To new designers, to make much of time

You’re a new designer — congratulations on the path you’re taking!

A few words of advice…

1. Take risks. Raise your hand. Carpe the damn diem. If you don’t push the boundaries of what you already know, growth will be reaaaaally slow, or nonexistent. Trust me on this one: if a new effort or task scares you, try it.
2. You will feel like a poser (many posts on imposter syndrome in UX; easy to Google) for YEARS. The best thing you can do about it is seek out mentors and supportive people who will lift you up. And start mentoring someone else as soon as you can. One of the best validations that you know what you’re doing is being able to help someone else learn it. And you share your knowledge.
3. Don’t overcorrect on imposter syndrome. There’s this little thing called the Dunning-Kruger effect. A good way to combat this is through inviting critique, and remembering that the design is not your baby. It belongs to the product owner, and you are being entrusted with its care.
4. Be careful not to isolate yourself from your team. You may be tempted to work heads down for long periods of time because you can get things done quickly. If you work as the lone designer on a project, bring in non-designers to collaborate with. In fact, if you work with a big team of designers, make sure you collaborate with non-designers. You need to understand the technological capabilities (and limitations) that will power what you design, and you need to understand the business goals driving the effort.
5. Remember that relationships are experiences, too. Take time to nurture and cultivate your professional and personal relationships at work. Avoid burning bridges if you can. UX may seem like a vast world, but it can get small quickly.

And if you’ll be working in a large enterprise setting, or really any setting with complex politics, I wrote something a while ago that talks about staying true to yourself.

Good luck. You’ll be great!