Why did I quit a high paying job to pursue a degree in HCI?
The Back Story
India is a very diverse country, but when it comes to reputable career choices you see most of the bright minds either opting for a degree in medicine or engineering. Unaware of the many choices I had at that time, I decided to follow the bandwagon and become a software engineer.
I was a very active student at my university who wanted to explore and unleash all the opportunities available. I published a few research papers in Cloud Security and the Internet of Things, did competitive programming, participated in open source conferences, became a Google Summer of Code student, and built my profile to land a job in the tech industry. I was also involved with the cultural society of my college where I was the web design and creative lead.
Further down the career lane of having a year’s experience in frontend development, I joined 1mg, an online digital consumer healthcare company. While working there, I worked closely with designers and product managers. It was then that I was first introduced to the field of user experience design and what it means in the professional world. Before this point, I could never think that someone can pursue design as a career.
Growing interest and confusion created dilemma
My interest in design kept growing after this. I used to schedule weekly meetings with designers at the organization to know more about their journey, their process, and what it feels like to work in the professional sector. This was the time when I started to reconsider my career choice and if I wanted to be a developer in the long run.
This thought occupied my mind and one day I could not help but schedule a meeting with my manager, who was also my mentor for a long time. I asked for feedback on my work performance and he mentioned that he was impressed and wanted me to take the lead role in one of the teams. After a few minutes of the conversation, I asked him “What made you come so far? How were you so sure that you always wanted to be in the development sector?” This is what he answered:
“ I always asked myself a question. When I grow old, probably 20 years down the line, will I be happy doing the same work that I am doing now? If the answer is yes, you are on the right track. But if the answed is maybe or no, probably you need to spend more time with yourself”
This conversation changed my life forever. I knew deep down that I did not want to be a person who converts screens into code. Programming was not something that I could see myself doing in the long run. And there was my answer. I was happy that I found design as something that I was very interested in. But I was confused. It was a rush of mixed feelings.
It is not easy to leave a stable job and start from scratch in a new and unknown domain. It is scary and requires a lot of courage and perseverance.
Taking that leap of faith
When I told my parents that I wanted to switch my profession to design, they were shocked and asked me what was wrong with the current job. They said that there will be fewer jobs for people in the design industry and when the recession hits, hard skills will matter the most. To be honest, what they said and worried about was completely understandable — a majority of engineers in India end up being a developer at an IT firm.
However, I wanted to try learning what I felt I was really passionate about, not because there are more jobs out there or it’s more stable. I wanted to follow my yearning for stepping into the design world.
Now that I knew that I wanted to become a designer, I started applying for internships in the design sector at various organizations. I applied to a lot of places but did not hear back from any of them. I felt disappointed. This was the time I looked online for different resources to find people who have changed their career trajectory from a different background to design. I came across many articles and observed a very common pattern. Most people took a higher education in the design sector to learn and sharpen their design thinking and understand the intricacies of human behavior.
I started searching online for the best courses available in design and India had very limited options. Luckily, I found out about Human Computer Interaction and that the United States has the top design schools. I remember searching for hours with excitement. I did not feel hungry or sleepy after work and started dreaming of pursuing a higher degree in the States.
What I loved about HCI was it thrived at the intersection of computer science and design, a perfect fit for me.
It took a lot of effort to convince my family for the decision, but I went ahead and applied for different universities abroad for a master’s degree in Human Computer Interaction. The process was painstaking and time-consuming. But I refused to look back. I worked hard on giving GRE, TOEFL, and making a portfolio website. I made different versions of my Statement of Purpose tailored for each university. I revised the essay, asked friends and mentors to review and critique, and did several iterations of improvement. Several months later I received admits from the top HCI schools from the US and Canada.
Reflecting back
I am currently a User Experience Design Intern at Juniper Networks, while pursuing a masters degree in Human Computer Interaction and Design at Indiana University Bloomington. Looking back, I feel very happy about the decisions I took and that I did not give up on my dreams irrespective of what people said. Every night while going to bed, I used to imagine myself working as a product designer.
In hindsight, I feel I have learned and grown a lot. Today I feel confident in writing an article about my experience of switching careers from development to design. My journey of coming to Indiana University, working at Juniper with their design team, and juggling between projects and assignments has taught me a lot. Today I take out the time to convey this to you that, no matter who believes in you, you should never give up on yourself and your dreams. Look for what you really are passionate about and when you find it, you need to chase it until you are finally there. My favorite quote from the movie — The Pursuit of Happiness goes like this:
You got a dream. You gotta protect it. Don’t ever let somebody tell you, you can’t do something.
I am so grateful every day because I am pursuing what I’m truly passionate about. I would like to ask the same question to you as my mentor asked me a few years back — Would you love to work for the same job profile as you are working now,10 years down the line? Does it really make you happy?
I wish you all the best for your future endeavor! If you want to chat more about my story or anything related to design, drop me a line on LinkedIn.
