Working at a start up as lone designer. Hats I’m wearing; UX research, UX design, UI design, info architecture, content writing, marketing via website, you name it. Am I digging myself a hole with future opportunities by spreading myself across disciplines rather than mastering one? Company focuses on beefing up dev team while design team hasn’t gained overhead in over a year.
Let me let you in on a little secret. You have the chance to put together a killer case study (if not multiple case studies) and speaking with so much confidence that you ace your future interviews. Look at the bright side of it. It’s not hard to sharpen one skill more than the other. You can do that outside of work if you’d like.
Thanks, this response is really encouraging!
Seriously you can do it! Once you get your portfolio together (make sure it’s competing with FAANG designer portfolios) then jump on blind, buy some credits and use them to message people for referrals! Ask them if they don’t mind reviewing your work and referring you if they see fit. Good luck! You’ll have interviews but trust me ONLY start to Interview if your portfolio is up to those standards (as to not waste the opportunity and have to wait the year long cool down period)
I’m in the same boat. DM me and let’s chat.
Digging a hole, I say no. Breadth is incredibly important as a mature designer. You’ll dig into a lot and learn a lot. But that being said, you will need to find a way to gain depth as well. Specializing early in your career is not always helpful.