Fancy job titles are like that impulse shopping spree purchase.
It gives you a hit at the beginning, but then a little while later you realize it doesn’t actually bring you joy. It even becomes a burden.
For your career, do you want to be “successful” in the eyes of others, or do you want to be satisfied?
At the end of the day (or the end of your life), you probably just want to feel fulfilled, from the inside out.
You want to be happy!
That was Stacy Jara‘s approach when she chose to switch from a paralegal career to a design career. Even though it was “impressive” to work in the law world, she was confident that being happy was more important!
“I was in this very respectable environment, but I was very unhappy, and I wasn’t making the money that I thought I was going to be making. I knew my worth, and I knew I could do a lot better….It was a little bit nerve[wracking} to making that decision, but overall I knew it was the right move.”
To get going, Stacy started the Foundations Course for Avocademy, which is an 8 week intro course to learn the ropes of UX/UI (User-Experience/User-Interface, eg. learning to design digital products like web and mobile apps!).
Related: How to Start a Design Career in Tech (hint: no coding needed)
Learn more about Avocademy. Most grads triple their income after finishing the program.
The Power of the Avocademy Community
Stacy was working full-time so the Foundations course was outside normal hours for her, working the self-paced modules. But she still felt super supported the whole time via the community of learns and mentors.
“I never felt alone, not for a split second. I had mentors helping me all the time. You have the other students that you are learning with. You have someone to rely on. Having that sense of community really helped.”
Indeed, the power of surrounding yourself with people who support your mission is powerful. Are you feeling alone right now? What can you do to make a shift and build community of can support your possible career change?
No Matter the Background, You Can Break Into Tech
Stacy didn’t have a background in tech. But she made a decision early on that she wanted to break into tech.
That’s the power of conviction and definite of purpose. That’s the mindset Stacy chosen to embody.
And now, she is a Junior Designer at Syntellis Performance Solutions.
She encourages others to reflect on their past experience, and to not underestimate that experience as a launching point to UX/UI and tech.
“Maybe you’re thinking, ‘I’m a hairstylist, I don’t know if this will apply to me.’ It certainly can, because you are creative, you base decisions off color schemes, and so you maybe would find the area of UI [User-Interface] more interesting, primarily focusing on the interface of the app, the platform, which colors work best.”
Absolutely. The soft skills you’ve built at any job will play in your favor. Just tease them out with a little self-reflection and realize you can start a design career, no matter where you are in life.
Don’t think you aren’t qualified. You are! Just believe in your power and potential. Really.
Go in the Direction of Your Dreams
Something – a little voice inside of you – compelled you to read this post. Will you turn up the volume on that voice?
Take the first step toward your dreams, learn more about Avocademy and secure your spot in an upcoming webinar on 3 Great Reasons to Become a UX Designer.
“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”
— E.E. Cummings
