Getting a UI/UX internship in six months
How I switched career tracks at a university without a formal UI/UX program
It’s hard to know what you want to do with your life before — let alone after — graduating. Having spent over two years in college before discovering the exciting world of UI/UX design, I understand how scary it is to switch career tracks, especially since many schools don’t offer UI/UX or HCI programs and classes. Fortunately, UI/UX design is very accessible and intersects with many other fields of study. Here are steps I took and resources I used to become a designer and land my first internship in 6 months.
1. Take computer science classes
Computer science courses will introduce you to the concepts and vocabulary you need to better communicate and collaborate with engineers. They also teach you how to break down complicated problems and are a great way to differentiate yourself from other designers (you can be a unicorn!). Some courses I recommend are: Intro to CS, HTML/CSS, App Dev, and Intro to Algorithms.
2. Take design classes
If there are no UI/UX design courses available at your university, you should still take other design courses to learn basic, transferable design skills. For example, typography is incredibly useful for learning how to layout text on screens, and digital design classes teach you how to use Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. You’ll also learn about color usage, content layout, and creativity.
3. Learn more online
With the internet readily available, there’s a whole world of information at your fingertips. To learn about UI/UX design specifically, there are many online courses and articles about the design process, UX research, accessibility, etc. Bootcamps are also an option (though maybe expensive) and can provide mentorship and networking opportunities.
4. Do a personal project
Ultimately, the best way to become a better designer is to practice via personal projects. You can either come up with a unique idea, choose from prompts others have created, or redesign an existing product. You can also gain experience in user research and interviewing by recruiting friends and classmates to test out your projects and give feedback.
5. Build your portfolio
Now that you’ve got a project or two under your belt, it’s time to build out your portfolio. You can either build your own website or use a web builder like Squarespace (my personal favorite), Wix, Wordpress, or Adobe Portfolio. Websites are great for customizing and showing personality, but can take a lot of time to build and maintain unless you’re already experienced in HTML/CSS.
6. Apply, apply, apply
Now that you’ve learned the basics of design and have a portfolio, it’s time to start applying for jobs! Unfortunately, job hunting is hard and rejections are to be expected. My general advice for this stage is: Do not give up! Reach out directly to hiring managers or designers at companies you are applying to; show them that that you are passionate and genuinely interested in their work. Networking is very important at this stage, and I got many more replies from reaching out directly than I did when submitting dozens of basic Indeed applications. Plus, even if you get rejected by companies you are in direct contact with, it’s a great opportunity to receive feedback and advice.
In the end, I was very lucky to have had an internship after learning design for only 6 months, but I believe that if you can show others your passion and continue to improve your craft and learn from rejections, you will become an amazing UI/UX designer. I hope the advice and resources I shared here will be useful for any new designers reading this, and I wish you the best of luck on this exciting journey!
