Member-only story
Over the years, I have came across several people who are looking to start a career in UX and are asking for my advices. I’ve only been in the field for 5 years (8 years if including the years in school pursuing this topic), and I’m still on a steep learning curve. However I do have some experiences to share, so I’m writing this article to compile my thoughts.
Year 1–3
I learned about the field of HCI from a TED talk given by Pranav Mistry on SixthSense Technology, and wanted to explore the field of designing digital products that will empower individuals. I went to a community college to study Intro to Programming, went on Coursera to learn Python, and joined meetups focusing on Design Thinking. Afterwards, I completed a two year master program in design thinking, user research, prototyping from Indiana University’s HCID program.
Year 4–6
Fresh out of HCI program, I wasn’t clear about my direction in the UX field. There are many paths I could follow and build my skills on. I regret I didn’t look for mentors in that year, otherwise I might have chosen a sub-field of UX early on. Instead, I wanted to do it all. I went back to my previous employer and asked them if I could set up a product devision, responsible for 3 new online publishing platforms from research to design to implementation. It was ambitious, and I’ve learned a great deal of lessons on limited resources, shortage of budget, failing in reaching milestones, miscommunications, burnouts. However in the end there are…
