The "UX designer" era was a bubble and AI popped it. Not because UX doesn't matter. Because basic UX was always the easiest, most repeatable part of the job and AI handles basic UX just fine now. Hard UX, the kind that takes thought instead of replication, is still rare because it's really hard to do. That's exactly the part AI can't do. It has no eye. No taste. No feel. So look who's thriving right now. Designers who always treated UX as part of the job, not the job. If you can do UI + UX, you're probably having an ok time. If you can do UI + UX + direct + manage, you're crushing it. You were built for the AI world. And if you lead and only kinda design but you're eager to learn? You might be having the most fun of anyone. If you can only do one part of the job at its most basic form, this is a rough season probably and I'm not going to pretend otherwise. But you still know more than most people ever will. The gap between you and "can't design at all" is massive and it's still your upper hand if you act on it. How? Build. Create. Direct. Manage. Market. That's the best way to learn and you can start all of it yourself like, right now. Only doing part of the job was never really enough. The bubble just hid it and now it can't. Add one skill in the next few months and you're back in it. This is the best time to be a designer since the iPhone came out!