No one wants to guess their career choice. Yet there I was, in my first "real" UX role designing interfaces for a mobile game, questioning if I'd made the right decision.
My concern? The flat visual mockups and addictive user flows I created delivered business value, but not always user value. When strategic decisions about player experience arose, I lacked a seat at the table.
To claim that seat, I pivoted to engineering. I loved learning code, and the developers I knew wielded real authority and ownership—something my design peers, including me, didn't have at the time.
So I took a part-time UX designer job. The product manager who hired me—an engineer himself and an exceptional mentor—agreed to help me build development skills by contributing to the codebase on my days off.
I thrived. At first, it felt like mastering a new skill. Then I realized my design and strategy instincts sharpened too. I became the voice of the customer on my team, influencing key decisions on both product and company direction.
That's when it clicked: I craved all three skills—design, engineering, strategy—to become a stronger team player and leader. It took years, but I discovered the balance of community, creativity, and challenge that only a hybrid role provides.
Related: 5 lessons on how to make a successful career change
Experimenting to find your future
A "bit of everything" career wasn't on my radar in school. Unknowingly, I applied experience-driven design to my own path:
1. Identify your W's: who, where, and why.
No one is born for a specific job. For instance, if you excel at solving one tough problem while I thrive jumping between ideas, the right environment makes us equally strong engineers or designers.
I stumbled into UX design via a friend whose startup needed one. I'd never heard of the role, but his description—talking to people, solving problems thoughtfully and creatively—resonated deeply, even without the skills yet.
Whether you have a target or just an inkling, ask why. Free-write for five minutes, review, and drill down with more whys until exhausted. You'll uncover your core values—the 'terminal why.' Build a path that nourishes them.
2. Experiment through play.
I play "design improvements in the wild": spotting kerning errors, bad copy, Photoshop flubs, or unclear buttons in daily life—magazines, grocery runs, anywhere. It's fun and sharpens skills.
I started this pre-professional UX days, faking it till I made it, testing: Do I enjoy this? This mindset?
Experiment daily with new skills: small projects, volunteer gigs. Aspire to law? Shadow at district court. Yoga teacher? Seek weekly mentorship. No need to quit your job—embrace a beginner's mindset, freedom to fail, and persistence.
3. Rate your experience.
Tracking feelings during side projects and font critiques built my insights. Aiming for UX employment in four months, I bombed a project at two: awful design, furious client. I nearly quit, deeming it my worst choice.
Two anchors prevailed: I was midway through, and I still enjoyed the challenge despite setbacks. The experiment wasn't over; I needed full data to decide: persevere or pivot?
Post-experiment, revisit your why. Empowering people interactions? New joys at the law firm? Failure lessons? If aligned with values, push on. Otherwise, pivot swiftly.
Pivots aren't defeats—not every role fits your values. Climb the next rung. I've never met anyone unhappy learning what intrigues them: challenged, tired maybe, but fulfilled.
Ultimately, it's not pass/fail. You designed the experiment for clarity. Loving a path? Gold. Ruling one out? Valuable too. Best: reclaiming freedom to learn, restart as a beginner, and explore anew.
Related: 5 keys to improving your career
