Updated: Jun 28, 2023
The date writing this, it has been just over a year since graduating with a BSc in Music Technology and its gone fast! I wouldn't have considered a role in UX if I hadn't challenged myself in my 2nd and final year.
The technical skills from my degree have been extremely transferable. My 2nd and final year chosen projects hit the tip of the iceberg with user centred design using Max MSP (a high level music programming language) to make some really interesting hand gesture based software for electronic loop based music. This gave me the taste for UX.
After coming out of uni I still didn't know exactly what I wanted to do. Everyone kept saying "why don't you try this or this is what suits your degree" but none of it felt right.
It took a good six months of applying for jobs before I finally settled on the idea of UX. I hadn't even heard of the role until going to a careers fair in which the recruiter described the role of a UX designer. The light switch had been turned on. Everything I had been doing at uni with product and software design seemed to fit this profession.
I applied for a UX designer role and went to the interview showing them my work from uni. I was optimistic I had nailed the interview and left feeling confident. A week later my application went no further. It got me thinking what did I need to do get this job?
A short while after I noticed a course in UX design advertised with the UX Design Institute and instinctively thought this is it, the up skilling and practical work I need.
The course was brilliant from start to finish. I was able to complete the diploma within 6 months during the pandemic and I have managed to not only set up this website but also generate several clients and a portfolio of work whilst still doing the course.
One thing has led to another and the experience of university and my diploma over the past 4 years or so has been mind boggling. It feels as though I've had to take a few steps back to move forwards in my career but I can say with confidence that it's been totally worth it.