Silke

Continuing from my previous post, why am I changing careers when I am completely happy with my current situation? Where did this idea suddenly come from? Why now, not earlier?

So “Why am I changing careers?”

Everyone asks themselves the question “where do I see myself in the future?” Will I still be testing? In the next 6 months, hell yeah! In the next 5 years, maybe. In the next 10, uhm I have no idea!

Here’s the thing. More and more testing tasks are being automated, and I just can’t get the feeling out of me that at some point I will completely be replaced by some cool tool. Okay, I don’t think that might be currently possible. But who knows? There are already a lot of tools out there that automate what normally is covered by manual testing. What do I do when the time comes?

Now “Where did I get this idea?”

If you have read my post The past, you’ll notice that Business Management was never what I wanted to do. It has always been the IT sector that has captured my interest. Over time, I have narrowed it down to actually two things: Java and UX/UI Design.

I tried Java first. Being able to create games and the lot was what got me interested in it. The first steps I took to realize this dream was to take an HTML and CSS online course at codecademy. Now those were cool and interesting courses. Then I started with Java. It started out well, but some things came in between and I totally lost interest in it. Java now feels too boring and too dry.

So now, UX/UI Design. I have always loved creating artistic things. I loved architecture, and patterns and structure. This urge to become a UX/UI designer strengthened with the years I spent testing different websites on different platforms. Being a tester, I normally placed myself in the shoes of the users, and most of these personas had hard times with the sites. I started thinking about ways on how to make things better for the user. I think this was really what helped me decide to try this out.

Lastly “Why now and not earlier?”

At TOPdesk, there are no fixed roles whatsoever. You are a Salesperson and feel like switching to HR? Go ahead! You work at Support and feel like taking the role of a Product Owner, be our guest. What I’m trying to say is that whatever you want to try out, the company will back you up and support you. I also have designer colleagues who are helping me out every step of the way, showing me what they do, and involving me in steps they think would be good to know as a trainee. Plus my team is behind me, and my PO too. My dev lead is also pushing me to follow my dreams. They have assured me that there is no harm in trying. So this is definitely the right time to start.

So will I be a UX/UI Designer in the future?

If you want an answer now, Y-E-S! I am pursuing my dream, and if nothing stands in the way, I will be one of them!