Have you completed Google’s UX Design certification and wonder… what’s next?
Google’s User Experience Design Professional certificate is packed with valuable information about the aspects of the job, but is it all you will need to land a position? Probably not.
If you’ve graduated college with a degree in a design field before taking Google’s courses, you’ll be in a good position, but for the rest of us that come from differing backgrounds of experience and ages, the job hunt can be really disheartening.
It’s a brutal industry, as a newbie, and I just want to throw out there that the field is immense, and there’s a lot of things you can do. Maybe try freelancing, or selling digital products, UI design, or product design, etc. Continue improving your skills and get real-life projects under your belt. If no one will hire you, volunteer your skills on Catch-a-fire, We Make Change, Volunteer Match, or UX Rescue, to name a few. Just get in the game.
Employers want to see experience and a quality portfolio that showcases real-life UX design examples, and they must be responsive to all screen sizes.
The skills you’ve learned as a UX designer are invaluable today. You have what it takes to launch a successful product or company. You know how to come up with ideas, properly test them, and turn a bit of inspiration into a fully fleshed out product.
You can solve real problems in the world. It feels like this is a moment in time where a good designer with some great ideas can really do good for the planet and humanity, so try not to get fixated on one title.
Yes, the job of UX Designer comes with an awesome salary and benefits, and may be worth it for you to pursue. It’s a personal choice, but look at your life, and skillset, and notice if other opportunities present themselves while on your journey.
Did you fall in love with Webflow, or Figma, or writing, illustration, or 3-D rendering, etc.? When you’re in this period of transition, opportunities will present themselves. Maybe the thing that you were meant to do is not at all what you expected, nor planned for, but found while researching a case study or reading a blog post on Medium in the UX Collective.
I’m not trying to sway anyone from pursuing a career in UX Design, I just want to provide options. Keep an open mind. This might be an eye-roll moment for you, but it really helps to meditate every day. Your inner self knows exactly who you are and what you should be doing. If you have questions, the best advice I can give is to sit quietly with yourself and try to connect with YOU.
You can do it! Thanks for reading.
