When I first discovered the field of UX Design, I felt like I had finally found everything I wanted from my career. It was the perfect blend of making a difference by helping others and getting to have creative liberty. However, fear and doubt caused me to let that dream go. I eventually graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of California, Irvine, and started pursuing Human Resources, where I wanted to promote inclusion and accessibility in the workplace.

However, during my job hunt, I began to notice small little details about the websites on which I was applying for jobs. Job hunting is already a difficult time, but my experience was worsened by some of the websites on which I had to apply for jobs. I couldn’t read some pieces of text due to the size or color, some features were placed in areas that didn’t make sense, and some forms were so broken and inaccessible that I just gave up on using them altogether. As I continued to apply for jobs, I started to think about ways these website interfaces could be improved so that users, not just myself, wouldn’t be so negatively impacted, whether aesthetically or functionality-wise.

I felt so alive recreating these website interfaces in a way that would benefit all sorts of users and create a better experience and I eventually realized something. Isn’t this what UX Design is all about? Creating something that is enjoyable to use and keeps the user’s best interest at heart? I eventually landed a job in Human Resources and gained lots of experience with understanding people’s needs, but I also gained the courage to start exploring the field of UX Design. Cultivating great experiences through design is my passion and for the first time, my job does not feel like work to me.