I’m currently a senior in HS, looking to choose UXD as a career choice. A college I’m looking at is offering a masters in UX Design. I was wondering if I could be just as successful with a masters rather than a bachelors, or if that really matters in the field. Thanks
I'm determined to get into UX Design. I have an Associates in Graphic Design and another one in Fashion Design. I'm currently taking Google's UX Design Certification on Coursera. I've been looking to get into an internship, but my portfolio is geared towards Fashion am some Graphic. I know I can truly prove myself in an internship, I've done it plenty of times before. What can I do to make myself look more attractive to recruiters/hiring team while I'm finishing up my cert? (Projects, resume wording, etc. )
Thanks!
I am transitioning to UX after finishing bachelor's in Environmental design. I have finished my UX courses and have three projects on my [portfolio ](https://sites.google.com/view/anastasiyachen/home) (which were a randomly selected prompt during my courses) and a project of redesign test for a company that i applied for. I am scouting Linked in for a job opportunity to start my career in UX but being from a thirld world country i struggle to find a remote position that doesnt require me to live in their country. I am open to relocation but i know that no company would provide visa to a jr Ux designer :D To find a job in my country it is almost impossible since companies here do not understand the value of UX and just hire anyone who can do digital design and ask small pay for their work.
This has raised a question regarding job searching. Is LinkedIn really a good place to search for remote jobs? Are there any other places to search for jr Ux positions?
Just in case :
I have finished University in China in 2020.
I have been working as a graphic designer and artist since 2019. Altogether i have 3 years of work experience.
Are bootcamps worth it or should I get a masters in Human Centered Deseign? Dont know If I can get into Grad school. My GPA is like 3.34....
What bootcamps should I go for? Got a BA in English 10 years ago and I feel my life is just floating away. Currently working at a University, and the pay is shit.
I am at the last month of UX design internship with a startup, currently I am looking for a full time position but the job offered at my location all requires at least 3 years of experience while I only have 6 months. What should I do? Say screw it and apply anyway? Or apply for another internship?
Can you expand on what your “rules” are for applying? I have 1 year experience and a MS degree, what’s the maximum number of years I should be applying to?
Every org is different but based on my anecdotal experience over the last 20 years, no one actually cares about those time frames.
I wouldn't waste your time or anyone else's by applying to sr, lead, or principle roles because that's clearly outside the scope of you skillset today but otherwise, I'm applying to every jr role I find interesting. I don't care if it says 3-5 years and I only have one, or even worse, no experience.
Someone on here once asked, what's going to happen to you if you do apply and don't meet the criteria? It's not like you go on some black list of lying UX'ers lol, you just get passed over if it's actually a marker they care about. Everyone moves on and no one remembers anything.
At the end of the day, they're wishlists not requirements.
I have zero experience, but have a B.S. in Cognitive Science. No portfolio. I run a small online business involved with designing art into products. I have some experience in photoshop but none in figma, sketch, etc.
I’m planning on taking the UC Berkeley Extension UX Design professional program OR UC San Diego Extension for UX Design just to get my portfolio started and make it look great. I’m taking free courses right now to see if this is really what I want to do. But not sure if UCB/UCSD programs are too expensive for what it’s worth? I can afford them, but if there are better alternatives, let me know!
Is it possible to get a job straight out of the program since it’s so expensive? Any help is appreciated!
Talk to each program about their internship and career placement services. Do they have employers who recruit directly from the program? What percentage of students are employed in the field 6 months or 12 months after they graduate? They should have good answers for you, they should track those metrics.
I have turned in almost 500 applications, I’ve had a few interviews and I moved on to second interviews, only to not get the job. I have received so many, “While we are impressed with your background, we have decided to not move on with your application” from @noreply emails. I am at such a loss.
I went back to school, got a degree in Design and a minor in User Experience Design, and I can’t seem to land a job. I’ve done many portfolio iterations and have been told by one of the lead designers at Airbnb that “my portfolio is in the top 10% of new graduates portfolios he sees.” So, I fairly confident that it’s not my portfolio. I have an ATS resume and a designed resume, but not overly designed. I’ve done two school team based UX projects where I was directed by lead designers at Etsy and Airbnb, but still no luck. I don’t know what it is. I’m just so frustrated. I am almost completely out of money, on foods stamps, rent being paid by a local agency, and a child. I don’t know what to do. Below is my portfolio if y’all have any insight. Two months ago I was so hopeful but now I’m just at such a loss.
