Getting Started in UX Design
My journey into the field of UX Design began out of curiosity and has sustained from the passion i have for understanding people and solving problems.
Sharing my experience getting started in UX will hopefully inspire those of you who are considering entering the field to take the leap and do the same.
Since I started, the field of UX has grown a lot. The amount of UX specializations that I see have increased and have opened up opportunities for people of all educational backgrounds to find success in the space.
My background
I studied Statistics in college with the goal of becoming a Sports Statistician for the NBA when I graduated because I loved sports and numbers (and still do!).
When my initial plan after college didn't work out, I pivoted and found myself working at a marketing agency as an Analytics intern. I quickly found that ultimately, Analytics was just NOT for me. So I pivoted again.
This time into Public Relations. With this experience, I got my feet wet with communication strategy, PR writing, client relations and crisis management.
I learned how the news cycle worked and observed how my bosses would collaborate to create and frame stories for clients. The experience was stressful but worthwhile nonetheless. After a few years, I was ready for something different though. I knew I wanted to enter the technology space, I just didn't know in what way. So, I did a little Googling and discovered UX Design.
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Getting started in ux
After watching a few YouTube videos and reading a few articles, I knew that this career path was next for me. I quit my PR job and enrolled in a 6-month bootcamp at UCLA.
Bootcamp life
Bootcamp life was new to me and took some adjusting. After a few years of being out of college, I had to re-train my brain to the art of homework assignments, test taking and classroom participation. Not only that, the curriculum and timeline for the program was pretty fast-paced. I loved it though. I was captivated by the material from day one of lectures. This is how I knew I found a career path that spoke to where I wanted to be. I pictured myself becoming an expert and skilled designer in the field. Finally no more pivoting!
In my next post, I discuss in detail my experience attending the UCLA UX/UI Design Bootcamp, what I learned and the projects I created from it!