How I changed my career being (almost) in my 30’s. 3D artist to UX designer.
How did I successfully changed my life in 1 year?
I’m starting to accomplish one of my dreams, be working in something I love and be able to travel to different countries.
A bit of backstory
(You can skip it if you don’t like stories, but sometimes the stories are interesting too :P )
E verything started when I left my university, marketing and business studies after some years of trying. Being stuck in a career in which no matter how hard you try, you don’t get the results that should be achieved, really sucks. So before to abandon the university, I decided to search in what area or profession I could be good at.
What are my skills? I used to draw a lot when I was a kid and play videogames, so I started to search for information about 3D Animation and 3D Modeling, this job is more creative than the bachelor I was studying. After be thinking a lot, and pay no a little amount of money, I decided to leave my bachelor in marketing and business and start in the 3D world studying in private online courses.
After some months of studying, I got my first 3D job in an architecture company in my city. Our tasks were:
- Build 3d usable models for all possible devices (phone, tablets, laptops, screens…)
- Create a game to furnish your home, being able to choose different types of furniture, doors, colours for the walls, etcetera.
This game was connected with different companies creating real architectural projects such as apartments, urbanisations and gardens. It was available to use with Oculus Rift, YES!, we created these projects in virtual reality context. I was excited at that moment! it was new for me and I learnt a lot!
But after being working in this company for 2 years the process started to be a waterfall model:
- we couldn’t innovate so much anymore
- There was not real teamwork
- We didn’t have any kind of contact with the client and users, all these issues made me feel that was killing my creativity.
I needed a change again, but what kind of change?
I decided to quit my job and start an adventure travelling around Asia, on my own and think about what would be my next professional steps. I lived in Japan for 4 months studying Japanese and 3 months in Malaysia studying English.
With a more open-minded vision, I knew that I wanted to:
- Keep working in the world of design and creativity.
- Work in a dynamic environment and multicultural atmosphere.
- Learn and keep challenging myself.
Talking with people around me about these goals and collecting a bunch of information I discovered: the UX Design career and ask myself:
Why UX design?
- It combines creativity with being technical.
- UX designers work in a dynamic and multicultural environment.
- Teamwork is important and there is contact with the client and the people you are designing for.
- Different methodologies can be used to solve problems and meet the user’s needs.
- Every project is a new challenge.
So I decided to attend DesignLab Bootcamps about Interaction and UI design. After studying these boot camps and work for 9 months in everis NTT DATA as a designer in the innovation department, I got my first and incredible opportunity to work as an interaction designer, during three months creating a project in the famous Digital Product School in Munich!
I’m excited about what is going to be the next challenge! It feels really good when finally you find the profession you fit in!
So here’s how I made the jump from a 3d artist or any career to a UX designer
What I did, while I was travelling, to find the profession I always wanted and stop feeling lost?
1. Time with yourself (Introspective phase)
I needed a lot of time with myself to figure out what I wanted to do. it wasn’t easy and it took several months. Go out of my comfort zone helped me. When you are facing a challenge, like being in other countries, help to believe more in yourself to try new things.
Be patient, take steps backs and ask yourself the most important question, WHY?
- Why you didn’t like the previous job?
- Why you felt stuck?
- Why do you think you need a change?
- Why this change will help you to find the profession you want?
Make a list of pros and cons of your last jobs. It’s really helpful to write a letter about how do you see yourself in 10 years, think about what kind of job you want and what kind of life you want to live.
- Do you want to work in the best company?
- Do you want to work remotely and have the flexibility to travel around the world?
- Do you want to work on social projects?
- Do you want to be an entrepreneur?
Do you know the Ikigai method? it was really helpful for me to figure things out too.
Get out of your comfort zone and make a conscious decision to keep moving forward and don’t worry, never it’s too late for a change.
2. Talk with people around you
Remember that, although you need time with yourself to figure things out, you are not alone, there are a lot of people with the same feeling, talk with them, meet them and share your thoughts. They will help you to keep moving forward.
3. Just do it
Trust the process and trust that you will figure it out, just need time and keep trying. Take the time to try different things and the most important, don’t stop, even when you think you are stuck, you are walking into the right path.
