Before UX Academy, Selena San Miguel had just been laid off from her full-time job in entertainment content marketing. It was three months into the COVID pandemic, and many businesses were struggling.
“I was so bummed out by the recent turn of events, but I had also started exploring ways to expand my skill set,” says Selena.
Selena took this time of uncertainty as an opportunity to dive into a new skill and focus her nervous energy into something productive. She always had an editorial brain and digital interest, so the idea of making a career switch to UX design had been floating around since she initially heard of the field.
“I grew up in the MySpace era and designing websites/products had always been an interest of mine. UX Design seemed like the next natural step for me.”
One of Selena’s previous colleagues was a student in UX Academy, and who often used Selena in her user tests.
“The farther she got in her studies, the more interested I became in UX Academy. After seeing her experience, and her success in breaking into the UX design industry, I added Designlab to my list of career to-dos,” Selena says.
Selena’s UX Academy Experience
Once enrolled in UX Academy, Selena learned a lot from her student peers, expert UX design industry mentors, and real-world hiring manager career coaches. She shares …
“Overall, it was a great experience! I learned from people who had made career pivots as well as those with completely different backgrounds. My mentor Gabriel was THE BEST and gave me honest and fair feedback while still being the best cheerleader. I especially enjoyed his insight with my portfolio building and the advice given to me as a hiring manager. He helped me leverage my previous experience in content and digital marketing into UX career assets.
“It was also mentally challenging completing these courses with the pandemic looming overhead and balancing my own mental health struggles. It took me a bit longer, but once I started taking breaks as needed, the quality of my work greatly improved. Listen to your body, folks!”