{"id":3784,"date":"2020-09-02T17:36:58","date_gmt":"2020-09-02T17:36:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/?p=3784"},"modified":"2024-01-16T15:11:28","modified_gmt":"2024-01-16T15:11:28","slug":"student-success-stories-operations-manager-to-ux-designer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/student-success-stories-operations-manager-to-ux-designer\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Success Stories: Operations Manager to UX Designer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>With a background in international development and a passion for helping people, UX was a natural career move for Cassandra. Before completing our Professional Diploma in UX Design she worked in a number of varied roles from operations manager to yoga teacher.<\/p>\n<h2>What&#8217;s your career background?<\/h2>\n<p>I studied international development and I did a Master&#8217;s in that at Oxford.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>I knew that I wanted\u00a0 a career where I could help people in some way.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>I thought given my background in development that the charity sector would be the way to go, and that&#8217;s where I started out. I\u00a0was working in operations but I realised that it just wasn&#8217;t specialised enough for me.\u00a0I wanted a more challenging career that really required specialist knowledge.<\/p>\n<section id=\"promotion\" class=\"promotion-content-raw inlinepromo inlinepromo_professional-diploma-in-ux-designp-1 my-4\" style=\"\">\n\t<div class=\"w-container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row align-items-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-md-12 promotion-info\">\n                <a class=\"link-content\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/courses\/ux-design?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=blog_panel_pdux&amp;utm_campaign=blog_promo\" style=\"\">\n                    <p>[GET CERTIFIED IN UX]<\/p>\n                    <span>Take our Professional Diploma in UX Design course<\/span>\n                <\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<h2>What brought UX on your radar?<\/h2>\n<p>I&#8217;ve always been really, really interested in the mundane things that people do; how they interact with the world, how they make sense of things around them, and build relationships.\u00a0My degree is in development studies with a focus on anthropology.<\/p>\n<p>I loved the research element of my studies and I knew I wanted to work in something along those lines. My partner suggested I pursue UX because it&#8217;s so heavily research-based. I looked into it and decided UX was what I wanted to do.<\/p>\n<h2>What research did you do into different UX courses?<\/h2>\n<p>I did a couple of courses online for free but I found that they weren\u2019t enough. I also spoke to UXers from my extended network about their experiences and training. A lot of them told me that you didn\u2019t need a degree but you absolutely need a portfolio. I tried doing YouTube videos and learning the process myself but I got nowhere. I needed a lot more hand holding and structure.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The UX Design Institute gave me the support and portfolio I needed to move into UX, at the best price point.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"embed-yt ratio ratio-16x9\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Switch careers to UX Design | University credit-rated UX Design Course\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DY7icJV1c1E?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h2>How was the course content coming from a non-design background?<\/h2>\n<p>The content itself was easy to understand. The videos were really good and I read a lot of great books to complement what was being said.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Sometimes it was a little intimidating being on the course with people who had more experience with visual design but you really get better at those elements as you go.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>I struggled at first with Figma but I got better. And I&#8217;m glad I did, because the agency I now work at uses Figma. So I was able to go in saying I already understood the software. The tools are relatively intuitive and I think once you know one of them, they&#8217;re pretty interchangeable.<\/p>\n<h2>What were your favourite and least favourite elements of the course?<\/h2>\n<p>I really liked the usability testing, and actually getting to apply it. I&#8217;ve very fond memories of doing those usability tests. I worked for an organisation called Young Enterprise while doing the course so I asked them if I could do some UX stuff for them.<\/p>\n<p>It meant that while I was doing the course work, I was also working for this charity doing the exact same thing but on their marketplace site. I ended up doing about 10 tests for the different sides of the site. I really enjoyed that.<\/p>\n<p>My least favourite was working on user flows. Customer journey maps are something I still find challenging as they can take up so much time.<\/p>\n<h2>How did you find the level of support during your studies?<\/h2>\n<p>I liked that I could get in touch with people really, really quickly. So I feel like I got to know some of the staff really well, particularly the student success team. I thought the mentor was really good and I always submitted my stuff for review, even though I was a bit embarrassed in the beginning. He was always gentle saying\u00a0what was good and what needed work. I enjoyed that.<\/p>\n<p>Slack was great for getting in touch with the UX Design Institute team and it&#8217;s nice to have that familiarity with Slack because everyone uses that in tech. It\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/what-hiring-managers-look-for-in-ux-designer\/\">good job preparation.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Can you describe your experience of building your portfolio?<\/h2>\n<p>I ended up with a such a solid portfolio;\u00a0I felt really good about it. When I showed it to other UX designers to get feedback, they were really impressed with the depth of it.