Are you a recent bootcamp or design program grad? Congrats! That's a huge accomplishment. The time you've spent, the work you've put in, and the extensive amount of new information you've obtained is something to be proud of, but now what?
This week I graduated from my UX Immersion course with CareerFoundry, and although there were feelings of excitement and pride, I also experienced a bit of anxiety trying to figure out what my next steps were going to be. These past six months have been filled with constant learning through my course, a consistent work schedule, and a calendar filled with user interviews, testing, and designing.
Pre-covid, I was incredibly lucky to have consistent work, sometimes holding down 2-3 jobs at a time. I am a busy body, so this was great for me! Within a day of not having my UX program to keep me busy, I felt a bit panicked and unsure of what I was going to do next.
I know that graduating from my design program is just the beginning of my design education, but now I needed to take that into my own hands and figure out a system of furthering my growth. So I decided to sit down and think about what I want to accomplish within the next few months and write out skills I wanted to learn or improve and milestones I was working towards.
I have to tell you, after writing out a game plan of how I am going to continue growing as a designer, without the guidance of the program I had dedicated my time to for half a year, I felt so energized.
If you feel like you hit a dead-end in your design journey, I encourage you to take some time, figure out who you want to be as a designer, and set a plan on how you are going to continue your education and growth.
- Kaity
