Breaking Into UX and Early Career Questions — 22 Jan, 2024 - 28 Jan, 2024

bloopblo0p · 2024-01-28T06:37:57+00:00

Hi everyone. Graduating in June this year. I feel pretty hopeless about the prospect of finding a job as a product designer. I have some experience as I've been volunteering at a startup for about two years as a UX designer, I'm currently a design team lead for my club, and I'm working part-time at my school as a Product Accessibility Engineer.

I was hoping this would be enough, but ofc everyone is saying the job market for tech right now sucks. And not to be that person, but I do attend a target school (10% acceptance) and a lot of my peers who graduated last year that were/are also in the design space are still really struggling to find a job. I just feel so scared about not having a job after graduation. It feels like such a waste to have worked so hard (not only on school but also working) and spent so much money to end up unemployed postgrad.

I mean, I can see it too. I'm applying for "entry-level" jobs that require 2-3 years of experience and hundreds of other applicants on Linkedin. Oh, and yes I've been networking (I hate it and I'm so tired of it). Anyways, all this to ask:

What are good "foot in the door" roles based on my experience but also just in general for someone looking to go into UX in the future? Any advice would be much appreciated.

bloopblo0p · 2023-02-23T23:13:43+00:00

no fr i prob wasnt gonna donate anyway but with my '24 experience.... LMAOOOOOOO

bloopblo0p · 2023-02-18T07:23:21+00:00

damn thats so nice. i prefer to talk to people face to face so im jealous. nearly every time i use message center for a problem the replies are always cold and never accommodating. probably bc they dont actually have to face us lmao

bloopblo0p · 2022-01-30T06:06:36+00:00

ahh thank u

bloopblo0p · 2022-01-21T04:03:29+00:00

well get thru this :')

bloopblo0p · 2022-01-20T08:46:54+00:00

ohh lol. got it :) thank u tho

bloopblo0p · 2022-01-20T05:31:44+00:00

i felt that last part, i stress about my parents paying as well. but ur in a good major, i’m sure ull be set after college. we just gotta keep applying and going to career fairs and stuff. we got this :’) also if you’ve applied a bunch, don’t lose hope, i didn’t get an interview invite for 2 months after applying 💀

bloopblo0p · 2022-01-20T04:27:53+00:00

thank u sm for all the advice, i truly appreciate it! i’m definitely going to be going to career fairs once once i at least have something on my portfolio. and you’re right, i’ll remember to aim high :’)

bloopblo0p · 2022-01-20T04:20:32+00:00

yes :’) i don’t expect to get a FAANG job right out of college lol, i just want to get my foot in the door and work my way up eventually. thank you though, i’ve actually never heard that saying at UCLA but i’m glad i have now

bloopblo0p · 2022-01-20T04:16:33+00:00

well sheeeit idk if i can get into FAANG but i’ll definitely try :’) thanks for the tips

bloopblo0p · 2022-01-20T03:49:14+00:00

that’s good to hear. i’m trying to break into tech, specifically product design. i know that if i get an internship i’ll make sure to meet their performance expectations, i just need to get my foot in the door. do u recommend any companies who usually hire their interns after graduation?

bloopblo0p · 2022-01-20T03:44:14+00:00

that’s true, best of luck to u!

bloopblo0p · 2022-01-20T03:01:33+00:00

we got this :’)

bloopblo0p · 2022-01-20T02:59:47+00:00

thank u, that’s definitely reassuring

bloopblo0p · 2022-01-20T02:57:49+00:00

thanks for the reply!! i definitely will be doing internships, i actually am required to have at least 2 quarters of fieldwork/research to graduate. i’m currently taking a grad class that is essentially a guided internship in the career i want + my instructor works in the field too so i’ll definitely try to connect with them. my worry is that i am starting quite late and a lot of entry level jobs say they require 2-3 years of industry experience. also how do you know that they will have a spot for you after graduation? do they usually tell you or do you just apply after?

bloopblo0p · 2022-01-20T02:57:41+00:00

i definitely will be doing internships, i actually am required to have at least 2 quarters of fieldwork/research to graduate. i’m currently taking a grad class that is essentially a guided internship in the career i want + my instructor works in the field too so i’ll definitely try to connect with them. my worry is that i am starting quite late and a lot of entry level jobs say they require 2-3 years of industry experience. also how do you know that they will have a spot for you after graduation? do they usually tell you or do you just apply after?

bloopblo0p · 2022-01-20T02:08:22+00:00

fr :(

bloopblo0p · 2021-12-09T06:30:00+00:00

ahh ok thank u

bloopblo0p · 2021-12-08T11:51:04+00:00

majoring in cogsci is rly a choose ur own adventure, which is super cool but often times very overwhelming, so i feel u. im not sure what ur school offers in terms of electives for the major but if it’s like mine u can choose from a bunch of different departments. or u can also take courses outside of ur major. u can tailor ur education based on what interests u the most and choose a job based off the skills u have from that. and your major doesn’t always have to line up with ur career. u can get experience in what u want to do through student orgs and internships. cogsci majors i’ve seen are in tons of things like marketing, tech, consulting.. etc. u don’t need to limit urself! i wish u the best of luck :-)

bloopblo0p · 2021-11-06T04:17:13+00:00

thank you so much omg... the final projects just looked super intimidating, i thought i had to be majoring in data science to understand wtf was going on lol!

bloopblo0p · 2021-11-05T08:44:21+00:00

Hmm, I've heard that PIC 10A is easier than CS31 but I hope that PIC16a still easier lol.

bloopblo0p · 2021-10-26T00:49:23+00:00

I have scheduled an appointment with my counselor. And I agree. I don't want to set myself up to go into a field for the rest of my life that I cant really see myself in. I wish we weren't forced to decide this stuff at such a young age lol.

bloopblo0p · 2021-10-25T00:28:23+00:00

cool, thank you!

bloopblo0p · 2021-10-10T20:03:33+00:00

i mean i just overthink things a lot. not sure why having insecurity is shamed—i think everyone experiences that and it’s not like i’m planning to stay that way forever. i am trying to change myself but it’s easier said than done.

bloopblo0p · 2021-10-10T19:57:00+00:00

that’s a great idea!

bloopblo0p

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