminder that your major doesn't have to define your career. Your major is just the beginning of the story.

Don't forget to check out our new website www.thequasibox.com/majorsminorsmaybes

Show Notes:

Disaster Response UX Designer: Designing Calm, Clarity, and Accessibility Under Pressure

The episode introduces the career of a disaster response UX designer, explaining how user experience design becomes critical in emergencies when people are stressed, time is limited, and conditions like weak Wi‑Fi or power outages can affect access. Through a vignette following Julia, a UX designer redesigning an emergency operations dashboard, it highlights testing with emergency managers, accessibility reviews to avoid color-only communication, and observing live response exercises to understand trust, cognitive load, and decision-making under pressure. The script outlines core tasks such as user research, journey mapping, prototyping, usability and accessibility testing, information architecture, and iterative redesign, emphasizing that good UX often means removing unused features. It discusses pathways into the field via majors like UX/HCI, psychology, emergency management, or computer/information science, plus internships in agencies and NGOs, and provides salary and job growth context using web and digital interface designer data.

00:00 What Is Disaster UX

02:36 Design Under Pressure

03:20 Meet Julia A Day

04:32 Testing With Managers

04:56 Accessibility In Crisis

05:37 Field Exercise Observations

07:51 Skills And Pathways

08:32 Office Hours Questions

10:25 Daily Tasks Breakdown

12:11 Majors And Career Stack

13:57 Internships And Research

15:23 Salary And Work Life

16:53 Curious Career Fact

17:17 Cognitive Load Lessons

18:06 Wrap Up And Next Episode