7 Things I Wish I Had Known at the Beginning of My Design Career
A 2-Year Retrospective
A s I am approaching my 2-year mark as a UX Designer, I’ve been spending some time reflecting on everything I’ve learned so far and the things I wish somebody had told me when I was first getting started.
Perhaps I was just incredibly naive but in the beginning, I thought it would be as easy as taking a bootcamp, putting together a portfolio, and landing a job. Simple, right?! In truth, building a design career is more like that picture of an iceberg we’ve all seen before: the part you can see is only just the tip. The other 90% is below the surface.
I’ll be the first to admit that nothing in this article is particularly revelatory nor is it an exhaustive list. Everyone’s entry point into the world of design and their journey through it is unique and different. However, there are a number of different areas that just about everyone needs to focus on to build their career. My hope is that for those who are thinking about a career transition into design or have just begun one, this article can provide a high-level overview of what to expect the first couple of years.
(PS, If you are still on the fence about reading further, there will be memes)
Learning the Ropes
For those who are considering a career transition, the beginning of your design career is a chaotic but exciting time with so much to learn, while other people who are making lateral transitions may already have a pretty good idea of what to expect. Either way, with UX Design and all of its subspecialties (of which there are many) becoming a more formalized position, there are a lot of education programs that can train you in the skills you need to establish a foundation.
When I chose to do a bootcamp with General Assembly, I didn’t really bother to compare other options. It seemed like it would be a good fit for my situation and luckily it turned out great (for the record, this article is not sponsored by GA). However, everybody’s situation is different and the key here is to understand where you are at in your life and what works best for you.
If you are college-age and haven’t truly entered the workforce yet, then a formal UX program is likely going to be a great fit. On the other hand, if you’ve spent a number of years in the workforce, putting the rest of your life on hold to tackle a multi-year program may not be the best way to go. So take some time to do your homework (pun intended), compare options, and talk to other people about their experiences with a particular program. You will be glad you did.
With all that said, UX Design in many ways is an amalgamation of knowledge and skills that need to be experienced in the context of a real job, so regardless of what type of UX education you choose to pursue, your goal should be to get a solid foundation in place so that you can move into a real-world setting and begin accumulating that type of experience.
Your Portfolio
If you are considering UX Design as a career, you are likely aware that having a portfolio is part of the gig. The portfolio isn’t everything, but let’s be honest — it’s a big thing. Your portfolio is your calling card. It allows you to show what you’ve done and how you did it. If you’ve never built a website before, don’t worry. There are some great website builders out there that make it very easy to put something together. Personally, I am a huge fan of Webflow.
The purpose of your portfolio can and will change as you grow in your career. Early on, it’s going to contain a lot of case studies showing your design process, deliverables, and what you learned from a particular project. Later on in your career, your portfolio might be more focused on your team management/organizational philosophy or about ways you’ve contributed to the design community through teaching & publication.
The key here is to figure out what you are trying to achieve in the early stages of your career and tailor your portfolio to that. For example, if you want to design mobile apps, create a design portfolio for mobile apps. If you want to be a designer within a specific industry, create a design portfolio with projects related to that industry. Conveying this type of clarity will help enormously when you are applying for jobs because someone who visits your portfolio to review it for an application will be able to quickly understand who you are and what your experience is as a designer.
After you’ve built your portfolio, it’s important to maintain it even when you eventually land a job. In the same way that social media gives people the opportunity to establish their online presence and build their own brand, the portfolio does the same thing for a designer. So get comfy, my friend — your portfolio is here to stay.
Build Your Network
“No man is an island” unless of course you are fantastically wealthy and own your own island. For the rest of us, growing your design career is going to involve a lot of other people, which means networking.
In addition to other designers (more on that in a minute), building a network is going to involve people from other disciplines and positions, such as product managers, engineers, operations, management & executives, recruiters, startup founders, and business owners. The list goes on and on, so make sure to branch out and meet as many people as possible.