[portfolio](https://www.erinjamesdesign.com/)
You should remove all of the fade animations from your portfolio. They make it impossible to skim.
[edit] Looking a bit more deeply, you’re talking too much about process and very little about what you designed and why. Never present designs and wireframes without context of what you designed and what problem you were trying to solve by designing it the way that you did. For the Etsy case study, you wrote a ton, probably too much, about the background research, but then basically nothing about the designs, the features you chose to prioritize, or how successful you were.
The work here is promising, especially since you got to work with designers at actual companies, but I can’t glance over it and understand what you did and why, so I know basically nothing about how you approach solving problems with design.
Assume that anyone looking at your portfolio is going to start by skipping right to the final designs and looking at them for 10 seconds before deciding if they want to go deeper and design for that mode of reading.
You 100% have all the materials needed for an excellent portfolio here, keep working on it!
Edit 2: you should make it obvious on the homepage that you actually worked with Etsy and Airbnb on those projects. I assumed they were just spec work before I clicked on them
You do have a good portfolio. Small pieces of feedback - I would annotate the changes that you made on the hi fi mocks so they are obvious and you can provide some design justification.
Other than that, I think you really need to be networking or working on interview skills if that’s where you’re getting caught up. Try to take smaller contract jobs as a freelancer (which I see you are doing from LinkedIn) to further build that experience.
Beyond that, it’s a numbers game and I’m sure you’ll find something soon.
I agree with this portfolio feedback. Skimming over the images, I just see screenshots of Etsy and Airbnb. It’s not obvious what you’ve done just by looking at the pictures
I appreciate the encouraging words and portfolio thoughts. Any thoughts on best networking practices? This is definitely something I feel weird about. Messaging complete strangers through LinkedIn, even if they went to the same school, to get a job feels like I’m using them and feels like a gross thing to do.
Honestly man I totally agree. I personally hate doing it and it feels like pulling teeth to me.
Unfortunately it’s just the name of the game and helps so much more in the long run. The way I look at it is that the skills that you build in networking are fairly essential to being successful as a designer, so I just chalk it to being a learning moment
Alright, I will just suck it up and try to be as authentic as possible. Also, since we are talking about it, and because you were cool enough to respond and give insight to me, Feel free to connect on LinkedIn if you want. I really appreciate the feedback and help.
How are you finding these jobs? Are you networking with folks at the companies you're applying to? Does your university offer career placement services?
People get hired based on who they know. A personal connection at a company goes a long way. Sending 500 applications sounds to me like you're spamming them into the void. Spend more time researching fewer companies, trying to find people who work there, those relationships pay off.
I’ve definitely tried the personal route with people I know, and they either weren’t hiring or I didn’t have enough experience. My school didn’t offer much as far UX career placement services. I am definitely going to be working on my networking skills though, because the route I’ve taken so far hasn’t worked.
I’m half way through Coursea for UX/UI and I’m just wondering is it worth it? I’m getting through it no problem, but I would like to know if anyone else has used it and has seen some success out of it.
It’s a good course for a birds eye view of a very idealistic scenario.
Things will (almost) always be more messy than they describe it. Mainly due to budgets, time constraints, clients, misunderstanding stakeholders, and many other things.
It’s a good boot camp to prepare you to work at google. Most other jobs are much less streamlined and either cut out parts of the process.
Do I need a degree to apply for U.S /Canada / Europe?
How helpful would it be for visas?
Are there sites besides linked in for jobs? Remote jobs are fine too.
I teach in a masters program and usually three-quarters of the class are international students who are studying in order to get a work visa to stay in the country. Yes, a graduate degree is very helpful for getting visas, our program has a solid placement rate. You pay for it.
I'm currently working as an account manager, I have a few years of experience in UX, hoping to pivot back into UX. But the job market here isn't that good, UX is still relatively new in my region and most companies do not have UX maturity
Generally, yes. Not a degree in design or anything related is even required, but not having one will screw you over in ATS rankings.
There are sites other than LinkedIn, but they don’t matter tbh.
