UX Coffee¹ is the design community I run in Moldova. In 2024 the only salary numbers for local designers came from a report most designers said didn’t match what they earned, so we decided to ask them ourselves. Dmitri Moticailo and I ran the first survey from November 2024 to January 2025 with 59 designers, and a second one a year later with 150, in three languages. We presented both reports at iHub Chișinău and published them for free. Designers have since used the numbers in salary talks and job interviews.
- role
- co-researcher, with Dmitri Moticailo (opens in a new tab)
- timeline
- about 2 months a round (survey in Nov–Jan, then analysis and report); 2 rounds, 2024 and 2025
- methods
- online survey, data cleaning, statistical analysis, report design
Problem
The only salary numbers for Moldova’s designers came from a few large outsourcing companies with few designers. Designers in the community said the numbers didn’t match what they earned.
Solution
We asked designers directly: an online survey, in Romanian, Russian and English from the second year, with branching so each grade got its own questions. Then we cleaned the answers and turned them into a public report.
Results
59 → 150 designers in two years. Both reports presented to 20+ people at iHub Chișinău. Designers used the numbers in salary talks and job interviews.
TL;DR the short version
- The ask
- Nobody asked. The salary numbers shown at a 2024 conference didn’t match what designers said they earned, so we ran our own survey.
- What research showed
- Most respondents call themselves product designers, but up to middle level their work is mostly UI, and research only becomes routine at senior level. Juniors are the least happy with their pay.
- What we made
- Two public reports, 2024 and 2025, with salaries, roles, learning and AI use by grade.
- Impact
- 59 designers took part the first year, 150 the second. Designers have used the numbers to negotiate pay.
- What stayed
- A yearly survey the community now expects, and partners that help spread it.
01 — the challenge
the official numbers didn’t look like anyone’s salary
a salary report nobody recognized
At Moldova Developer Conference² (MDC) in 2024, a representative of Moldova Innovation Technology Park³ (MITP) shared salary insights for the year. The numbers for UX and product designers looked wrong to us straight away.
I asked how they were calculated. A private company had surveyed the park’s top companies, mostly large outsourcing companies with few designers, and the report didn’t explain the method. When I asked designers in the community whether the numbers looked true, everybody said they didn’t.
designers had nothing else to go on
Without real salary data from Moldova, designers had no way to know whether their pay was fair, and nothing to bring into a salary talk. Layoffs had started in 2022 and continued in 2024, and nobody knew how many designers they had hit, or what the gender split in the profession looked like.
02 — what it depended on
who answers a survey decides what it says
Research goal: find out what designers in Moldova actually earn, how they get promoted and who was laid off, so the community has numbers it can negotiate with.
from a questionnaire to a full room
Dmitri , I in the survey tool and , we and the answers, made and it.
Step 01: Survey design
Dmitri wrote and designed the questions.
- how long
- about 1 week
- what came out
- The questionnaire.
Step 02: Building the survey
I rebuilt Dmitri’s design in the survey tool. Google Forms⁴ in 2024; in 2025 Wynde⁵, in three languages and with branching (each grade got its own questions).
- how long
- about 1 week
- what came out
- A live survey.
Step 03: Sharing it
UX Coffee’s Telegram⁶ channel and group, LinkedIn⁷, local IT events, TechWomen Moldova and the Design Ladies Book Club, and personal messages to designers I know.
- how long
- Nov–Jan (2024), Dec–Jan (2025)
- what came out
- 59 answers, then more than 150.
Step 04: Cleaning
Incomplete and random answers removed.
- what came out
- 150 valid answers in 2025.
Step 05: Analysis
Dmitri and I.
- how long
- about 2 days (2024), about 1 week (2025)
- what came out
- One spreadsheet of results.
Step 06: The report
The longest part. Which numbers go on which screen, in which chart, in what order.
- how long
- 2–3 weeks
- what came out
- A public report (20 slides in 2024, 67 in 2025).
Step 07: Presenting
Offline at iHub Chișinău, then on LinkedIn.
- what came out
- 20+ people in the room each time.
what we changed in year two
Three languages.
2024 participants told us some wanted to answer in their own language. Moldova speaks Romanian and Russian as much as English, so the 2025 survey let each person choose.
Branching.
Interns, middles, seniors and leads do different work, so each grade got questions that fit it. That needed a new tool.
AI questions.
With AI tools in every designer’s day, we added questions on which tools they use and for what.
03 — what we found
most call themselves product designers; few get to do product work
who answered
Mostly under 35.
84% of respondents in 2024 and 79% in 2025 (the two surveys grouped ages slightly differently).
Fewer women.
Women were 47% of respondents in 2024 and 41% in 2025.
