Any UX/UI/Product design professionals or mentors want to connect?

Hey everyone! I'm just starting to search for design positions, and the job market looks so bleak. I don't know what to do, I'm honestly pretty scared and desperate. That being said, I want to reach out on here to grow my network and hopefully meet other cool folks in the process. If anyone is willing to mentor, give some career advice, introduce me to some people in their network, or just chat, please let me know!

teresaman·Mar 25

Hey Jessica! For design mentors, I'd recommend ADP list or get-merit.com! My friend started the latter to offer free mentorship to designers.

Iynna·Mar 25

thank you Jessica for posting here! it takes a lot of courage to be vulnerable and I have no doubt you'll get some support here. Quick question are you a career switcher with already a few years of experience in something else? A recent grad / fresh out of school looking for your first full time? Or has been in UX/UI design for a bit already? trying to understand so we can better advise you!For mentors you can also check out get-merit.com which has been referred a few times here.

jessicazhuge·Mar 25

Thank you both for the replies and the advice @teresaman @iynna! Also to answer your question @iynna, I guess I have a sort of weird (or perhaps more accurately described as unfocused) background, I did my undergrad in Computer Science + Legal Studies and graduated in 2017. After graduating, I tried to do the law school thing for a little bit and worked some hourly wage jobs and also full-time as a union rep. I took my first UX design course in uni and I loved it, but my college didn't offer a design major until after I left. I've taken a few certification/bootcamp type courses in the UX realm since 2019, and only decided within the last two years to seriously pursue a career in this field. Sorry for the long spiel! But given this context, I would put myself into the category of career switcher with a decent educational background in UX and software. I hope that answers your question!

jessicazhuge·Mar 25

Also, just want to say that the two mentorship sites are exactly what I was looking for. Thank you so much, I don't think I would have been able to find these if you both hadn't mentioned them to me!