Feeling that pull to pursue a creatively fulfilling career?
Attracted to the idea of becoming a UX/UI designer, building and designing the experience and interface of website and web apps?
You can.
You can change careers.
Hard action daily compounds to fuel results over time.
So what are the hard action steps you can take to become a UI/UX designer?
Let’s dive in.
Become a UX/UI Designer – Start by Believing in Yourself
Let’s emphasize mindset. To become a UX/UI designer, start by believing that it’s possible!
Don’t misread this as fluffy advice. It’s concrete and essential to begin with focusing on the vision of what you desire, and wiring that into your mind, feeling conviction for the future results you intend to create.
This doesn’t mean you won’t need to make a real effort. To become a UX/UI designer, it takes focused consistency, learning new hard skills, building a design portfolio, and creating value and selling yourself on the job hunt.
But there are lots of reasons to visualize success, and believe in yourself:
– UX/UI is one of the top 50 jobs in the United States (according to Glassdoor)
– Work on everything from web apps, to breakthrough medical devices, to new tech like Voice Design, Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality
– The average salary of a UX designer in the United States is now over $110,000,
If you’re stuck perpetually doubting yourself, well…. you’ll be stuck perpetually doubting yourself.
Choose an attitude of empowerment.
“Once you know that every day is an opportunity to reinvent yourself, that’s all you need to believe in.”
— Tom Bilyeau
Become a UX/UI Designer – Start Creating
You don’t need a 4-year college degree to become a UX/UI designer. Even if you have zero experience in UX/UI design, you can start your career shift from the ground up.
Here are just a few ideas to get you started and building momentum:
- Reach out to experienced UX/UI designers to learn more about the field. Start a podcast. Invite experienced designers to join as guests.
- Join (or make your own) 30-day challenge designing a new graphic or web mockup each. Then share your mockups on Twitter, LinkedIn, or a design community as you learn out loud..
- Book a call with a career launch bootcamp, if you’re looking for support to fully shift into a UX/UI career in just a few months
The key to becoming a UX/UI designer is to take daily action, and allow the results to unfold over time. That action needs to be purposeful and deliberate as you learn the skills to stand out and break into UX/UI design. But don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. Keep showing up daily and course-correct along the way.
Mindset vs. Hard Skills and Value Creation – Which Matters Most?
An attitude of empowerment is fundamental to change careers into UX/UI. But at the same time what employers want is your ability to create value, and your ability to prove it.
That means tangible evidence that you can create more value than you cost.
So to break into the field, it may take 6-12 months and include elements like:
Hard Skills Training
Understanding web apps, customer preferences, and other design knowledge is key and takes training and doing real-projects that solve real problems.
Portfolio Building
You need to prove to companies what you can do, which means taking the projects you build and assembling and presenting them in a concrete portfolio that documents your work.
Job Hunting
In today’s market especially, it’s key to invest effort and energy finding companies that you like, building connections, and pitching yourself to land opportunities. While the job hunt will ask you to focus, the good news is that it doesn’t have to be lonely or daunting when you take an empowered approach like sending a video to the hiring manager, to cut through the noise.
So which matters most, mindset or value creation? Well they both matter. ; ) Changing careers is like running a marathon. It takes grit and perseverance as well as training and knowledge!
Related: Following the Rabbit Trail. How Penina Got Obsessed with Design (maybe you can too)
Related: How to Change Careers with No Official Experience (yes, you are qualified)
How Designlab Can Support You in Becoming a UX/UI Designer
To launch or relaunch a career and become a UX/UI Designer, you need to get into orbit by taking action. But in learning new hard skills like UX/UI design, it can feel lonely or daunting without the support of people around you.
So a UX/UI bootcamp can be just what you need.
Now, you might think a UX/UI bootcamp is not something you’re “ready for.” But if you trust the process, you’ll realize you can grow and transform over the course of a few short months.
UX Academy by Designlab combines async learning with 1:1 mentorship with an experienced designer to create an educational experience that prepares you with valuable knowledge and skills in UX/UI design.
In short, you’ll be surrounded by the people who will get you over the hump.
Designlab has helped more than 1750 people transform their careers…will you be next? If you’re ready to pursue a more fulfilling career in UX/UI design, why wait? Get started today.
“The courses are designed to be interactive, with hands-on projects that give students the opportunity to apply what they have learned in real-world scenarios. The instructors at Designlab are experienced professionals who are passionate about design and teaching.“
— Jesse, 2023 UX Academy graduate
