UX-ing a Conversation with my Spirit Guides

In the roller coaster ride that has been 2020, I have often found myself wondering what the future holds for myself, my loved ones, and people around the world. I have experienced so many changes in the last year, as we all have, starting with being laid off from my bartending job back in March. As someone educated in mechanical engineering and experienced in customer service, I began to envision a future career that would inspire more passion and creativity for me and possibly even be pandemic proof.

Enter UX design, a field that mixes human understanding and empathy with tech and design. The more I learned about this career the more it resonated with me and my excitment built.

In August I figuratively took a huge leap of faith and enrolled in an intensive 12 week user experience design bootcamp with General Assembly.

The bootcamp was challenging but incredibly rewarding. Fast paced and packed with constant learning, the time flew by. As of this writing I have recently come out the other side more confident than ever that the UX world is where I belong. The next phase that I have now entered is to perfect my portfolio, increase my networking and thought leadership, and to apply for jobs.

But as I began my job searching efforts I realized that I needed to seek guidance outside of what my career coach could provide for me. I needed guidance from the other side. I sought out a psychic medium to give me a tarot card reading and created this journey map based on what my spirit guides foresaw in my future.

“After taking a huge leap of faith and investing in a 12 week UX bootcamp, Megan needed to consult her spirit guides for advice and guidance on her job search. She sought out a medium for a tarot card reading to predict her employment future.” 

You may be picturing me in a dark room illuminated by a crystal ball. A mysterious woman with long hair and long finger nails slowly and ominously pulls cards from her tarot deck and explains their meaning, while I sit in suspense. 

In actuality I got a push notification on my phone from an app I use for meditation advertising a sale on tarot card readings in light of the date being Friday the 13th (dark UX?). I couldn’t pass up the deal and went through with it on a whim. I asked about my job search prospects as that was foremost on my mind.

I playfully decided to make the above journey map to exercise some creativity and lightheartedness in how the UX process can be applied. It was also a great opportunity to practice my visual design, creating a compelling image with graphics, colors and fonts I don’t usually use in my UX work. If I have learned anything in my experience with UX so far, it is that user experience design can be applied everywhere!