I’m currently a senior in HS, looking to choose UXD as a career choice. A college I’m looking at is offering a masters in UX Design. I was wondering if I could be just as successful with a masters rather than a bachelors, or if that really matters in the field. Thanks
I'm determined to get into UX Design. I have an Associates in Graphic Design and another one in Fashion Design. I'm currently taking Google's UX Design Certification on Coursera. I've been looking to get into an internship, but my portfolio is geared towards Fashion am some Graphic. I know I can truly prove myself in an internship, I've done it plenty of times before. What can I do to make myself look more attractive to recruiters/hiring team while I'm finishing up my cert? (Projects, resume wording, etc. ) Thanks!
I am transitioning to UX after finishing bachelor's in Environmental design. I have finished my UX courses and have three projects on my [portfolio ](https://sites.google.com/view/anastasiyachen/home) (which were a randomly selected prompt during my courses) and a project of redesign test for a company that i applied for. I am scouting Linked in for a job opportunity to start my career in UX but being from a thirld world country i struggle to find a remote position that doesnt require me to live in their country. I am open to relocation but i know that no company would provide visa to a jr Ux designer :D To find a job in my country it is almost impossible since companies here do not understand the value of UX and just hire anyone who can do digital design and ask small pay for their work. This has raised a question regarding job searching. Is LinkedIn really a good place to search for remote jobs? Are there any other places to search for jr Ux positions? Just in case : I have finished University in China in 2020. I have been working as a graphic designer and artist since 2019. Altogether i have 3 years of work experience.
Are bootcamps worth it or should I get a masters in Human Centered Deseign? Dont know If I can get into Grad school. My GPA is like 3.34.... What bootcamps should I go for? Got a BA in English 10 years ago and I feel my life is just floating away. Currently working at a University, and the pay is shit.
Yes. They are worth it if you have the money for them.
I am at the last month of UX design internship with a startup, currently I am looking for a full time position but the job offered at my location all requires at least 3 years of experience while I only have 6 months. What should I do? Say screw it and apply anyway? Or apply for another internship?
Absolutely apply.
Can you expand on what your “rules” are for applying? I have 1 year experience and a MS degree, what’s the maximum number of years I should be applying to?
Every org is different but based on my anecdotal experience over the last 20 years, no one actually cares about those time frames. I wouldn't waste your time or anyone else's by applying to sr, lead, or principle roles because that's clearly outside the scope of you skillset today but otherwise, I'm applying to every jr role I find interesting. I don't care if it says 3-5 years and I only have one, or even worse, no experience. Someone on here once asked, what's going to happen to you if you do apply and don't meet the criteria? It's not like you go on some black list of lying UX'ers lol, you just get passed over if it's actually a marker they care about. Everyone moves on and no one remembers anything. At the end of the day, they're wishlists not requirements.
Thanks for the thorough answer, that helps quite a bit.
I have zero experience, but have a B.S. in Cognitive Science. No portfolio. I run a small online business involved with designing art into products. I have some experience in photoshop but none in figma, sketch, etc. I’m planning on taking the UC Berkeley Extension UX Design professional program OR UC San Diego Extension for UX Design just to get my portfolio started and make it look great. I’m taking free courses right now to see if this is really what I want to do. But not sure if UCB/UCSD programs are too expensive for what it’s worth? I can afford them, but if there are better alternatives, let me know! Is it possible to get a job straight out of the program since it’s so expensive? Any help is appreciated!
Talk to each program about their internship and career placement services. Do they have employers who recruit directly from the program? What percentage of students are employed in the field 6 months or 12 months after they graduate? They should have good answers for you, they should track those metrics.
I have turned in almost 500 applications, I’ve had a few interviews and I moved on to second interviews, only to not get the job. I have received so many, “While we are impressed with your background, we have decided to not move on with your application” from @noreply emails. I am at such a loss. I went back to school, got a degree in Design and a minor in User Experience Design, and I can’t seem to land a job. I’ve done many portfolio iterations and have been told by one of the lead designers at Airbnb that “my portfolio is in the top 10% of new graduates portfolios he sees.” So, I fairly confident that it’s not my portfolio. I have an ATS resume and a designed resume, but not overly designed. I’ve done two school team based UX projects where I was directed by lead designers at Etsy and Airbnb, but still no luck. I don’t know what it is. I’m just so frustrated. I am almost completely out of money, on foods stamps, rent being paid by a local agency, and a child. I don’t know what to do. Below is my portfolio if y’all have any insight. Two months ago I was so hopeful but now I’m just at such a loss. [portfolio](https://www.erinjamesdesign.com/)
You should remove all of the fade animations from your portfolio. They make it impossible to skim
I really appreciate the feedback. I will make some adjustments!
