My unconventional path to UX writing
It was March 2, 2021. My wife, a data engineer, was searching through Google’s certification programs to see if there were any courses that would help hone her coding skills.
While she was scrolling through courses, I immediately stopped her when I saw three words that intrigued me, and literally changed my life: User Experience Design.
At the time, I was an editor. UX fascinated me on the spot because I never knew there was a profession dedicated to helping people navigate websites in a enjoyable and efficient manner. I immediately began learning more about it.
After 30 minutes of learning, I snapped my laptop shut and thought, “Kaleel, you’re an editor and writer. You’ve wanted to become a reporter and editor since you were 15. UX is cool, but stay focused on journalism.”
Over the next few weeks, I found myself noticing references to UX everywhere. At the gym, I’d see commercials on the huge TV screen talking about UX. At the grocery store, I saw a magazine that touted UX as a growing field. I couldn’t escape it — and deep down, I didn’t want to.
After returning from the grocery store, I immediately grabbed my computer and enrolled in Google’s UX Design certification program, which taught me about all the disciplines of UX — including UX writing.
Funny thing is, I was learning about UX while my wife and I were going on the most rewarding journey of our lives: paying off all our debt. During the get-out-of-debt journey, I fell in love with investing and learning from others about their financial successes.
I started doing more research about investing and came across Vanguard. I learned the company’s history and its mission of putting investors first and helping them reach their financial goals.
I thought to myself, “It would be cool to marry my love for writing, UX, and investing.” And guess what? I took my first step toward doing that in November of 2021 by applying for a UX writing role at Vanguard. After a few interviews, I was hired.
What led me to UX writing was my urge to create engaging experiences with words. I believed that as a UX writer at Vanguard, I could use my worlds to help people reach their financial goals. That is exactly what I’m doing today.
And now, my words are doing just that.
Like many other people, my path to UX wasn’t the most conventional. I took a new-found passion and turned it into a career path. I wish I’d discovered UX writing sooner!
This article is part of the “Chart a Course” series, which features Vanguard crew telling the story of the different career pathways to becoming a UX professional.
