In design school, they briefly teach you how to run user studies. And, in very small companies, they sometimes get the designer to run user studies so they don’

In design school, they briefly teach you how to run user studies. And, in very small companies, they sometimes get the designer to run user studies so they don’t have to hire a separate researcher. However, UXR is really a separate discipline and every larger company I know (>a few hundred employees) hires dedicated UXRs. Most UXRs have a natural interest in people. Often they come from PhD programs in psychology or sociology (easiest route). But I’ve seen plenty come from a bachelors program, or other “people” fields like sales and marketing. With your background I’m sure you could tell a compelling story about why you’re a fit for the role. If I were you I’d try to learn as much about UXR methodologies from books or online, and then try to get a job doing UXR at a small company. No need to do UX Design first—that’s a separate skill set.