Reflecting on 2020: Pivoting into UX
As the year draws to a close I wanted to take some time to share some of my reflections as a career transitioner and Bootcamp graduate. Was it worth it? What’s next? I wanted to close this year by reflecting on my journey during perhaps one of the most hectic years of my life.
UX Career
I left my previous role — a safe, decent-paying project management job — in pursuit of a career in design and UX. A lot was uncertain but the prospect of being able to join this fast-growing industry was enamoring. With no out-of-pocket costs, I decided to take the leap and join. I felt content for so long, cruising through my 9–5 with days merging today. Time flew and I didn’t feel like I was growing. I felt miserable at work with no one to talk no, questioning everything I was saying, and truly felt unsupported. The money and benefits were nice, but I dug deeper and wonder if this was going to be my life. It wasn’t exciting anymore nor was it my true calling so the Bootcamp was a good step in that direction.
Shortly after starting the Bootcamp, covid hit and left me scrambling about job prospects. Companies that were previously ready to hire junior designers stopped entirely as they became more conservative with their spending. My experience was overall good — but I did feel the program could've done a better job with adjusting to the changing industry and find unique ways to add value to their students. They flaunt their placement rates but at the end of the day, they felt short of the value I was expecting to be provided with.
Now months into my journey where am I? Well, not much has changed, but I’ve been positive about my outlook. I’ve rebuilt my site on webflow, continued write blogs, do design challenges, and even some hackathons. December was actually a great month for me in terms of interviews and I gained momentum in the way I was approaching these conversations. I’ve dedicated more time into investing into the stock market and dabbling in crypto as a way to temporarily derive purpose.
I’m excited for the new year, with a fresh start and strong motivation to manifest my dreams to land a full-time role. It’s been rough but only can get better from here.
