Taking a Chance on Myself

It’s the first few months of the pandemic here in the states and I just lost my Public Relations role. We were still grasping to understand what we were collectively experiencing. After a few days of well-deserved rest, I received an email about remote learning opportunities in tech. UX, User Experience, what’s that? I clicked on the keyword and get a brief description of this term. It was interesting enough for me to schedule a discovery call, after all, I wasn’t making any progress finding another role in internal communications.

During my discovery call, I learned about the application process and continued to step out of my comfort zone as I fulfilled those requirements. A couple of weeks later, I found out that I was accepted into the upcoming cohort. I knew nothing about UX and just in a few weeks, I was going to be fully immersed in it for 8 hours a day for 3 consecutive months. What did I just sign myself up for? Am I really about to pivot careers in the middle of a damn pandemic?

“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.” -Pele

I sacrificed sleep and my comfort zone to learn UX Design and Research skills, while simultaneously increasing my confidence to collaborate on projects which would be good enough to feature on a portfolio site that we would have to create near the end of the program. I had to be honest with myself when I needed to request help since most projects occurred in what we called sprints, a timeline of about 2-3 weeks. I also learned to recognize my natural talents were more aligned to UX Research when I noticed that I enjoyed facilitating user interviews and usability testing in addition to participating in the collaboration that occurred during the synthesis phase. My completely remote program also motivated me to improve my social skills through continuous virtual meetings and establishing boundaries like turning off slack notifications after a specific time each day.

Once my program came to a close, I felt confident enough in my skills to do freelance work, network with other people in UX through professional groups, and join other slack workplaces. Attending virtual conferences and conducting informational interviews also allowed me to get more comfortable talking to UX Designers and Researchers.

Being brave enough to learn a new skill without any previous background knowledge, also motivated me to pursue writing with more focus. I didn’t think I had a creative side until I had to learn the skills necessary to understand UX design, now I'm slowly showcasing that side of myself through writing. Whether it's poetry, a blog post, or a short story, I’m proud to show the world that I’m a unique individual with a one-of-a-kind perspective on life, who seeks to make the world a better place while also motivating others in the process.

Once I announced on a professional social media platform that I started my first UX Research contract role that’s longer than a month, I received so many interactions on the post that I became somewhat overwhelmed. I didn’t anticipate so many people congratulating me as well as the number of people reaching out to learn about what I did to get my position. As I read the various messages, I tried my best to respond to all of them and provide insight and relevant resources to those who are still on their job search journey.

When I reflect on my confidence in the early stages of the pandemic to now, I’m a completely different person. I know exactly what I want, I know how and where I need to grow in various aspects of my life, I'm completely comfortable asking for help, and I understand that everything I experience is a step to help me become a more confident version of myself. Overall, this experience has reminded me that change is inevitable AND there are wonderful experiences when we are brave enough to venture out of our comfort zones.