Transitioning Into Tech from a Creative Background

I’m writing this since it’s currently 02:25AM and I’m waiting for an animation of a fish to render in Blender.

Anyway; my transition into tech was a surprisingly quick one; I got my first role at a start-up just under a year after beginning to explore UI design.

On the surface, it can seem as though I got incredibly lucky, and on one hand, I definitely did. However, the years of foundational experience I gained prior to beginning my transition are key to my success and are also one reason why I’m slightly reluctant to answer when people approach me for career advice.

Prior to becoming a UX Designer, I freelanced on and off as a graphic designer for around 6 years. I’m 21 now and I first began freelancing as a digital illustrator at 15.

My years freelancing as a graphic designer were arguably the worst years of my life and I’m happy that I now earn enough from my 9–5 to not feel as though I’m constantly on the verge of ending up in a jam. That being said, Venus retrograde still flogged me and I look forward to getting paid.

Freelancing can, however, be a good way to gain experience and pad out your CV and if you’re in a position where you can afford to do this (I was still living at home prior to my first freelance UX project) I would recommend it. The first person I completed a UX project for acted as a reference for my current role and also helped me to expand my network; which is key when making a career transition.

Outside of my prior experience as a graphic designer; which definitely assisted me hugely in learning UX Design, I also completed a bootcamp. I’m fully aware that for many, a bootcamp isn’t a feasible option due to the cost. I’m currently trying to self-teach front-end programming as opposed to paying for a bootcamp and given the amount of free resources this makes sense. I think the same can be said for UX if you already have a strong foundational grounding in either visual design or research. I’ll compile a list of helpful resources soon and attempt to share.

The bootcamp I chose to complete was Love Circular; I financed it using SFE and it lasted for 98 days. Prior to starting the course I made sure to get a strong grasp of Figma and this made the visual design elements of the course go much more smoothly.

In addition to completing Love Circular; I also completed a mentorship with Out In Tech. This is listed as experience on my CV; which is accurate given the fact I had to complete and present a project during the cohort and I also helped to plan a hackathon.

Alongside Love Circular and Out In Tech I was also completing a foundation year in Digital Media.

I didn’t enjoy my course at all and I’ve since switched to Creative Computing, but regardless I put this on my CV.

Whilst juggling all of this, I completed my first freelance UX project and began “breaking into” UX. I was definitely burnt out and stressed but my LinkedIn got into good shape through posting content semi-regularly and adding as many London based UXers as possible. I also got multiple useful case studies from the projects I completed which helped my portfolio; 2 case studies for Love Circular and a case study write-up of my first freelance UX project.

I also got a lot of good interview experience; having interviewed with a range of start-ups, scale-ups and corporate organisations.

After finishing Love Circular I got a role at a start-up.

It wasn’t the best experience but it was good for my portfolio. One word of advice; if you’re considering working for a start-up make sure they have funding.

I worked there for around 3 months and then resigned due to a range of factors; my resignation wasn’t taken well but anyway <3.

After that, I took a small hiatus from job-searching since I started uni and got very busy with moving out.

Initially, the job search didn’t go well at all.

But, once I changed my CV and made it more design-focused I got considerably more engagement from recruiters and my job search was much more rewarding.

I eventually got another role at a start-up; this time it was funded so it was a much more pleasant experience; the CTO and CEO were both great.

I received the offer for my current role on my 21st birthday; easily the best thing that happened to me that day.

This time around, I didn’t end up working for a start-up and instead I work for a large company within the education sector.

One thing I’ve noticed about the switch from start-ups to larger organisations is the emphasis on process within larger orgs. A lot of the time in start-ups you’ll be pushed to your limits to deliver designs or other deliverables to a tight schedule whereas within a larger organisation you’re given a lot more time to complete tasks.

Some people may not enjoy this because pace of work in start-ups + having complete ownership of work as a sole designer can be enthralling but for me it’s been a welcome change.

So that’s my tech journey thus far.

4 Different UX jobs in the space of less than a year but enjoying nonetheless.

I hope you enjoyed this post even though it was a lot of waffle.

I also now mentor from time to time so if you need advice, here’s my Calendly:

I joke; just DM me on any of my socials or email any questions to contact@zaibuilds.com.

Love,

Zai 💋