Brand Manager
to UX Designer
Julia Mullinger
User Researcher, Storm ID
I wanted something really solid that would actually help me change career. That’s why I chose the diploma.
What’s your career background?
I worked in senior roles in marketing and brand management. I got into marketing because it was a creative industry. After a while, my role became more about return on investment on Google or Facebook than anything strategic or creative. I was managing a team but I didn't really feel like I had an actual trade or skill. I felt like I wasn’t learning anything.
What brought UX onto your radar?
When I worked as a brand manager, I was working closely with the UX team and I could see the impact they were making. I did more research and discovered that UX is actually quite similar to architecture and design: which are areas that I've always been interested in.
Why did you choose to study with the UX Design Institute?
I looked into other online courses but they were a similar price to the diploma without any of the support of the tutors. It was very much self-learning.
I looked at boot camps but they were very expensive and much shorter. I didn’t see how I was going to come away with anything really practical after just a few days. I wanted something really solid that would actually help me change career. That’s why I chose the diploma.
Since completing the course, how has your career progressed?
I work at a UX consultancy called User Vision. I finished the course content in May, sat my exam in July and started this role in August. My qualification was important to my interviewers; they asked about the modules, the practical exercises and the exam. They were impressed with my exam result and my course portfolio.
As part of my role, we work with big clients like Emirates and Salesforce. A lot of the work that I've done so far has been usability testing projects, working in multiple markets including the US, UK, Australia and Germany. I really have to use the whole range of skills that I learnt on the course.
Who would you recommend the course to?
Anybody who wants to truly understand what user experience is and anyone who wants to have a well-benchmarked process to refer to in their work.
That could be somebody already working in UX and coming from a different area of the business, or somebody who has been working in UX for a number of years but doesn't know the full process. Or it could be someone like myself, who already has some decent business experience but wants to break into UX.
What advice would you offer someone considering the diploma course?
If you're looking to move into UX or get a better sense of the process, I would say don't hesitate and go for it!