Reflecting on my Journey post-UX/UI Design Bootcamp
Last October, I resigned from my first full-time job as a project manager for a global translation firm. It was an amazing opportunity for me, one that was filled with immense learning, growth, and personal development. Towards the end of my time there — I felt I needed a change, a new challenge, and it needed to be something that I truly had a passion for.
I took some time to myself, audited myself, and where I saw my career going in the next several years. I slowly realized that what I truly wanted to purse was a design and more specifically user-experience/product design.
As an immigrant and a child of parents who owned a Chinese restaurant, I like many spent the majority of my childhood working. Growing up in that environment made me develop a strong passion for entrepreneurship and I continued to be fascinated by topics like Marketing, Branding, and more as I grew older. My love for technology also grew from there as watching tech youtube and phone reviews became a hobby of mine. This was before tech youtube became as mainstream as it is today. Watching these youtube reviews allowed me to develop a foundational understanding of what makes for makes good UX. It helped me built an eye for finding points of friction over time as I began to use more and more tech products.
I began to reflect on all of my interests and experiences and determined that I wanted to be in tech and I wanted to take an active role in creating products that help solve problems for others. Through participating in Flatiron’s UX immersive program I immersed myself in design-thinking, UX/UI fundamentals, and learned about the various brainstorming workshops to facilitate an effective design.
It’s now been 5 months post-graduating from the Bootcamp program and perhaps the most challenging 5 months. Especially given COVID, there’s been so much uncertainty and periods of doubt about my ability to land a design role. There are high days and low days but what's been extremely helpful has been being able to connect with established designers. Their honest, truthful, and grounded feedback has been what’s keeping me motivated. For other fellow Bootcamp grads, I’ll leave you with three pieces of advice:
1. Network, Network, Network!
As cliche as it sounds, the job search really comes down to a little bit of luck and knowing the right people. Having people that can vouch for your skills and experiences weighs far more to a hiring manager than words on a resume. These relationships take time to build and shouldn’t be forced, but it is a necessary component of a successful job search.
2. Strengthen those communication skills!
Similar to my previous point, it's critical that you learn how to communicate and be able to effectively convey your ideas. As an introvert, I normally shy away from meeting new people but as I began to network with more people I became more comfortable. I slowly began to see my communication skills improve especially during interviews, by no means is it perfect — but I’m in a much better place than I was 5 months ago.
3. Comparision is the thief of joy
I came across a quote, “Comparision is the thief of joy” and resonated with it very deeply. At my low points, I would wonder if leaving my job was the right decision — I would compare myself with peers who were working high salaried jobs, working at renowned organizations, going on vacations, and seemingly enjoying life. Even during the job search I at some points felt discouraged as my peers began landing job offers. I learned to focus on myself and avoid comparing myself to others. I continued to network, practice design, and work to build new skills. I realized that I was the one in control of my life and needed to focus on bettering myself rather than comparing myself to others. So don’t compare yourself to others, focus on your own journey, and be patient — your opportunity with come to you soon enough!
