April 2022 Q2 Alumni Spotlight: Going from Teacher to Technology Researcher

Going from Teacher to Technology Researcher

Lorie Whitaker, HCDE Masters, 2008, Staff UX Researcher, Okta

Research is my second career.

I am a teacher at heart, but appreciate how teaching brought me to the role I have today.

ALB: Tell me about your background?

Lorie:

I started out as a teacher and technology specialist. Outside of the Pacific Northwest, people didn’t know what a technology specialist was back in the 2000s. I was working in the Seattle area, for the Tukwila School district. My position focused on supporting teachers as technology came into the classroom. I was meeting with the teachers throughout the district to help to make them more effective when using technology.

At the same time, I heard that Microsoft gave you free software for participating in research studies — and who didn’t want the latest copy of PowerPoint?. I signed up for a study in Redmond for the Media Center PC. I had no idea what to expect as a participant. I sat down to do a task and I crashed the whole thing! The researcher and I had 20 minutes to talk through what happened. I asked him all kinds of questions about his job — I couldn’t believe he got paid to do it!

I came back for 2 more studies, each time I asked the researcher and facilitators a lot of questions. I had no idea UX was even a thing. I went home and googled ‘ux research’ and found the University of Washington Human Centered Design and Engineering (HCDE) program.

This was the start of my transition from teaching to User Experience (UX) and research.

ALB: Tell me about your time at the UW’s HCDE program.

Lorie:

When I went through, the program was still called Technical Communications. Most of my teachers were professionals from the area, which provided me with valuable insight on the day to day life of UX researchers. I received my Master’s in Technical Communication in 2008. This is my second Master’s. I also have a Master’s in technical education.

ALB: Are there instructors or teachers who influenced you?
Lorie:

Arnie Lund, who worked in usability at Microsoft, made an impact on me. He taught the User Centered Design course.

Arnie made us do a design exercise on personas — and I’m not a designer!

I had been doing a lot of teacher continuing education classes at Woodland Park Zoo and I noticed that the signage was so different in look and presentation throughout the Zoo. What if we redesigned the wayfinding at the zoo? I still remember the work of redesigning the map and embodying my persona for testing.

Suzanne Boyd, taught the Web Usability course. She walked us through how to develop a research plan, doing a session, and writing up a report. Those fundamentals stuck with me.

ALB: What are you doing now?

Lorie:

RIght now I’m a remote employee for Okta, an identity management company. I work on the company’s newest product, Identity and Governance Administration. I work closely with Product Management and Product Design to ensure the experience is easy but impactful for our end users, who are very technical.

Throughout my career, I’ve gravitated towards enterprise research. I keep coming back to it because of the complexity of the problems. I love a good challenge. ove learning about complex systems and how they are supposed to work. Ultimately, I just want to make people’s lives easier.

ALB: What advice would you provide new HCDE grads?

Lorie:

It’s hard out there. The hardest thing is getting that first job. Know yourself. What do you like? Quant? Qual? Learn what you love and let it shine through. Let your passion for this work come through and tell your story with passion, that will help sell yourself. Network with anyone you can. I know it’s challenging with the pandemic and in-person going virtual, but you can find some wonderful groups online.

Make sure when you are networking, to have a specific ask. Have a reason to connect with them. We are all overworked and very busy. It’s not personal if we don’t reply back.

I can relate to how difficult things can be, I made the transition at the cusp of the recession and I was desperate. Microsoft had stopped taking UW grads into their MSN group and Amazon only had unpaid internships. I had gotten laid off from my day job a few months before I graduated and I spent hours each day searching and applying to anything teaching and UX related, anywhere in the country.

Circuit City flew me out to Virginia for an interview. I had an awkward interview process and didn’t get the job–soon later Circuit City filed for bankruptcy. I probably dodged a bullet. State Farm also flew me out to their headquarters, but once I realized the room was filled with PhDs, and here I was just a Master’s student with no practical experience, it was not a shock to me that I didn’t get the job.

At this point I only had two months of unemployment benefits left. Then I came across an opportunity with Usability Sciences based in Dallas. They flew me out to Dallas and as I got to understand the consultant business model, I realized I could gain a lot of experience there. And it didn’t hurt that they were the only company to offer me a job.

It was so hot when I arrived! I left Seattle that summer at 68F degrees and when I arrived in Texas, it was 104F. I had never lived in Texas, but being part of a consultancy was the best learning experience since I was able to work with a variety of clients and industries. I was there for 3 years and learned a lot.

The HCDE program opened up a new world and adventures. Without my degree, I have no doubt that I would not be where I am today. I’ve made lifelong friends in the program and never hesitate to refer anyone, who is looking to start their UX career, to the program.