How I Became a UX Designer with No Design Experience
My Background Story
My name is Kay and I’m a Puerto Rican originally from New York City. Currently based in Orlando, FL. I’m a world traveler, artist, and woman with big dreams. Obsessed with: tacos, Reggaeton, and working in coffee shops.
I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology with a minor in Spanish from Manhattan College in NY. But, after I graduated I was settling for jobs that I was overqualified for. I was passionate, ambitious, and determined but I just couldn’t figure out how to apply my education & experience to a tech role.
Here’s my professional experience after college:
- Customer service agent for a travel company
- Office manager for a digital marketing company
- Variety of hospitality roles for Marriott hotels
- Marketing coordinator for a private physical therapy clinic
None of this directly translates to UX Designer…or does it?
Making a Pivot in my Career
Gratefully, after many trials and several different jobs later, in 2020 I discovered the book “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill. In the book, there is a chapter called “Specialized Knowledge” and this chapter for me was a GAME CHANGER. In summary, Hill talks about how people with specialized knowledge and a practical plan of action are the ones who build wealth.
I thought to myself “We are living in a pandemic where everything was forced to be online…what type of specialized knowledge do I already have and can I acquire in order to help individuals, small businesses, and companies? How can I position myself into a tech role AND also increase my income?”
After lots of self-reflection and watching countless hours of Youtube videos, I figured it out: UX/UI Design was my path.
Here’s how I translated my experiences into UX Design
- Customer service agent for a travel company = Understanding the user/customer pains & gains
- Office manager for a digital marketing company = Collaboration between teams & the importance of organization/structure
- Variety of hospitality roles for Marriott hotels = Understanding the user/customer journey
- Marketing coordinator for a private physical therapy clinic = Marketing & understanding business needs/goals
After reading and applying what I learned from “Think and Grow Rich”, within a year I was able to become a UX Designer for an e-commerce company, increase my annual salary by $20K, experience more freedom in my life, and fall in love with my career path.
If you keep reading, I’ll share the practical steps I took to become a UX designer.
Quick Disclaimer
The purpose of this article is to share my experience with you in hopes that it will shed light on your career journey. Everyone’s journey is different because we are all unique individuals with unique experiences. Yes, apply what I share but your journey and times frame will look different than mine.
Anything is possible so long as you are consistent and work hard.
So, here’s how I became a UX designer with no design experience…
STEP #1 Research!
- I watched a ton of videos on Youtube from UX Designers in order to fully understand what UX/UI design was.
- Completed a quick Udemy course on UX/UI. This was a low-cost option for me to quickly learn the basics of the field. This helped me to make the decision to fully commit to a bootcamp.
- I researched the type of interpersonal skills and personality traits that most UX Designers have. I made sure that my personality and skillset were a match.
STEP #2 I Joined a UX/UI Design Bootcamp
- Not everyone needs to complete a bootcamp to become a designer but doing this definitely helped me speed up my career journey.
- I joined Ironhack Miami for their full-time UX/UI program. The program was 9 weeks and fully remote.
- Going through the bootcamp helped me to learn from professionals and tap into the Ironhack community which later benefitted me during my job hunting process.
STEP #3 Portfolio
- After completing the bootcamp I created case studies and put together my portolfio using Webflow.
Tip: for brand new designers, stick to something like UXfolio to create your portfolio. It’s going to save you time in the long run and allow you to start your job hunting faster. Once you land your job, you can always redesign your portfolio with another platform. :)
STEP #4 Freelance Work
Because I didn’t have professional design experience, I needed it ASAP. For 6 months I networked within my Ironhack community to find opportunities.
Here’s what I did:
- I worked with an entrepreneur to build screens for his app idea.
- I designed & helped brand a website for a friend of mine who sells detox juices.
- I joined an Adobe XD Creative Jam with another fellow Ironhacker and won 5th place.
Tip: GET BUSY if you don’t have enough design experience. Don’t be afraid to network in tech communities, online events, or message peers on LinkedIn to get involved in projects no matter how small they may be. Those projects can be used for case studies & interviews.
STEP #5 Job Hunted
- I applied to jobs EVERY DAY (no lie) for about 6 months & kept track of my job applications.
- I received help from UX mentors to help review my resume and LinkedIn profile.
- I made note of where I succeeded and where I failed during my interviews. I accepted my Ls but committed to getting better each time.
My current manager found me on LinkedIn and …. finally, after almost 1 year of starting my journey…I landed my first job as a UX Designer!
Tip: APPLY APPLY APPLY!!! The job market is competitive and you truly have to sell yourself. You need to apply to as many roles as possible because this is a numbers game. Sometimes you’ll get an email back and sometimes you won’t hear back from the company EVER. Don’t take it personally. Just keep applying.
Final Thoughts
My success was definitely not overnight. It took time, commitment, ALOT of hours glued to my laptop, some crying, and PERSISTENCE.
I had a clear vision of what I wanted my life to look like: MORE FREEDOM. I wanted more income so I can work towards financial freedom, the ability to work wherever I want, and a career path that has the potential for massive growth.
Thank you for reading this far! :)
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaitlin-cornier/
1:1 Coaching: superpeer.com/kaycornier/-/cafesito-coffee-chat
