UX Design
JGD's tips on how to rock your career as a remote UX Designer
Is it smart to work as a freelance UX Designer when you are just starting out?
You may have asked yourself this question since remote work, digital nomadism and freelancing have become more and more popular amongst generation Z. Tim Ferris and Tim Denning are defining it as the new ‘rich’. Having the freedom to choose the location and time you are working. But how does this all work in our fast-evolving world these days?
So, where are you coming from?
Have you just finished up with a UX Design Bootcamp? Have you finished up with an online course on Udemy, Coursera of IDF? And what makes you think about freelancing in the first place?
We are getting told by influencers on a daily basis that everyone can achieve everything and live their dream life these days...But does that apply to anyone? And how do people acquire the skills that are necessary to fulfill these dreams? These skills are certainly not taught in school and most likely not in university either. To fulfill your desires, in this case, to work as a freelance UX designer, you have to align your thoughts, your words and your actions. These skills, to become a leader, to become an influencer, a person that is creating their own work, building their own business are hard to acquire and it takes a lot of self-discipline and self-motivation to get rejected over and over again.
BUT the only way to succeed is to keep trying and trying.
Coming back to freelancing as UX Designer. You may have just finished a UX Bootcamp like Ironhack, UX Academy…. Or you may have finished a course with Udemy or IDF. You may not even want to be an influencer and you might not dream of running your own agency or business. However, in order to succeed as a freelancer in a highly competitive industry like UX Design, you still have to start the same way as all these influencers start these days.
You gotta put yourself out there and expose your work to the world. Ask for feedback. Without honest feedback, you are not able to improve. You gotta get over your fear and put yourself out there.
“If you are insecure, guess what? The rest of the world is, too. Do not overestimate the competition and underestimate yourself. You are better than you think.” - Timothy Ferris, the 4-hour work week
This is what I did to succeed and could help any beginner
- Publish your work on design platforms like Behance and Dribbble.
- Ask for feedback on your work within Facebook UX Design groups.
- Write about your design process on Medium.
- Help fellow designers as much as possible if you know the answer.
- If you don’t have a new project lined up, don’t panic and improve your skills.
- Work from a co-working space and meet like-minded people.
- Hunt down UX events on Meetup or Eventbrite.
