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

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 business classes.

While I was also part of a student business club as an executive, my experience of the business student culture seemed 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 want to do this, I thought. I found my vocation. I aspired to be on the same mastery as the instructor. I wanted to learn Figma right away! With little knowledge I had about designing software products, I tried to create mockups of a community-based SaaS solution.

In my 2nd year, I became a VP executive at an entrepreneurship student club. Tagging along with another executive's idea, we enrolled a SaaS idea into incubator program at UofT. 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 3rd 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 for a restaurant scheduling SaaS called Cheapreats. 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 work. 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 too far into my Economics program, I decided to keep 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.

This was my first stab at making a portfolio website on Notion.

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

Trust me, I have looked into Brain station and General Assembly. A Masters 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 followed 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 to my goal 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. (I'm extremely and super duper forever thankful to my ADPList mentors for taking the time to review my work and hear my story.) It felt like a two full-time jobs, juggling UI/UX and my undergrad degree.

I used my first client 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 a 4-month internship at a Series C startup with 60M in funding and an 8-month internship at a Fortune 100 company in the next year.