CAREER ADVICE

Create an Unconventional Career Ladder

The working world is changing, and the old rules no longer apply

Photo by Sudan Ouyang on Unsplash

As I’ve mentioned before, I like to start my day with journaling and sketching. Recently, the concept of career ladders kept popping into my head, prompting me to think about how much careers have changed in my lifetime.

A few days ago, I sketched some rough stuff in a paper notebook so that I wouldn’t forget about it. But today, I committed the ideas to a few illustrations. As you will see below, these are a bit rough.

Yes, I was a “designer” for many years, but not that kind of designer. I was an interaction designer, focusing on business models, product requirements, user needs, engineering capabilities, information architecture, task flows, layouts, and prototyping. I can do a little visual design, but nothing like my more talented friends who create works of art.

But sketching and simple illustrations help me think through ideas and get them out of my head. The process allows me to…