Fewer middles.
Middles went from 48% of answers to 30%. The 2025 report puts this mostly down to people judging their own grade more accurately; some may also have left the profession.
Layoffs.
About 5.3% of designers were laid off in 2025.
Who answered, by grade (share of all answers)
| Row | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Interns & juniors | 8% | 13% |
| Middles | 48% | 30% |
| Seniors | 27% | 32% |
| Leads & heads | 15% | 18% |
| Not sure of their grade | 2% | 7% |
the title says product designer; the work says UI
Interns & juniors.
“Nearly 50% of interns and junior team members identify themselves as product designers, despite the fact that their primary duties and responsibilities are focused on visual design aspects.” Over 25% do no research; about 29% don’t take part in product development.
Middles.
“More than 60% of all mid-level participants identify as Product Designers”, and they “primarily focus on UI and visual design”.
Seniors.
“All senior designers engage in UI design, and more than half also conduct UX research.” Fewer than 5% do no research.
Leads & heads.
“None of the leads and heads reported a lack of engagement in product development.”
what designers earn
Median monthly salary in 2025, by grade, and how many are happy with their pay compared with how many are happy with the profession.
Happy with the job, not with the pay
| Row | happy with salary | happy with the profession |
|---|---|---|
| Interns & juniors | 17% | 75% |
| Middles | 50% | 70% |
| Seniors | 53% | 92% |
| Leads & heads | 58% | 79% |
Every grade got less happy with its pay in a year. Juniors fell furthest, from 45% to 17%.
Happy with their salary, 2024 → 2025
| Row | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Interns & juniors | 45% | 17% |
| Middles | 73% | 50% |
| Seniors | 69% | 53% |
| Leads & heads | 73% | 58% |
04 — what changed
designers took the numbers into salary talks
what the reports did
Used in salary talks.
A couple of designers I know used the report to negotiate a raise, and a couple more used it in job interviews when asked about salary expectations.
Presented twice.
Both reports were presented at iHub Chișinău to 20+ people each time, then published on LinkedIn.
Partners joined.
MITP, TechWomen Moldova and the Design Ladies Book Club now help spread the survey and the results.
what people said
“This was awesome to read, given we’re on the lookout for a “product designer,” which I didn’t know almost everyone identifies as nowadays.”
“Really cool insights for the Market!”
“Thank you very much for the presentation! It is very useful both for us and for employers.”
“Really exciting to see how the design scene in Moldova is evolving. We’re finally moving from opinions to real data — and that changes everything. Proud to be part of a community that’s growing this fast.”
“Looking for UX/UI & Product Design Jobs in Moldova? Or already got a job and looking at career growth opportunities? Either way, you should check out this report.”
what didn’t change
We don’t know whether any employer changed pay because of the reports; we have no data on that. The survey itself stayed the same in 2025 apart from the languages, branching and AI questions.
beyond the report
The finding about titles and UX maturity fed into microCON 26⁸, UX Coffee’s online conference, where my talk “Beyond pixels: using AI to cut the right corners” opened the week (15 June).
05 — role
from a community chat to a yearly report
My role.
Co-researcher, with Dmitri Moticailo. I built the survey in the tool, shared it, analyzed the answers with Dmitri, helped design the report and presented it.
Dmitri.
Wrote and designed the questions; analysis.
Methods.
Online survey with branching, data cleaning, analysis, report design, presenting.
Timeline.
About 2 months a round; rounds in 2024–25 and 2025–26.
06 — learnings
next year starts with these three
Ask more about AI.
AI came up in every grade’s answers; next time it gets more questions, and more specific ones about learning.
Fix the branching.
In 2025 some people hit hard choices after an earlier answer and had to go back and change it. The next survey’s paths will be simpler.
Send the report to companies.
We shared it mostly with designers and MITP. Next time it also goes to local companies by email, because they set the salaries.
¹ UX Coffee is the design community run by Sasha Pleshco in Moldova; the name belongs to it.
² Moldova Developer Conference (Moldova DevCon) is organized by FusionWorks.
³ Moldova Innovation Technology Park (MITP) was set up by the Government of the Republic of Moldova and is run by its Administration.
⁴ Google Forms is a trademark of Google LLC.
⁵ Wynde (formerly Pathway) is a user research platform; the name belongs to its makers at wynde.io.
⁶ Telegram is a trademark of Telegram FZ-LLC.
⁷ LinkedIn is a trademark of LinkedIn Corporation.
⁸ microCON is UX Coffee’s online conference; the name belongs to UX Coffee.
Names used for information only. All other brands and names belong to their owners, not to it depends. Not sponsored or endorsed by any of them.