From management to UI/UX: the story of a graduate who chose outsourcing and freelance design

The path from management to design

Before I started my studies, I was a rather ordinary person in terms of my career, working as a manager in a company that, like many other businesses, closed during the pandemic. I didn't really like my job, and the worst part was being tied to a place. So I started looking for another job during the COVID-19 period in Warsaw.

I went to work for Glovo delivery, which at the time had a very good salary, and as a bonus, I love to ride a bike, so it was a match made in heaven. It was also there that I tried this style of freelancing, when you decide when and how much you work, and I liked it. However, you don't last long in delivery, and I didn't want to go back to management. So I realized that it was time to master a new field.

How did I realize that I should go into design?

It seems that it was always in me, but I didn't know how to name it and realize it properly. When I was a kid, I remember looking at the cover of X3M (Extreme) magazine for hours, looking at the selection of pictures and typography. I also remember my years in Kyiv when I worked as a photographer-I could spend hours editing photos and editing videos. I did a lot of things like posters and interesting photo processing, and I loved it. I wanted to find something that would combine creativity and literally creating from scratch, and a friend of mine suggested that I should try UX/UI design.

An atypical student of the Academy

I'm a rather unusual case, I think, because I didn't come from scratch: I had already worked with Figma and mastered the basic techniques in previous courses, and I rather needed a confirmation certificate. Nevertheless, I am very satisfied with the training. I learned that the Academy actively supports and trains various categories of society, including women, people with disabilities, veterans, and IDPs. There were no questions about the price, program or duration—everything I could find on the website suited me.

My teacher Katia is a very cool specialist and a nice person with whom it was a pleasure to study. She didn't just give us a dry outline, but showed us the nuances: if you don't have enough time, then cut this, and here we actually do something different. She shared real industry cases and gave us practical advice on how this area works in reality, not “on paper,” and gave us her own examples of work, which is very cool knowledge that will be valuable for beginners. This way, after the course, they will enter the labor market prepared for different work scenarios.

Another cool thing was the small group learning format, where teachers simply don't have time for everyone individually. I can only imagine how difficult it can be to teach a class with a lot of people—what kind of designer will you make if the only comment about your work is “good-bad”? But here we all had a chance to speak up, and Katya could give personalized attention and time to each student.

How I looked for a job

I found a job after graduating from the course, because I was combining my studies with a full-time job and simply did not have time to search. Although I sent out my CV, I don't believe it works for beginners, so I searched additionally in various groups on Telegram and Facebook, and that's how I came across an offer to design a website for car sales. They liked one of my works from the course, which I basically used as a template when designing their website - it was my first commercial experience.

Why freelancing is not only a good start but also a full-time job

I stayed freelance and worked on various projects: from banners to landing pages. I honed my skills and launched a word of mouth campaign that led me to my permanent projects. Currently, I work for two companies on outsourcing (I perform tasks that the company cannot complete on its own) and have several freelance projects. I joined one company where I still work when they were just a startup, and it was a risk. I worked for free for six months, but I liked the idea: it was an app for refugees in Germany that helped them cope with local bureaucracy. Plus, 90% of the team speaks English, and it's an additional language practice.

My approach to work sounds like a lot, and it may not suit everyone—that's okay, I just really like it. When you're in a company (even during part-time), your tasks become routine, and freelancing helps me gain new experience and throws up unexpected challenges that I'm happy to take on. So, I advise you to consider freelancing not as a temporary option, but as a permanent job. Personally, I recommend going to Fiverr, where you will have a better chance as a beginner, because it will be difficult to break through on Upwork, for example.

My tips for finding a job:

• Develop soft skills. It is important to be able to find a common language and enter into a dialog, for example, with a developer who will implement your design. Now I can already see how my approach to cooperation has changed: I'd rather ask the developer questions than force them to do exactly what I've drawn, and that's it. So learn to work in a team and be open to suggestions and dialogues.
• It's okay to be inspired by others. Take their ideas and approaches, but don't steal them. Redraw, process, apply to your project and your experience. This will give you additional practice and you will be able to spot interesting solutions.
• Use the Figma Community. Free website templates are constantly published there, so take them and try to recreate them, but with your own changes. Practice, look at who rounds the button and who makes it square. Again, this is your observation and practice.
• The best portfolio is your personalized webpage. I've already said that I don't believe in resumes, and a portfolio doesn't always work well. But your own landing page with your own design is no longer just work on Behance, because it's really dry. It's a design that has already been reviewed by a developer and reproduced on a separate page. It's cool, because this is how you prove that you understand the solutions that are suitable for development and can be implemented.
• Do not be hard on yourself. You're just starting out on this journey and it's okay if you don't get everything right the first time. Especially if you've just finished a course, the topic of design is still new to you, so don't expect yourself to be good at everything at once. If you feel that you lack skills or experience, don't give up on yourself as a designer. Temporarily find another part-time job, and while you're at it, practice your skills and look for small projects. Ask your teachers and friends if they have any useful contacts. Look for freelance projects, anything that will help you gain experience—and try again.