Hi all! Please use this discussion thread to discuss Getting into UX Design held on Mar 2, 2019. Feel free to ask questions about the place, date and time, agenda of the meeting, or anything else.
I think there are 5 barriers in our UX career, especially for someone want to start UX career from other fields, such as designer, developer or marketing-related roles.
* Knowledge
* Skills
* Project
* Mentor
* Team
We can self-learn the knowledge and skills with online courses such as IDF's, reading books, and even by watching YouTube how-to videos. So they are not the monsters we can't defeat.
Project: a project is essential for UX related roles. You need an excellent case study to show your employer your design process and how you execute your plan. And a real project is the best way to practice your knowledge and skills. The project should include a whole UX design journey, and not too long ago. Take me for example, I have 6-years of UI/UX design experience in China, but my previous role in New Zealand did not focus on UX/UI. There is 2 year's gap since the last time I was involved with product project, so I need a new and local project for a case study.
Mentor: we can start our project to start the UX career, but how can we know what things to be improved? That's why a mentor is necessary. A mentor is not a teacher; he/she only need to spend a few hours per month with you to walk through your project and help you with that.
Team: a UX designer is not a lone wolf. We need a team at least with a developer, a designer and a product manager to start a project.
So I think project, mentor and team are three major obstacles for us to start a UX career.
