The trials and tribulations of being a junior designer

Like most of my fellow UX Design Bootcamp graduates, I come from a colorful background. I graduated with an English degree and somehow, by chance maybe, fell into the world of User Experience Design.

Like most, I was intrigued if not thrilled to become something bigger and more effective than a copy writer or a website contributor. After nearly a year of reading every design book out there, of poring over blogs and posts like this one, I thought I was prepared for what came next.

However, days after my first lesson at General Assembly’s in person UXDI full time immserive program, news of Covid-19 came and stayed. A training that was meant to be in person, on the ground, working with clients on various projects, became fully and completely remote.

I adapted as one does in “unprecedented” times and continue to adapt even now.

Today, still unemployed after nearly eight months of job searching, I look back and reflect on what I thought it was going to be like, making my way into the coveted world of UX design.

Did I think I was going to get a job right out of the gate?

Of course not. I knew that it would take three, maybe even four months until I found the perfect fit.

Did I think that it was going to be easy?

Again, no. I knew from peers and even from some of my own family members that the thing to remember about Bootcamps is that you get what you put into them. Thirteen weeks of sleepless nights, endless iterations, completeing portfolio review after portfolio review, changing fonts and images, trashing entire designs and starting over three days before a deadline was not what I would call a walk in the park.

But what do I do? I apply, and then apply, and then apply. There are days, sure, that I feel the odds are stacked against me and so far out of the realm of possibility that I think that maybe this isn’t really worth it.

Maybe it’s too hard and I should try something, anything else.

When I see roles and position like this, I think, well, I’m never going to get there, or anywhere, if someone, anyone, doesn’t give me the chance to prove myself.

So, rather than tell you all the bad things that I’ve experienced through this personal and public trying time, I’ll tell you about the things I try and do everyday.

1. I apply to at least ten jobs. (Yes everyday) in the hopes that one will stick. I did the math a couple of days ago and I have applied to over 300 UX positions over the course of post graduate timeline.
2. I started the 100 day UI challenge. It makes me feel better, creating something everyday. It gives me purpose. Or at least I like to think of it that way.
3. I work for two different startups (yes, they are unpaid) but I am working towards something and gaining experience while doing something I love. Which beats making sourdough bread and bagels in my piled up free time.
4. I redo my bootcamp projects. Some of them were okay at best, but honestly, a lot of them were rushed, sloppy, and made with an eye that has since gained a lot more insight. Iteration, am I right?
5. I have done a portfolio overhaul. Twice. I am more confident now applying for roles than I ever have been.
6. I take every interview seriously, even if it’s just a short call with an HR person.
7. I started a UX instagram and post at least five times a week with well curated tip and tricks for fellow designers. Even though I came late to the game, I like doing it. It gives me that sense of creation and making meaning, even if it’s just for a couple of seconds.

josiekimeuxdesign

By now you are probably wondering what the point of all of this is. Why am I going on and on about how I struggle but find ways around being unemployed in a never ending greyed out loop of job posts and automated rejection letters (which hurt, even if some of them are just email templates).

Well, I suppose my point is that you shouldn’t ever stop trying to live your dream, and find your purpose in the work that you do, that you chose to do.

If you’re anything like I was maybe even a month or so ago, then you should stop and think about how far you have come.

Anyone can open a design program and come up with a quick mockup or create the perfect button on an IOS form.

But to be a UX designer, especially right at this moment, I like to believe that passion and resilience outweighs hards skill or eight years of experience working for a huge company.

Maybe I’m wrong, I’m not a technical recruiter. But thoughts like those are the ones that keep me going through this curvy, uncertain journey.

If you’re a Bootcamp Grad, a designer that is struggling to find work, or anything in-between, I want to remember that you are here for a reason, your ambition and your constant self guided improvement is going to land you somewhere.

And it’s going to be perfect.

No one and nothing is a finished and perfected product, remember that. If UX design teaches us anything, it’s that.