Trustpilot and Women in Tech Denmark held a networking event on January 19, 2016 focused on building a career in tech. I presented the story of how I became a UX designer and manager, and included some tips that anyone can use to start heading down a new career path (without going back to school).

1. So, how did you become
a UX designer?
Jenny Shirey | Women in Tech Denmark | January 18, 2017

4. art writing music

5. art
graphic
design
writing? music

10. STUTTGART

13. PITTSBURGH

18. SILICON
VALLEY

20. © Citrix

27. COPENHAGEN

33. Julie Zhou, Junior Designers vs Senior Designers

35. Where do you
want to go next?

36. Tips for making
a career turn
(without going back to school)

37. Do your research

38. Don’t Make Me Think
Steve Krug
Interviewing Users
Steve Portigal
The User Experience
Team of One
Leah Buley
Well Designed
Jon Kolko

39. Thinking with Type
Ellen Lupton
Universal Methods
of Design
Bella Martin and Bruce
Hanington
The Inmates are
Running the Asylum
Alan Cooper
The Design of
Everyday Things
Don Norman

40. https://medium.com/built-to-adapt/20-pivotal-books-for-designers-1446cd7e4f06#.pjd0zdj32

43. Julie Zhuo
Cap Watkins
Christina Wodtke
David Kelley
Scott Berkun
Debbie Millman
...
InVision
Airbnb
Intercom
Basecamp
...

44. …but don’t just
research...

45. Create LOTS of stuff

46. “A good indicator
of potential is someone
who has a high volume
of work”
–Allison House, HybridConf

47. https://www.designernews.co/stories/78360-thanks-dn-am-i-a-real-ui-designer-2-year-update

48. Self-made projects
Unpaid internships
Side projects
Website for your brother
App for your mom
etc...

49. Be proactive
(and specific)

50. Mentor?

51. “...women walk up to
strangers and say, will
you be my mentor? …
That’s not how it works.
That’s not how a
relationship is formed.”
–Sheryl Sandberg, HBR.org

52. Meetups (like this!)
Peer-to-peer
Post on Dribbble, Designer News, etc
Specific feedback on a specific issue
...

54. “You are a human and there is a
human out there looking at a screen,
just like you are... Try to connect with
that human … Think about what they
might be looking for... 99.99% of
people don’t do that.”
–Jon Schlossberg, Design Details

55. Have a
growth mindset

57. “I believe… that
everyone, of whatever
age and circumstance,
is capable of
self-transformation”
–Warren Bennis, On Becoming
a Leader

58. How will you grow?

59. womenintechdenmark.slack.com/signup
@seejennydesign