A Day in the Life of a Product Design Intern @ SAS — Part 2
In recognition of National Intern Day last month, I shared an interview with our four Product Design interns, Kathleen, Cameron, Ellie, and Lauren, who provided insights on their experiences with the SAS Product Design team. They answered questions about design internships ranging from their projects and a typical workday to offering advice to students who desire to follow in their footsteps.
Since it’s commonly thought that the application of UX principles in the real-world is the same as what is taught in the classroom, Part 2 of our interview examines how our interns’ classroom knowledge translated into the R&D work environment.
What made you interested in UX design?
My journey began a little over a year ago when I discovered UX design. It felt like a light bulb went off in my head. Before hearing about UX design, I could never see myself doing something for the rest of my life. UX is a career that encompasses many things that I am interested in and passionate about. Every day is different. There are so many things to work on that you never get bored, and that’s really important to me. — Kathleen
When I first applied to SAS, I applied to the United STEM internship program. During my interviews, I met the UX team and heard what the internship would be like. I didn’t know what UX design was, but I learned that it tied web development with HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. So, in that sense, my interests aligned with UX and UI design. — Cameron
I came into college with absolutely no idea what UX was. Then, I started to play around with design within my Computer Science major — really simple web development like HTML and CSS. I joined a club at UNC called App Team, and they specialize in mobile app development using SWIFT. I learned about user journeys, wireframes, and prototyping. I really fell in love with it. — Ellie
My journey began college as a Computer Science major, but I quickly realized it wasn’t for me. I knew that I liked to design, and I liked designing things on the computer — like logos for my family. So, I figured, “Why not make this my major since it’s something that I love to do?” I came across UX through one of my classes, and I talked more with my professor about what exactly UX was and how I could start a career in that field. I’m here now, and I love it! — Lauren
How would you describe your internship experience in one or two words?
“Adaptability.” This was something that I didn’t foresee coming into the internship. It wasn’t even on my radar. I’ve learned to be adaptable, and I’m still developing that skill. I also think “Curious,” one of the SAS values, is a great way to describe my internship. I’ve really enjoyed exploring everything that I can. Using this internship as an opportunity to embrace my curiosity about design and the different industries that design touches has been great! — Kathleen
The one word I would use to describe my experience is “Psychological.” The colors, the design, and the look of an interface — it all comes from psychology. Another word I would say is “Amazing.” It’s my first time working for a company and seeing exactly what goes on behind the scenes. When I talk to people here, they’re always happy. Everybody loves this company. They only say great things about it. That’s one of the things that fascinated me about SAS — all the good things people said about it! — Cameron
The word that I would use is “Empowering.” I didn’t know much about UX design and didn’t realize there was this huge field of people working in it until I came to SAS and saw so many people passionate about it. I still remember my first product experience meeting. It was crazy to see everyone collaborating and learning about the different software and technologies for UX design. In college, UX design is very niche. If you like it, you’re one of the few people who know about it. This internship solidified the fact that UX is a valid career choice, and there’s so many versatile ways to go about it. — Ellie
I would say is that it’s been “Refreshing” and “Fruitful.” I’ve been able to learn so much in just these past few weeks about design. It’s something that we don’t really do in the classroom. There’s not much freedom to get our creative ideas out. With this internship, I’ve been able to open up. When I say “Refreshing,” I’m referring more to my creative mind and not being stuck in one kind of requirement that we have for assignments. I said “Fruitful” because I’ve been able to take in so much information just within these few weeks. That’s amazing to me, honestly. — Lauren
How does practicing UX in the real world compare to what you’ve done or learned in school?
