I transitioned to UI/UX Design while I was still an Economics undergrad student.

Tldr;

I discovered UI/UX Design at a university hackathon in my 2nd year. It wasn't until the start of my 4th year that I finally committed to a career in UI/UX, prolonging my undergraduate degree for 2 more years. A internship opportunity turned into a full-time offer in my 5th year. With great relief and gratitude, I never had to experience job hunting hell in the midst of the GenAI hype and a post-post-COVID economic recession. Today, I mentor aspiring undergraduate UI/UX Designers in the spirit of giving back to the design community.

Let's start with 2nd year undergrad.

Out of a whim (but also to spend time with a close friend who recently moved there), I participated in my 1st hackathon, StarterHacks at the University of Waterloo.

Each student was advised to specialize in one of three tracks: Design, Software, and Business. Given that I was already a Business of Administration student, I chose Design. And to be honest with you, my overwhelming (and at times demoralizing) disinterest in business concepts and skills took flight at the start of my second year. Learning business wasn't an exciting, life-giving experience. Impatiently checking the clock, fidgeting my legs in anxiety, and fighting the urge to browse the internet was how I spent much of my time in my business classes.

While I was also part of a student business club as an executive, my experience with business student culture was superficial, transactional, and soulless. I didn't feel a sense of belonging. In that moment, Design felt like a calling.

That "aha" (and psychospiritual to be frank) moment came up for me when I attended my second design workshop, UI Design 101.

Filled with feelings of excitement, joy, and play, I have to do this, I thought. Was it too early to say that I found my vocation? I aspired to be on the same mastery as the instructor and I wanted to learn Figma right away! With the little knowledge I had about designing software products, I tried to create mockups of a mobile app for the hackathon. (I didn't get to finish it of course haha; I learned that UI Design skills are just as necessary as UX skills)

To learn more about the startup scene, I became a Co-President at an entrepreneurship student club in my 3rd year.

Tagging along with another executive's idea, we enrolled a mobile app idea to a 4-month incubator program at UofT. But it ended there. I found myself heading in the direction of tech, but not really committing to it.

Torn between a career in Business Analysis and UX Design, I juggled two internship roles in the summer just before my 4th year.

Feeling lost and without direction, I was driven to find resolution through work experience. In the day, I was a Junior Business Analyst at Roll, a Canadian E-scooter company. After 5, I was a part-time UI/UX Design Mentee at Cheapreats, a restaurant scheduling SaaS. And, get this, my time as a Business Analyst was in fact monotonous, boring, and far from creative. Here I thought that I would tolerate business if it was for pay. As a UI/UX Design Mentee, however, I was present and I felt alive. I decided to take a risk and I bet on myself.

As I was way too far into my Economics program to switch to another, I kept my enrolment as an Economics major. I transferred out of University of Toronto to York University's Economics program - an easier, bearable alternative to how unnecessarily difficult UofT could be.

Why didn't I sign up for a UX Design bootcamp?

Trust me, I have looked into Brain station and General Assembly. A Master's or a bootcamp education was not financially feasible for me. Inspired by the stories of self-taught designers and designers from non-traditional backgrounds, I decided to follow the same path. While I knew that it could take longer and potentially render me less competitive in the job market, I settled with most viable choice.

Little did I know that it positioned me to be a more competitive candidate because I was resourceful and self-motivated - an irrefutable testament of my dream to become a UX Designer. Instead, to make sure I don't have any fundamental gaps in my understanding of UX design, I enrolled in a 2-part course series at OCAD University.

My first freelance opportunity opened doors for me.

At the peak of my portfolio creation and refinement grind, I attended 1-2 design review sessions a week and I actively looked for freelancing opportunities. It felt like a two full-time jobs, juggling UI/UX and my undergrad degree.

I'm extremely and super duper forever thankful to ADPList mentors for taking the time to review my work and hear my story. Their curiosity, compassion, and support instilled hope and even more determination.

I used my first real-life and paid client project as the basis for my first case study. After several refinements of that case and my portfolio website, I secured 2 back-to-back internships after applying to 50+ roles. It paved the way for two offers: a 4-month internship at a Series C startup and an 8-month internship at a Fortune 100 tech company in the next year. Eager to try different environments, I accepted both!

In the spirit of giving back to the design community, I mentor aspiring student UX designers.

Thus far, I have mentored more than 5 designers in the past 2 years! Just like the mentors who have given their time and efforts, I am more than happy to return the same generosity and support.

At the time of writing, I am currently a UI/UX Designer at IBM @Markham Lab where I contribute to the interface and experience of IBM Data & AI SaaS products.