My UX Journey : Phase 2
Even with months of debating, worrying, and planning I’m doing all right. It makes me nervous to say this out loud, but it’s far past time to start claiming it.
I am becoming a UX Designer.
Phase 1, you may remember, was supposed to be heavy in exploration (what is UX, really? how could I get there? does it even look all that appealing up close?) but before I knew it, I was finishing up a UX Fundamentals course on LinkedIn Learning and loving it. The blog posts I’d listed for myself to read and the D. School projects I walked through started to repeat themselves, and I became anxious to put the tools I was learning about into practice.
When I finally came to it, it was easy to dive into the UX Design Circuit from General Assembly. I wanted to learn more, and I knew the environment of a not-free class with assignments would give me the structure and guidance I need to practice what I’d been learning about.
Highlights:
- I already know a lot of what’s being taught! This was a highly encouraging way to start the course and made me feel like I can do this. I think the anxiety and uncertainty I’ve been feeling around design fits under Imposter Syndrome, and finding myself in familiar territory was a huge push toward going further.
- This is fun! I’m enjoying the activities and assignments, and I’m excited to see what my final project is going to look like when it’s all finished. (The units are cumulative, and I’ve been working toward that end since the first week.)
- I have a lot of people willing to help! I put out a call for users to interview for an assignment, and I got responses from acquaintances from the internet, strangers within my company, office friends, and family have all been eager to pitch in with my user research. Yay!
- “You’re one of the most organized people I’ve heard of.” —what my first mentor told me when I described my design education plan
I’ve reworked Phase 2 a bit since starting this course. I’ve added in a local Design conference, and I’m pretty sure I’ll dip my toe into some UI education to get started on those skills. My mentor also recommended I go through the UX course a second time and build a second project, which will give me even more to add to my portfolio. My manager at work has been another strong push toward hustling after this goal. He’s encouraged me to take advantage of everything I can, and he’s made way for me to shadow and learn from our in-house designers.
I’m still not sure how all of this will look in action. I’m not sure how my career transition will pan out. But I am sure that I want to keep going.
Onward and upward!
