Thursdays have a good vibe!
Launching my portfolio brought me out of the woodwork! I’ve officially started my job hunt 
I want to become an active member in the UX community and learn from experienced thought leaders!
UX Mastery seems like a good community!
The best. 
Hi all! I’m new here (both on UX Mastery and in the UX world!)
Where in the world are you?
Vancouver, Canada by way of the UK and Australia
What stage of your career are you at?
I’m changing careers from a completely unrelated field (Executive Assistant in Corporate offices) and just about finished an Immersive UX Course with CareerFoundry - so the newest of newbies and its very scary! But I’m so passionate about what I’m learning and keen to make the world a better place with design!
What are you current challenges?
My biggest challenge is imposter syndrome and self-doubt, having never worked in the UX/Tech/Design fields before. I’m really trying to rid myself of it before I start looking for my first UX Design role, as I don’t want it to hinder my jobhunt
What aspect/s of UX are passionate about?
User Research. I love discussing insights with my mentor, “I had no idea people felt that way!”. Learning about people and behaviours is my fave thing in general. People can really inspire, surprise and test you!
Cats or dogs?
Used to be cats, but now its dogs. I don’t have either though 
Looking forward to reading through these forums and asking questions about this awesome field!
That’s wonderful. And don’t worry about not having a pet at the moment. We won’t hold it against ya.
In all seriousness, welcome!
Where in the world are you?
Harrisonburg, Virginia
What stage of your career are you at?
Entry level and trying to start my career. Job hunting!
www.vitaliydesigns.com is my recent portfolio
What are you current challenges?
Overcoming the “you don’t have enough experience” and getting hired in order to get that experience.
What aspect/s of UX are passionate about?
Creating an experience that is pleasant and the user can’t help but to verbally state how well designed something is.
Cats or dogs?
Both!
Hello everyone! I am so excited to join this community
Where in the world are you?
Dallas, Texas
What stage of your career are you at?
Moving out of the 3D industry, about to finish college, and wishing I had discovered UX earlier.
What are you current challenges?
Implementing creativity. I feel like I’m always left in the dust. I have fantastical visions but getting them out ends up falling short.
What aspect/s of UX are passionate about?
Making an impact on peoples’ lives. If I can reduce stress and maximize enjoyment of others’ memories and experiences, that’s true fulfillment.
Cats or dogs?
Dogs
Oh my goodness! I’d had never heard of Impostor Syndrome until this. I thought I was alone in this. I’m glad I’m not the only one! I guess we’ll all have to get through it together
Thank you for that article! I found great comfort in knowing that IS is actually a “thing” and it’s not just me. 
Isn’t this such an epiphany? Knowing that it was a thing that I didn’t suffer through alone was tremendously empowering to me.
For sure! It changes everything!
There’s also a great podcast I’ve been listening to called ‘The Creative Imposter’ - really gives you a boost in confidence when the imposter feeling gets a little overwhelming. I feel like there’s more people out there with it than without it!
Where in the world are you?
United Kingdom
What stage of your career are you at?
Currently a front-end developer looking to shift towards UX, if I’m lucky with my visa application, I’m going to study in Vancouver next year in the hopes of relocating over there.
What are you current challenges?
Aiming to put together a portfolio good enough that future potential employers can see my potential.
What aspect/s of UX are passionate about?
I currently work for a company that specialises in software solutions for the telecoms industry, as such, it’s a gold mine of finding ways to improve usability of various systems which leads me down the Interaction Design path.
Cats or dogs?
A tough question, but I think I’d go with cats, a cat would share my lack of enthusiasm for going for a walk at 6am in the rain unlike a dog.
Hey Paul, welcome!
Vancouver sounds cool. Best of luck with the application.
Fantastic reasoning!
Okay, I can respond to a questionnaire (though I do better when it’s formatted as a proper survey), so:
Where in the world…: Damn good question. Right this hot second, my body is in Woods Hole on Cape Cod, MA. You thought maybe there was stability?
I’m at the delighted curmudgeon stage of my career. I’ve been working at UX since 1993 and I’ve done it all, made some of it up, and can’t wait to get to do more and learn more. 3 things I’m sure of (1) I am not a visual designer though I understand the decisions and results of it; (2) I am not a coder (unless you count HTML and CSS as code - and I don’t) but again,blah blah understand, blah blah decisions, etc. (3) I am a damn good UX professional. I can balance all those elements, empathize with the users, define and ask the question that’s playing hide and seek with the team and making everything Not Quite Right.
Mu current challenges are finding a way to settle down on a base location, get paid, and get to do more cool work.
I’m passionate about personae (I’m agin 'em…strongly.) They almost always lead to creating for the fiction rather than the human. They are a Tool To Do It Wrong. I’m passionate about numbers to be tested. Stop debating this, it’s the first thing that was Settled: It’s eight. Here’s a brief summary: (A) You can’t do a perfect UX, 80% is as good as it’s going to get; (B) Testing 8 will give you the same results statistically as testing 200. © You can stop talking now. You can find the original paper on Jakob’s website <nngroup.com> along with a mess of other research.
I prefer dogs. strongly. although I love cats…but dogs!
Where in the world are you?
Fort Lauderdale
What stage of your career are you at?
Sr Product Designer specializing in eCommerce. I’ve worked in various contexts of retail, both brick/mortar and corporate. Some companies I’ve worked for have been Home Depot (print design), CompUSA (store layout design), Office Depot (Sr UI Designer and Creative Manager, and currently City Furniture (UI/UX for email).
What are you current challenges?
We have a new and rapidly expanding eCom team. Current challenges we face is operating at a faster rate than the rest of the company (our team mascot is the Tesla Roadster). My current challenge is creating a design system that is scalable for a growing team of designers who will soon be working remote in a year. Another challenge I have is having actual real world UX projects to work on. I feel I’ve been looked at mostly as a UI designer or “unicorn” most of my career, and I am intentionally injecting UX thinking into all projects I take on.
What aspect/s of UX are passionate about?
Research, architecture, systems, empathy, story boarding, user flows, exploring problems. I do love the visual design part of it, particularly great UI, but I’m getting increasingly nerdy about the UX side of things. I also love UX copywriting. I got my start as a marketing visual designer but I get bored of chasing after design trends all the time and I’m becoming more interested in solving problems.
Cats or dogs?
Both. My husband and I have 2 cats and 1 dog, all rescues.
Hi everyone! Glad to be part of the community I’m answering the questionnaire below.
Where in the world are you?
I’m in Prague, Czech Republic. Greetings 
What stage of your career are you at?
I’m doing a career change. I began working as a graphic designer, but I’m now moving into UX.
What are your current challenges?
I’m currently the only one doing UX at the company where I’m working at, which has a lot of benefits but also drawbacks, like teaching people what UX is.
What aspect/s of UX are passionate about?
I found myself digging into emotional design and accessibility a lot. Everything is appealing right now as my knowledge about UX doesn’t go too far, but these two topics excite me much more.
Cats or dogs?
Loyal dogs
Hi Pamela
Welcome, this is a great community and resource for all things UX.
You’ll find so many Graphic Designers moving towards UX, and lots super information and stories.
I’ve been looking at these YouTube videos recently on design/ux/web etc. see below.
All the best, Paddy