12 Benefits of Contract Work
The job market is no joke right now. With more layoffs than open positions, entry level talent is competing with experienced professionals for the same jobs. While full time employment might be your end goal, I would like to offer another suggestion — contract work. Contract work has evolved in the last 10 years, especially around the benefits and expectations to such an extent that some people prefer it to a traditional full-time job. There will always be trade-offs, so try to consider what you want out of a job and your career. I did, and contract work met my most pivotal needs and everything else I could figure out. So, without further ado, here are the reasons you should consider contract work.
Fix Your Life with Design Thinking
We spend about 90,000 hours of our lives at work. A place where we learn and refine various procedures and policies to be more efficient in our day-to-day tasks. It seems a waste to not use those learnings to improve our personal lives. For me, a product designer, that means spending a lot of time using a process called Design Thinking. It is a structured approach to problem solving that I have found to be very helpful in tackling aspects of my personal daily tasks.
Excel to Interface: A Strategic Approach to Transitioning Users from Excel to Custom Applications
When starting out in product design, no one ever tells you how much time you will spend looking at Excel spreadsheets and translating them into interfaces. That doesn’t even begin to cover getting your users onto their new application after spending their careers learning the intricacies of the database. Transitioning users from Excel to custom applications can be a complex process that requires careful planning and consideration. As a UX designer with a core base of Excel power users (who are more than hesitant to be separated from their spreadsheets), here are some important things to consider before you move your users from Excel to interface.
Why Performing Artists Make Amazing UX Designers
User Experience Design has had a rush of newcomers in recent years, particularly because the field is so friendly to career pivoters. For one group of common career pivoters, making the leap to UX design doesn’t come with the typical transferable skills, but might be a UX team’s secret weapon. Performing artists — actors, musicians, dancers, singers — may not seem like a logical choice, but they excel in the areas that a bootcamp can’t teach. Here are seven reasons you should think about hiring a Performing Arts Major for your next UX hire.