Nice to know I’m not the only one trying to make the leap!

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions; I think my real problem is location at the moment. While West Virginia is not quite as devoid of technology and progress as our joking would indicate (there are 3 book stores and about a dozen coffee shops in town, and an actual Starbucks *gasp*), it is really a small area as far as web companies go. I work for one of like 3 places that do web design in the state, and the others are too distant to look into. Moving is becoming my only option.

It’s not that difficult once you take the plunge into some of the resources in books and the Interwebs. And then, actually apply that knowledge.

Alan has forded the waters between engineering and UI / Interaction Design and his book is, in a sense, a pioneers guide to all who would follow.

There are great actors who are poor improvisationists, and great improvisationists who are poor actors. Great mechanics who are not great drivers. You get the idea. I think of this transition as like changing from a percussion instrument to a melodic one. Each contributes to the music, but to the change from playing one to the other requires a total shift in focus, mind set, and thought process. Maybe even facets of personality.

A career is like a country. Live in one long enough and certain habits form. You may not like emigrating unless you’re able to assimilate in the a culture. This is no small undertaking. But there is a shortage of people who can do both very well.

I’m a Software Engineer looking to transition into a UE Design role. I’m a bit further along in my transition than Jon is (my time is split 50% UE design, 50% implementation now), but was hoping to get more concrete steps from this than I got. Instead, there was a lot of unrelated joking and the hosts talking about their own careers (which, although interesting, didn’t really help the subject).

I’d preferred to have heard more about specific books, courses, websites, other blogs, professional organizations, certifications, training, etc. that established IxD/Usability professionals have found helpful in starting their careers.

I’m not trying to be a complete downer here, I genuinely enjoy this website and follow it actively. I am just disappointed with this particular podcast.

@Mike – Thank you for all of the excellent advice. I’ve already started poking through the online MIT materials, and found a few gems. Great stuff!

Jeremy
ex-Developer, current IxD

read some books (both usability, interaction design, maybe even graphic design) on it to get the mojo, About Face from cooper is a good start, read articles / blogs, ixda discussions, learn what deliverables are being used. You might even want to check out the lecture notes on UI Design from one of MIT’s engineering classes ( available for free on MIT opencourseware ).

Don’t be in a job that pigeonholes you in a “developer only role”, where designs actually rule all things UI, be in a job that gives you flexibility where you can be the developer and have an opportunity to tackle the UI design on your own… slowly build up a portfolio of UI designs, practice sketching, wireframes, high fidelity mockups of your UIs before you go to code… add good ones to your portfolio as time goes on.

Job interview as pure ixda role:

They will want to see your portfolio, they will want to know how you’ve understood the users goals, and UI problems, and how you solved them through examples of your work. They will probably challenge you with a design question (some kind of brief case study).

You will explain your experience as an engineer, but your transition into ixda through your hybrid role a the first job I described above. You will tell them you have a leg-up on many pure-bred designers who have no tech experience and may not understand developer constraints as well as you do.

You will smile, and be confident, use firm hand-shakes (don’t injure the person). Don’t be afraid to say how you’d research a problem if you can’t give a solution / answer to one of their questions.