Career pivot to design
Right now working in bizdev, but the design bug keeps biting me and I'm now 28. Not sure which kind of design, maybe UX in AR/VR contexts or logo. Has anyone here successfully pivoted this way? Ty
A front-end web developer jointed my group 4 years ago. He took a UI development role to pivot his way into UX. He actively solved UX problems. He attended a lot of UX conferences and meet-ups. He was passionate about users. A year ago, he took a lead UX role in a different company. UX designers, visual designers including logo designers, and UI designers have different mindsets and activities. Do you have a passion for design? Do you think about designing products? What excite you about design? Find a mentor to help you break into the type of designs that fits you as an individual. Also, look into the Full-Stack-Design. Use your current skills as leverage. http://designation.io/blog/what-is-full-stack-design/ Best of luck!
Well, lots of things to consider. If you take any courses or classes, in UX field - starting, your salary will be less, I’m sure less then you making now. I’m Ux designer, 12+ years of experience, I love my job, but competition is wild on the marked.
Not impossible but a long road ahead if you've never designed.
Design takes years to learn and get good at until you are top-tech employable. Will be a long, low-paying road ahead, but if you’re passionate it’s totally doable.
Thanks for all the answers everyone. Need to compile a pro/con list
Logo design is one thing, and specialized (relatively). UX for AR/VR is just part-and-parcel of designing for technology, yet another way for people to interact with some form of computing that will follow many of the already-established laws of interaction but with a different front end experience. First question is what is your background. BizDev could mean numerous things. What have you designed thus far? Could be as simple as designing a PowerPoint slide. If you haven’t done that and taken delight in it, then you won’t like it as a career. If however it just made you crave more, that’s a good start. Design like any other craft is a lifelong learning process. Fundamental to it is being able to create something that simplifies the complex and clarifies the ambiguous. Try the DailyUI challenge for examples—it’s good for tactical things that form the basis of product design. The boot camps can get you started, but they’re not a sure thing. Lots of people want to “do design” but far fewer want to put in the time it takes to design things quickly and accurately. If you’re at Google, you’re exposed to an endless number of situations and challenges that can provide opportunity to design something. On your own time, try designing something with real-world connotations. Message me if you’d like to talk more about this.
Yes! 100% agreed.
I read that 50% of UXers are self taught. So yes, do it. Oversimplifying here, but if you’re a critical thinker, you’re half way there.
100% of my design team is self-taught, so I’m fully behind this comment. If you can think critically, there’s a lot you can do. I also advise anyone self-taught to find examples of nice visual design and just copy it until they figure out what goes into that aspect. Similar to those art teachers who’d have students copy work done by the masters. Hunter S Thompson used to type out pages from The Great Gatsby just to get a feel of what it was like to write so brilliantly.
I haven’t but I’ve seen it done before. You could always toe-dip with a class with General Assembly or the like. Product design in tech feels like a really small world. If people end up liking you and your work I don’t think a lack of years would be much of a deterrent