I am a Mechanical Engineer (graduated 2 years ago) working in Houston. Salary is 70k working ~35hrs/wk, I know it sounds not bad but I really really cannot stand my job. Recently I found Im fascinated by UI and UX design I want to break into UI/UX and was thinking about quitting my job and becoming a full-time student pursuing a 2 year UI/UX certificate at Houston Community College (HCC) After I get the HCC certificate, I plan to get a job in the UI/UX industry with the certificate opening opportunities and giving me a time/projects to develop a portfolio What do you think of my path and what is the best way to break into UI/UX?
A certificate won’t give you any credibility. If I saw that on a resume I would completely ignore it, check out your portfolio and see if you have the technical skills and thinking there to hang. Learn to push pixels, and build prototypes while you still have a job. You’ll also need to be able to think about a product end to end these days so that starts with understanding your users, being able to conceptualize and test your ideas and then creating UI that delivers both on form and function that will be able to be handed off to engineers.
I wouldn't do the HCC degree. Build a portfolio with 3 solid projects that really showcase your process, network locally at meetup events, then apply for internships or junior roles until you get one. I'm a self taught UX designer and that's pretty much how I did it.
Health & Wellness
8h
684
Issues with sleep
Cars
Yesterday
1626
Cyber truck killer: Chinese version of EV truck
AMA
Yesterday
2583
I have worked at TikTok US core tech for 3 years. AMA.
India
10h
2474
Why is it so G*damn difficult to move money out of India
Tech Industry
Yesterday
3181
I do tech screens at Google. AMA
You don’t need formal education to become a designer. The best way to develop is to start building your own projects and start freelancing as a designer ASAP. What gets you a job is your portfolio of past projects. That means *real projects that shipped* ... you get zero credit for things that didn’t ship. I wouldn’t waste time and money showing up to a classroom. Design is first and foremost about understanding people’s needs. Reading about psychology would be more useful than design school.
I have a question, can you explain further on what you mean about it being shipped ?