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Building the portfolio was very rigorous and that really helped with the job hunt.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>And because I was mirroring the course exercises with the charity marketplace, I ended up with even more to show.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-3865 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Drawing.jpeg\" alt=\"ux planning\" width=\"1360\" height=\"700\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Drawing.jpeg 1360w, https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Drawing-300x154.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Drawing-768x395.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Drawing-1024x527.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Drawing-1000x515.jpeg 1000w, https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Drawing-800x412.jpeg 800w, https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Drawing-600x309.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Drawing-400x206.jpeg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1360px) 100vw, 1360px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>What was the job hunt like?<\/h2>\n<p>I applied to lots of different places. And actually, I was devastated at the time because I got a few rejections after making it to the final two. Then the role at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pomegranate.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pomegranate<\/a> came up, I was invited for interview and within a couple of hours, they made me an offer. I\u2019m really happy where I am now.<\/p>\n<h2>Did the course contribute to you getting your job?<\/h2>\n<p>Yeah, absolutely. Having\u00a0the portfolio to show a body of work was probably the biggest thing.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Having the structure was really valuable for me; someone to hold your hand through the process and give you that direction. There&#8217;s so much online about UX, it&#8217;s free everywhere but it&#8217;s all over the place.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>It&#8217;s totally inconsistent because there are so many different ways of doing things.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m still learning loads now but I have that structured approach. I&#8217;ve done so many things within UX and I&#8217;m very familiar with lots of different methodologies now. I was able to start my job already familiar with Figma and Slack which was so helpful.<\/p>\n<h2>Did the course help you speak about your work more confidently?<\/h2>\n<p>Yes because the course really explained <em><strong>why<\/strong><\/em> we do things. I felt like I was an imposter when I started my role first so it was good to have the structure and UX process to lean on.<\/p>\n<h2>What\u2019s your favourite part of your job?<\/h2>\n<p>Definitely the research elements. I&#8217;m really enjoying the lab side of thing too. I recently worked on a research print for a YouTube star which has been really, really fun. I was given free rein to do loads of research and really dig into the analytics. I&#8217;ve been doing lots of usability testing and interviews, competitor reviews, and all of that. It&#8217;s been really exciting!<\/p>\n<h2>Would you recommend the professional diploma?<\/h2>\n<blockquote><p>Yeah, I&#8217;ve recommended it to loads of people, actually. I get people reaching out to ask me about the course and I always tell them it\u2019s really worth the investment!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>Who do you think it&#8217;s most suited to?<\/h2>\n<p>I think the course is suitable for both people interested in the research side and the visual design side because you look at both throughout the course. I think it needs to be people who are happy to take the initiative to do their own work.\u00a0It definitely worked for me, coming from an academic research background.<\/p>\n<section id=\"promotion\" class=\"promotion-content-raw inlinepromo inlinepromo_professional-diploma-in-ux-designp-1 my-4\" style=\"\">\n\t<div class=\"w-container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row align-items-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-md-12 promotion-info\">\n                <a class=\"link-content\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/courses\/ux-design?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=blog_panel_pdux&amp;utm_campaign=blog_promo\" style=\"\">\n                    <p>[GET CERTIFIED IN UX]<\/p>\n                    <span>Take our Professional Diploma in UX Design course<\/span>\n                <\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<h2>What advice would you give to someone who&#8217;s considering taking the course?<\/h2>\n<blockquote><p>Do it! It&#8217;s definitely worth it. For me, it meant being able to get into a job within months of graduating.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>I finished in October and started my first job in January. So it was really quick.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a nice supportive vibe in the UX community for people coming in which is great.\u00a0I would say use as much of that as you can, find someone who&#8217;s willing to mentor you and offer advice. There\u2019s a lot of help out there so don&#8217;t be afraid to ask for it!<\/p>\n<h3>If you want to hear more from our students read more success stories <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/?s=alumni+success+stories\">here<\/a>.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two months after graduating, Cassandra landed her first UX job at a top digital agency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":5204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[306],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3784"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9829,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3784\/revisions\/9829"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uxdesigninstitute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}