A New Path Into My Journey into the Tech Industry
After some serious thinking, I've decided to quit Software Development and enter into the field of design. User interface design, user experience design, and ordinary Web Design is what I'm truly passionate about. I recently reviewed my high school transcript and and remembered the initial major that I majored in when I first entered into college: Website/Graphic Design. The classes that I took in high school involved designing websites using HTML, CSS, and basic Adobe Photoshop. This took place in the early 2000s, which was before HTML5 and CSS3 was introduced. I enjoyed that so much that I attempted to apply to art schools like SCAD (Savannah College of Art ad Design) and Full Sail University so I could study Graphic Design, but eventually went to a small university instead. I took several drawing courses, but was not successful and changed my major to Computer Science because I really enjoyed working with computers. Unfortunately, I struggled even more in the Computer Science courses. With pressure from my parents and lack of confidence, I reluctantly changed my major once again to Education. But now that I've returned to the field of IT, I still had difficulty knowing what I was truly passionate about. All of that changed once I took a User Experience (UX) course in graduate school. This course was much more enjoyable than the other nine courses that involved developing and testing software. This has made me consider a career in Design.
Honestly, I find designing software much more enjoyable than developing software. I realized this after learning about UI/UX Design through my graduate course and reviewing some of the classes I took back in high school. I also enjoyed the Design Group Meeting that I participated in this past fall. It was a great experience for me to view how designers come together to communicate with each other and exchange information. I also enjoyed receiving feedback on some of my designs that I shared. I learned many concepts of Web Development during the internship as a Developer; however, I would like to officially switch my role from development to design. To supplement my learning of UI/UX Design (and Web Design), I've enrolled in an online certification program that will allow me to fully understand user interface and user experience design for software, which involves creating storyboards, participating in user research, completing wireframes, and creating personas. Once I complete this program, I will not only have a portfolio to show potential employers, I will obtain a UI/UX Certificate from an accredited university.
I'm noticed that I show more enthusiasm when it comes to design and I was a bit envious of those who were in the Design Group. After struggling with Development, I’ve decided to completely shift my focus to Design. I plan to dedicate all of my time and energy to learning the concepts of UI/UX Design. I will now focus on designing websites, web applications, and other types of software.