Career Switch

Careers & Mentoring
#1

Hey guys, I know this is an age-old question. I do need some advice as I am a little clueless as to how to go about doing this.

I am currently a junior broker at a commodities firm, and I am looking to make a career switch as I am jaded, and after 2 years I realise money isn’t everything. I spent the last 6 months researching on career pathways to take, and finally, decided on getting into UX design.

My background: I have a degree in Banking and finance, so I have zero relevancy to UX. Some options I have considered are General Assembly’s part time course, or and online one via interaction design foundation.

I really really need some help as to how I can make this career switch, what would be the best route to take, and how I can kickstart my career. Thank you so much kind strangers, my love to you all.

#2

I wouldn’t say that, half of the UX work I’ve done was on Fintech projects. As an example, even not being a novice at finance, accounting, and investment there was still a lot I had to learn about 10-Qs and 10-Ks and the teams that create them for multiple projects. That Fintech work also helped to give me ideas to solve problems for other industries like Healthcare. Having domain knowledge is extremely helpful, and a diverse background is always a boon to UX. You may want to use your finance background as a strategy, and look at Fintech companies and projects once you build your UX skills.

Personally, I would start with one of the foundational UX books, they help get you thinking beyond design and problem solving like a UX’er. I can’t really speak to UX boot camps and their effectiveness of getting in the door, it would’ve helped candidates with me in the past. Without direct UX experience, I liked entry-level candidates who took any UX education and practiced applying it to the world around them. Extra credit for non-software thinking. How usable is your car? How well designed is the local hospital architecture for people finding the ED entrance? Stuff like that…

My wife is taking IDF courses right now. IDF covers a good intro to the wide range of UX skills and methods. They need to work on some of their test questions, but for the price, it’s a good place to start.

Wes