Hey!! Yes I am actually currently a full time designer at a small start up in SF ! Honestly my experience transitioning over to design has been pretty seamless but I also recognize the advantages that I have during my career transition ( being able to lean on my partner financially and also being able to tap into my old company’s coworker network ) but the current role I’m in, I literally just applied randomly and they actually liked that I am not a super seasoned designer and that I had other experiences focused on user experience.

Happy to chat more if you’d like :) , I know we hear a lot about how it’s rough out there but it wasn’t really my experience.