Realizing what you want to do, at least for me, has been a long, drawn out process. But over the past year and a half I have realized the answer to this somewhat daunting question.
I want to be a UX Designer.
At the beginning of my college career my path seemed clear. I was to spend five years at Kansas State University studying Interior Architecture & Product Design and then start practicing. Around the halfway point in my studies that path started to become unclear. I was realizing that architecture wasn’t the career path for me. From that point until recently I have struggled to pinpoint where my knowledge, talents, and passions would take me.
I have always had a passion for creating great experiences for people. This has been evident in much of my work since leaving school. Working at my community church striving to exude hospitality and inclusion has shown me how creating great experiences fosters growth and meaningful relationships. Assisting customers at The Apple Store with their technical questions and problems has shown me how great experiences create lifelong customers. And, most recently, working at a user experience research and design firm (in downtown Seattle, WA) has shown me how creating great user experiences leads to enriching lives.
My most recent work managing usability labs and the technology needs of my colleagues has brought clarity to my career path. I want to be a user experience designer. Seeing the day to day work of a UX designer and getting to collaborate on several projects has helped tremendously with that once daunting question. I know with the right education and training in conjunction with my talents and passions I can excel in a UX career.
As I pursue the goal of becoming a UX Designer I’ll be documenting my steps along the way.
Step one: a ux pursuit.
[UPDATE]
The more I dig into user experience the broader the scope of a UX designer has become. See this post for a little more context.
