7 Things I Learnt from My “Illegal” Jobless Journey
Today is April 2nd. It’s been 8 months since I became jobless. It has been a life-changing 8 months. During these 8 months: I got married and planned for our dream wedding in Hawaii. Illustrated my first children’s book. Learned UX/UI in CareerFoundry. Took freelance UX works with startups. Traveled and learned to snowboard with my husband. I am a really lucky girl to have met my freaking awesome husband. All these beautiful things happening right now couldn’t have happened without him.
1. H1B Lottery Sucks!!! But Thanks to it.
I stopped my landscape designer job in July 2018. Like all the immigrant stories. It became illegal for me to work. I didn’t pass the lottery for H1B Visa in April 2018 and my OPT expired in July 2018. So I had to stop working even though my old company really really wanted me to continue working for them. Yep, it sucked, and it was frustrating for all of us. Even though my husband and I had already planned to get married in SF City Hall anyways and started the application for my green card, it would still take at least 3 months to get my work permit (EAD card). However, this turned into 5 months…
2. Take the Opportunity to Do Something I Want and Think about life.
The first 2 months of the jobless journey were fun. I was excited for this free time I would probably never have again in my life. I thought I had a chance to do whatever I wanted to do. So I accepted my friend’s invitation to illustrate her children’s book called #ElfiesWithSanta. This was also something I always wanted to do since I was in college. I set up my desk and board, found my old watercolor supplies, bought more paints, and started to draw! I still remember the day when I submitted my artwork to my friend and the publisher we were all too excited to wait for the book to be released. And that also scratched deeply in my heart so that I kept questioning myself: What job do I want to do once I am able to work again? Do I want to go back to my old job and layout baseball fields?
3. Make My Decision And Don’t Turn-Around.
The answer was no. I craved a creative world. I am one of those, who are always ready for challenges and changes in life. Especially when I know it is the perfect time and opportunity, I will definitely go for it. November 2018, after finishing my book, my husband supported me to purchase UI courses on CareerFoundry. Here I want to really appreciate my CF tutor and mentor and all the awesome people I met through courses. I really enjoyed the whole flexible schedule and encouraging community. Online courses could be hard if you don’t have strong goals and motivation to constantly be studying every day. But if I can’t even put down my head and force myself to study on my own, I don’t think I would be able to achieve anything in my future life. I got my work permit in February 2019 but instead of going back to my old company, I decided to focus on studying and find a new job in UX/UI. (Honestly, I felt bad when I said no to my old company, they are really amazing people. But the job was just not right for me anymore.)
4. Self-Studying Could Be Hard.
Honestly, the first 2 months of my courses were hard. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out my schedule and how it could work out. At first, I thought it would be nice to work from home. So my husband helped me set up my workstation at home and got me a standing desk which I used a lot when I was working in an office. But, working somewhere you are too comfortable with is not easy. I got up whatever time I wanted. Played on my phone, cooked breakfast, and ate. Then it was already 10 am. I started to work on my courses. Then I felt I should do the laundry. Then I did laundry. I passed the kitchen and grabbed a snack… I cooked again because it was lunchtime. Sometimes I got sleepy so I just took a nap in my comfortable bed… And when I’d wake up it would already be 3 pm. I’d “oh shit I need to go to the gym!” Yeah, that was my whole day. Studied like 3–4 hours a day and got distracted by all kinds of stuff in the house. Winter was also festival season so we went to East Coast a couple of times to visit family. My speed was 2 tasks a week, sometimes 1, sometimes 0.
5. Find My Best Schedule And Stick With It.
February 2019, after festival season and studying “casually” for 3 months. My husband gave me some advice: maybe I can carpool with him to work every morning and study in Starbucks or Cupertino library. We can also do lunch together and go back home together. That turned out to be life-saving advice. I started to go to work with him at 7 am, chatting and riding with him for 30 mins. Dropped him off at his office and sat down in Starbucks at 7:30 am. And started my courses right away. I have been able to finish 4–5 tasks a week since then. This means I can finish my courses by May instead of July. The schedule works so well and I enjoy it so much cos I feel like I am working full time. And by working so hard I am confident that if I keep doing it I can get a job in this new industry.
6. Live a Fun Life!
I don’t know why I had this feeling that I didn’t deserve to have fun or spend money while jobless. My husband said I was too hard on myself. And I was. I didn’t feel confident enough to talk to friends or network with new people. Which didn’t help with anything at all. And as bad as it sounds, and as you expect it would lead to, I was depressed…
Having a soulmate is such a blessing. My husband knows me so well and he knew that traveling and outdoor activities would help with my depression, which was also how we met back in the day. During the break, we have been to Hong Kong, Honolulu, LA, DC, Portland, Pittsburg, Philadelphia, and Boston. Over the winter, I also learned snowboarding from him. From the first time where I couldn’t even stand up to now, I can go to Blue Lift with him. Snowboarding is such a fun and addictive sport. And it releases stress! I don’t know if it’s also because I was born and raised in northeastern China but I just love being in the white snowy world.
I also like taking breaks from the study by sketching whatever I feel like. A logo for my friend’s baby birthday party, random ideas, a cute animal… So fun!
Check out my artwork here .
7. Keep Networking!
Back to the outgoing and social me. I decided to sign up for a couple of UX meetups in the bay area. This is the awesome part about Silicon Valley. So many resources, so many young and passionate people, and meetup groups for everything. My favorite ones are UX Wizards of the South Bay, South Bay Women in Technology Meetup, and South Bay UX. It was because I went to UX Design and Sketch South Bay that I got to know some awesome friends in UX. By networking with new people, I learned that there are a lot of people just like me, studying new things on their own and trying to do stuff they like. And the more people I know, the stronger I have my faith that I can do this. Now I am a month away from finishing my courses and cross your fingers for me that I can find a job as a UX designer after that! And hey. (Shhh🤫here is the illegal part). I’m taking freelance work through my connections on the side. Even though it’s not a lot of income, but I still feel good when I get the cash! I’m going to use the real world projects in my CF courses and I’m going to put them in my portfolio. Win win!
Summary
Visa problems suck. The lottery for H1B is totally bs. But I believe there must be a reason everything happens in life. Thanks to my husband’s financial and mental support, and thanks to the free time that I got, I had a chance to illustrate a book and learn UX. After 8 months, I am now able to put down my head and work on my own projects. Sometimes I even think I need this in my life to learn, to understand, and to grow. When you make up your mind to do something, just go for it. When you figure out your best schedule, stick with it. Also, life is never always about work. Chat with friends, go to meetups, go out in nature, go do some sports. Being jobless is not that bad!