Digital Product Design was my favorite class at school. It set me up with the foundation to be the designer I am today. It was chronological, structured, and ordered; whereas, in the real world, you might be thrown into a project that’s already halfway done. Adapting the design process to fit what you have available has been very different than what we’re taught in school. — Kathleen
I never knew about UX design. I never took a design class in college or in high school, so I didn’t know what it was. My first exposure to UX design was during this internship. — Cameron
In school and in the clubs that I’ve joined, the resources have always been handed to me — whether templates I needed for my user journeys or the color palettes that I needed to use. In the real world, it’s a lot more in your hands, and you have a lot more autonomy — which is both a good thing and a scary thing. But I also realized that UX is a field where you have many resources online. You have to learn on your own and not be afraid to ask questions. Whereas, in school, things are just given to you. — Ellie
Practicing in the real world has helped me with my communication skills. In the classroom, there’s not much feedback. It’s mainly you, your professor, and your classmates to share your work with. In the real world, you get feedback from the people you’re delivering to and hear what they want, what they would like to see, and what they don’t want to see. Getting one-on-one time with the people you’re delivering your designs to is very important. That is something we don’t do in the classroom. — Lauren
What UX skills do you think are useful as an intern, but not taught in the classroom?
Communication is huge. Not just visual communication and how you convey ideas as a designer, but also verbal communication and how you communicate with your developers. Because designs can’t speak for themselves, you have to be the mouthpiece. You’re taught how to design in school, but you’re not taught how to talk about your design to different audiences, and that’s something that should be emphasized more. Soft skills in general are super important, and the idea of teamwork and working with other designers. Another thing that should be taught is critique as a designer. Giving actionable advice when critiquing is something that is underrated and should be talked about more. — Kathleen
In typical classes, students are taught what to do, but not how to do it. We’re generally taught about the theory behind a subject. Teachers would tell me the history, but they don’t always go over exactly what I need to do or how I would do it. They would just teach it from a textbook or just the theories behind it. Learning how to do something is just as important as learning what to do with it. — Cameron
Empathy is an important skill to have in UX, and my team has been really helpful in pushing that narrative for me. Be intentional with the work that you do. This isn’t just school where you can do whatever you want and not deal with the consequences. You’re working on real life projects that directly affect people. It’s important to keep that in mind. Be professional and be intentional and know that you’re doing work that positively affects people. — Ellie
A useful skill that’s not taught in the classroom is knowing how to step outside your comfort zone. In my classes, we don’t have the freedom to express ourselves through our work. That’s important to have. It’s important to want to learn new skills and to want to learn how to do new things which is not really taught in my classrooms. Classes tend to be more focused on practicing these skills and that’s it, rather than branching out to other skills such as researching. I think it’s important to have those other skills to design your work. — Lauren
What advice would you give future interns for translating their UX knowledge from the classroom to the real-world?
Understand that you’re not always going to be able to line up experiences or processes you’ve learned in the classroom with the project that you’re working on. Break down what you learned in the classroom. Break down what you’re working on in the internship and connect the dots to figure out what tools will help you even if you may not have much experience using them. Even if you may not have been taught to use a certain tool at a certain point in process, tools can come in handy at different stages. — Kathleen
Michael Jordan said that you have to be a sponge. You have to be able to soak up all the knowledge around you because the stuff that you learn in the classroom is very different than in the workplace. So, being able to go from the classroom to the workplace and soak up all the knowledge that is around you is the best advice you can tell somebody. — Cameron
The classroom knowledge that you have is obviously helpful. It’s important that you keep that in mind, and you’re always open to continuously learn. It’s important to be open minded. Oftentimes in school, we can get a really high ego like we know it all. We took all these hard classes. But, when you’re coming into a real-world experience, it’s a completely different landscape. As long as you have an open mind, reach out to the people around you, and ask questions, you’ll be able to adapt. — Ellie
Be confident in the skills that you know, but also be open to learning new skills. We learn a lot in the classroom, but there’s also much more to learn. Everything that you learn in the classroom is good information. So, definitely take that with you and carry that on with your internship. Don’t forget that you have those skills already. — Lauren
The knowledge students gain in the classroom lays the foundation for practicing UX in the real world. However, as you can see from the experiences of our summer interns, actual, authentic design problems can be different from classroom UX projects.
Without prior experience in the field of UX, it can be difficult for students to know what to expect and how to prepare. I hope our interns’ reflections offer insight to current students who are looking to pursue UX design internships in the future, and that it helps other design students successfully transition their UX skills from the classroom to the office.
For more on their internship experiences, read Part 1 of our interview.
If you are interested in learning more about our UX team or internship opportunities? Check out UX Design at SAS and visit our careers site.
