Building Confidence and Expanding Career Horizons in UX

Contents

1. Initial Goals and Expectations
2. Course Effectiveness
3. Skills and Knowledge Acquired
4. Professional Impact
5. Future Goals

SECTION 1: INITIAL GOALS AND EXPECTATIONS

What specific goals or objectives did you have in mind when you enrolled in this course?

To learn new skills to help me stay relevant in the video game industry.

What were your expectations for this course in terms of professional development or career advancement?

I expected to learn if I was, either good at a new skill, or could learn everything there is to know about starting this new skill, and if it can be a path that I could pursue within my career, outside of what I'm already good at or what I've already done. Basically, learning a new skill on top of what I already know and if I'm even capable of doing it well or learning it quickly.

SECTION 2: COURSE EFFECTIVENESS

On a scale from 1 to 5, how well did the course help you achieve your initial goals?

(1 = Not at all, 5 = Fully achieved)

I would say 4 only, because I need to continue to practice, and do more work towards learning that skill. It gave me a really great starting point though.

Can you provide specific examples of how the course content or activities aligned with your initial goals?

I think that the course content did a great job of giving me the foundation of user experience and user interface in gaming. And a good foundation of how that whole process works from start to finish, and then it gave me examples and projects to do that focused on each portion of the job from start to finish. Also speaking with Ivy, the professor, she gave me insight into what the advanced portions of that could be… or what the next steps could be.

SECTION 3: SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE ACQUIRED

What specific skills or knowledge did you gain from this course that directly contributed to achieving your goals?

First, I kind of look at games whenever I play them in a more detailed mindset… I can't look at game menus and interfaces for the user without thinking, “Hey, they maybe could have done this better” or “I could see why they made these certain design decisions when making the game.” Now I have the ability to try to make my own mock-ups or wireframes for a certain game, and I wouldn't have been able to before without a lot of research and self-practice. ELVTR gave me a way to do this on my own.

How have you applied these skills or knowledge in your work or other professional situations? 

Not yet fully, but I have reached out to people in this field, like user experience and user interface, and I've gotten advice from them. I got good feedback from my professor and I want to pursue it further. And they always said that that's a good first step – taking the class and reaching out to people – and I haven't used them directly, but it's indirectly helped me reach out to people and start practicing and pursuing this field.

SECTION 4: PROFESSIONAL IMPACT

Since completing the course, have you noticed any improvements in your job performance? 

No, but when I was applying for jobs and interviewing, the interviewees asked me, “Hey, what are some things that you've been doing since you were laid off and what have you been working on in the meantime?” I let them know that I took some classes with ELVTR, and they said that it was a great choice by me, in terms of showing initiative and showing that I'm a self-starter and willing to always be improving my skills. And I think it helped me get the current job that I have now, because they enjoy that I am the type of person to look for ways to improve myself and gain new skills.

Have you noticed any changes in your confidence levels?

In confidence, yes, because Ivy gave me some great feedback and I don't tend to give myself much credit on things I do. It showed that “Hey, I am competent and I'm capable of learning new skills and doing things well.” So it helped me think in a more positive mindset about my own ability. 

Have you noticed any improvements in your career prospects?

It's given me a new avenue to think about, for sure, because my feedback from Ivy, and my experience with the class, made me interested in this being a possible career path for me. Ivy herself said that she felt that I picked up the material well. She even thought I had maybe done a little bit of UX/UI before the class, and she even said that if I put together a resume and portfolio that she thinks that I'd be a great person to have in an entry-level position on one of her teams. So It's given me a broader mindset of what career path I might be able to take.

Can you share examples of how these changes are related to your initial goals?

I think having more confidence, in a bigger view of what I might be able to pursue within gaming, is towards my initial goal – because I wanted to get as many skills as possible to be useful in the gaming industry. Especially after getting laid off, this gives me another avenue of finding stable employment in this industry.

SECTION 5: FUTURE GOALS

How has this course influenced or shaped your future professional goals?

It just made me more open to maybe transitioning out of marketing and more into the design part of gaming. It's just kind of given me a broader view of what could be possible or what another goal of mine could be in games.

Are there any additional skills or knowledge you would like to acquire to further pursue your goals? 

I was interested in the Advanced UX/UI class, but I wasn't sure. I wanted to do a bit more practice on my own and brush up before I take that, but also, how to get finances and stuff correct before I jump into another class. But I am interested in taking that advanced UX/UI class.