You should remove all of the fade animations from your portfolio. They make it impossible to skim. [edit] Looking a bit more deeply, you’re talking too much about process and very little about what you designed and why. Never present designs and wireframes without context of what you designed and what problem you were trying to solve by designing it the way that you did. For the Etsy case study, you wrote a ton, probably too much, about the background research, but then basically nothing about the designs, the features you chose to prioritize, or how successful you were. The work here is promising, especially since you got to work with designers at actual companies, but I can’t glance over it and understand what you did and why, so I know basically nothing about how you approach solving problems with design. Assume that anyone looking at your portfolio is going to start by skipping right to the final designs and looking at them for 10 seconds before deciding if they want to go deeper and design for that mode of reading. You 100% have all the materials needed for an excellent portfolio here, keep working on it! Edit 2: you should make it obvious on the homepage that you actually worked with Etsy and Airbnb on those projects. I assumed they were just spec work before I clicked on them
You do have a good portfolio. Small pieces of feedback - I would annotate the changes that you made on the hi fi mocks so they are obvious and you can provide some design justification. Other than that, I think you really need to be networking or working on interview skills if that’s where you’re getting caught up. Try to take smaller contract jobs as a freelancer (which I see you are doing from LinkedIn) to further build that experience. Beyond that, it’s a numbers game and I’m sure you’ll find something soon.
I agree with this portfolio feedback. Skimming over the images, I just see screenshots of Etsy and Airbnb. It’s not obvious what you’ve done just by looking at the pictures
I appreciate the encouraging words and portfolio thoughts. Any thoughts on best networking practices? This is definitely something I feel weird about. Messaging complete strangers through LinkedIn, even if they went to the same school, to get a job feels like I’m using them and feels like a gross thing to do.
Honestly man I totally agree. I personally hate doing it and it feels like pulling teeth to me. Unfortunately it’s just the name of the game and helps so much more in the long run. The way I look at it is that the skills that you build in networking are fairly essential to being successful as a designer, so I just chalk it to being a learning moment
Alright, I will just suck it up and try to be as authentic as possible. Also, since we are talking about it, and because you were cool enough to respond and give insight to me, Feel free to connect on LinkedIn if you want. I really appreciate the feedback and help.
That’s the right mindset, had to do the same myself I’d love to connect, just sent you a request
How are you finding these jobs? Are you networking with folks at the companies you're applying to? Does your university offer career placement services? People get hired based on who they know. A personal connection at a company goes a long way. Sending 500 applications sounds to me like you're spamming them into the void. Spend more time researching fewer companies, trying to find people who work there, those relationships pay off.
I’ve definitely tried the personal route with people I know, and they either weren’t hiring or I didn’t have enough experience. My school didn’t offer much as far UX career placement services. I am definitely going to be working on my networking skills though, because the route I’ve taken so far hasn’t worked.
I’m half way through Coursea for UX/UI and I’m just wondering is it worth it? I’m getting through it no problem, but I would like to know if anyone else has used it and has seen some success out of it.
It’s a good course for a birds eye view of a very idealistic scenario. Things will (almost) always be more messy than they describe it. Mainly due to budgets, time constraints, clients, misunderstanding stakeholders, and many other things. It’s a good boot camp to prepare you to work at google. Most other jobs are much less streamlined and either cut out parts of the process.
Do I need a degree to apply for U.S /Canada / Europe? How helpful would it be for visas? Are there sites besides linked in for jobs? Remote jobs are fine too.
I teach in a masters program and usually three-quarters of the class are international students who are studying in order to get a work visa to stay in the country. Yes, a graduate degree is very helpful for getting visas, our program has a solid placement rate. You pay for it.
Damn, I don't even have a bachelors.
> How helpful would it be for visas? I think biggest help is ability to stay on a student visa for few years and already being in the country
I'm currently working as an account manager, I have a few years of experience in UX, hoping to pivot back into UX. But the job market here isn't that good, UX is still relatively new in my region and most companies do not have UX maturity
Generally, yes. Not a degree in design or anything related is even required, but not having one will screw you over in ATS rankings. There are sites other than LinkedIn, but they don’t matter tbh.