Additionally, don’t just network within the tech industry. These days, UX Design is ubiquitous because it allows for a human-centered approach to a little thing we call technology, and technology is everywhere, so build your network across different industries and sectors because career opportunities can come from virtually anywhere.
Get Involved in the Design Community
This has probably been the most enjoyable part of my career transition so far. Before I got into design I worked in the film industry, which is not always the most welcoming place. Networking in Hollywood was always a painful experience and frankly, I hated it. On the other hand, I have found the design community to be absolutely filled with incredibly smart, talented, and welcoming folks who want to see you succeed.
The “community” can take different forms such as local vs. national/international or in-person vs. online. Whatever it is, there are many different ways to get involved through Meetups, Slack channels, Facebook groups, etc. These types of resources are invaluable because you will be able to make more connections, be exposed to new things, and be able to ask questions or get feedback in a place that is completely separate (in a good way) from your eventual job.
Another benefit of getting involved is that you will have the chance to find a mentor. Of course, there are formal UX mentorship programs that will match you up with someone. However, I have found that by being friendly, showing a desire to learn, and by respecting other people’s time, it’s possible to find not just one design mentor but several people who are willing to have a direct relationship with you and your career.
Applying for Jobs
Throughout my time in the workforce, I’ve generally been able to land the job I wanted without having to send out tons of applications. I even managed to do this for my first full-time UX position by having a friend put in a good word for me. However, now that I’m looking for my next role, I am quickly becoming familiar with the job hunt grind and boy, can it be tough.
A lot of your job search experience will depend on what city you live in but right now UX Design is in high demand and a lot of people are getting into it. That much opportunity brings with it competition, so despite what you may be told in a bootcamp, chances are you will have to apply to a lot of jobs to land your first couple of roles. To tackle this challenge, it’s good to have a strategy in place otherwise you may quickly feel overwhelmed.
Put together a list of all the different job boards that post design positions, set up filters for what you are looking for, and sign-up for batched email alerts. This will create an in-bound flow of opportunities. Also, keep an eye on your Slack channels, Facebook groups, or LinkedIn feed for additional postings. Next, create a spreadsheet to keep track of everything. I like using Airtable but a lot of folks use Huntr or Trello. Regardless of what you use, a job search tracker will become a living document that will give you a better perspective on the playing field.
Keep Learning
Design & technology moves fast…like really fast…and there’s always more to learn (but you don’t have to learn everything all at once). As a designer, you should aspire to be multi-dimensional. Even if you end up specializing in one area of design, you should have at least some proficiency in and knowledge of other areas of design. Make sure people know that you can bring different skills to the table so that you don’t end up getting pigeonholed.
This is also a good time to circle back to some of the education programs/platforms that you initially looked at to get started. By now you should have the foundational skills of a designer in place, so begin to think about other things like online courses or books that focus on a specific aspect of the design process that you want to learn more about. There is an endless amount of resources out there, so use bookmarks and make lists to keep track of things that you find helpful.
On top of all this, you should have some understanding of the other disciplines you’ll be working with. You don’t have to be a unicorn but design is a team sport, so understanding what the needs & goals are for the other people you’ll be working closely with, such as engineers, PMs, or marketing will be really important. However, this should come naturally to you since having empathy for other people is what you’ve learned to do for users!
Follow the Work
In closing, the final thought that my bootcamp instructor left our class with was, “Follow the work” and nearly two years later, I still find this to be some of the best advice I’ve received. It can be difficult and confusing to navigate through all of these different aspects of building your new career, especially when they don’t seem to be directly related to doing actual design work.
Regardless of whether or not you have an official design job, there are lots of opportunities to produce work. Try to freelance by talking to friends who own businesses, volunteer for organizations that are creating a positive social impact, or come up with small side projects for yourself.
When in doubt, follow the work.
Please feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn! I always enjoy expanding my network and connecting with new people: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexbkrause/
