8 steps I followed when changing career to UX/UI Design

I’d like to reflect on the journey to get my first UX/UI Designer job as, in the last couple of months, I have been asked about it and maybe my experience can be of help to others in similar situations.

Photo by Halacious on Unsplash

SOME CONTEXT — I have not had a very long career and it was indeed very early on that I realized that what I was doing was not something I could see my self getting on well long-term.

Don’t get me wrong, I had a lot of fun, met a lot of great people, learned more than I could have ever hoped for and, to be frank, made a good living in quite high up positions with people reporting directly to me (all this, before turning 25). However, I was not being fulfilled in other ways that I considered vital. I thought to myself that “this could not be it”. A normal individual spends about 35 years of their life working and if I had to wrest every day with my curiosity and willingness to solve real problems, I was not sure it was worth working as hard as I was…

Lucky for me, I was in a situation where I was surrounded by other professionals that worked on different fields and that inspired me in different ways. None of them, however, were as impactful for me as the Product Designers I met. In my head, they were the ultimate combination of tech-savvy individuals who solved real-world issues through creativity and design.

I do not consider myself extremely tech-savvy nor creative but what fascinated me the most is the constant dance that Product Designers have between technology and humanity to fix things in the most unseemingly way. Whether or not I would ever be smart enough to dance that dance too was not a concern I had at the time (yet). What I was focused on was on what I needed to know to look at that boogie, understand it, and one day, maybe even participate.

Of course, I could not quit my job tomorrow and get it done then and there but what I could do was to craft a plan (muahahahahahahah)😈

Now, I am about to share my plan with you and as a disclaimer, I’d like to tell you that most of the time, I was not even sure of what I was doing. Also, this worked for me, and it does not mean it will work for you. We are all different, live in different parts of the world, and have access to different resources. Anyway, disclaimers done an here are the 8 steps that helped me when changing my career path to UX/UI Design:

1. Hang out with other Designers and engage in conversations about their backgrounds, interests, and what they do. You will soon realize that Product Designers come from a lot of different disciplines, fields of study, and experiences. In general, they also seem to be quite open and welcoming and are often happy to share tips and tricks that helped them get where they are. Besides interesting and useful conversations, you might also get a new friend or two 🙂
2. Get accreditation. This is a controversial topic as I think many self-taught designers maybe disagree. I can only speak about my particular case and, since I came from a (completely) non-design related background, I feel it would have been hard for me to justify looking for a job in design without a bridge. For me, education was this bridge. Not necessarily because I learned a lot during my year at school but rather because it gave my CV a professional red thread (or at least I believe so).
3. Start designing today! The role of a designer includes many things but, first and foremost, designing is at the core of it. That is why I think the best thing I did was to start designing stuff from very early on. In this way, you not only get used to the software but also to different practices that are important when designing — like brain-storming, wireframing, and documenting (among many others). If you find it hard (like it should be) to design without “purpose” or “guidelines”, I suggest you check the different 100-day challenges (my favorite) or different Youtube tutorials that can help you build a mini road map. This also helps with producing content for your portfolio, which you WILL need when looking for a job👇🏼
4. Build a portfolio that shows your evolution as a designer. I would showcase school/Bootcamp projects AND “self-taught” projects. I often got good feedback when showcasing my very first (and very sad looking) designs next to the newer ones as it “proved” how much I had progressed and learned — Fast-learning is a highly sought after skill in all fields, and this is a good way to show that you have what it takes. *Building a portfolio is a time consuming and very important part of job-hunting so I suggest that you start as soon as possible and do research on best practices.
5. Stay informed on trends and industry changes. This is important for several reasons but in my case, it was so that I could experiment with trends on my designs and have comfortable conversations with peers and industry leaders without feeling out of place. Not sure if there is much more to it. I would also highly recommend reading some of the classic literature so that you understand where the discipline comes from and how it’s moving forward (ex. The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman).
6. Define your scope so that you apply to jobs that are aligned with your interests and career preferences. Within Product Design, there are a lot of directions that one can take. I believe it is important to know what you’d like to develop before you start applying for jobs. In my case, I chose to focus mainly on UI-heavy roles as I felt that I needed to get more comfortable with the craft to “call myself a designer”. This does not mean that I wish to focus on UI forever but at the time, I thought it was a good place to start.
7. Prepare to invest a lot of time in recruitment processes. In my recent experience, I had to work on a case for every recruitment process I was a part of. I believe it is a very common practice (at least in Europe) to ask Designers to work on a case. You can like it or not but at least be prepared. For that, I would advise you to 1. try to gain as much knowledge from the hiring manager about the goals and objectives of the case so that expectations are clear from both sides (I failed to do so too many times!) 2. only accept cases from companies that you are truly interested as they tend to be quite draining and time-consuming 3. if you do not get the job, think as the case as more content for your portfolio.
8. Stay honest. If you recently changed your career from something else to Product Design, you probably do not know enough about the discipline and that is OK. Be honest in the recruitment processes and show your eagerness to learn and receive feedback. Not every company has the resources to hire an entry-level designer, and that is also OK. In any case, it is beneficial for both sides to know where each other stand so that if you do get the job, there are no uncomfortable surprises.

In these times of uncertainty, I hope I can share my experience with others who are on either side of the career change journey and remind them that, with hard work and persistence, anything is possible.

I am still very early on in my journey and hope to keep sharing what I learn along the way with those around me ✌🏼