In this interview, Fernando Borges, a student of Bootcamp MID, talks about her migration process to UX Design from the Digital Design area. In addition, he shares with us all his experiences and learnings during this process.

He tells how he became interested in the UX Design area and how he began to receive several proposals just using his LinkedIn.

Check out this interview and see how Fernando managed to achieve his goal of working in the area of UX/UI Design.

Fernando, tell me a little about yourself

I graduated in Digital Design in 2009.

I started in the area as an intern in 2006, working in an agency. There, it was my first contact with the web part. I was maintaining websites and ended up having my first contact with the programming language.

Then, I set out for an opportunity to work with front-ends and after that I completely quit digital and went to work with packaging design, offline.

After a period of about 4 years, I returned to working with Design on the front end.

In 2017, I joined a startup to develop the company's website and create web creations. And that's when I became interested in UX Design.

I currently live in São Paulo and work at Wintaylor Workforce Optimization, such as UX/UI Designer. (note: After this interview, Fernando had a new opportunity and at the moment we are publishing it, he is on Ampfy.)

How did you become interested in UX Design?

In 2015, I had the opportunity to take a quick 2-day course of Mobile Interface and I left very excited from there. I wanted to apply what I learned to the company I was in, but I didn't have space.

Only in 2017 did I have a closer contact with User-centered design. Because at the startup I was working for, there was a Design team here in Brazil and another in the Netherlands. And this team from the Netherlands was responsible for the UX Design part, with a strong focus on research.

The UX Designer who worked from the Netherlands came here from time to time to do research with users. Thus, I began to have greater contact with the practice of UX Design.

In that experience, it was interesting to see how UCD (User Centered Design) was being applied to the app that the company was developing. So, it was incredible to be able to see and understand in practice how user needs were taken into account as the project developed.

From then on I started to change my Mindset even though I'm not working directly with UX Design. In my creative projects, I began to think more about the user who would be impacted by the design I was developing.

Because of this increased contact with research with users, I ended up looking for UX Design and ended up discovering the MID.

Reading Tip: How User-Centered Design Can Benefit Everyone

How did you get to the MID Bootcamp?

In 2016, I took a vacation trip to Europe and when I returned I was determined to live and work outside of Brazil.

Then I started looking for ways that could provide me with that opportunity.

When I found the MID, I understood that the course, in addition to teaching UX Design, focused on the international market. I realized then that it was the right path that I should follow. Everything aligned perfectly!

THE MID It is a course that requires dedication, a study plan, having time to watch the videos, carry out the practical exercises, it is not an easy course.

I still haven't fulfilled my dream of living abroad. But I'm preparing for that.

Reading Tip: What is the Master Interface Design Bootcamp — MID?

How did you manage to migrate to UX Design?

After starting the MID, having done a postgraduate degree in UX Design and between one job and another, I decided to change my position from LinkedIn for UX Designer.

And that simple change made all the difference in obtaining opportunities in UX Design.

I started receiving contacts from recruiters on a daily basis. The return was quick for vacancies in the area. I was even a little scared at how quickly I saw how The UX Design market is heated!

At the same time that the return came quickly for job offers, I realized that the companies did not want any professional. In the selection process of my current job, for example, they asked for differentials specific to the web design area. In my case it was good, because I already had experience with this when I was graduating in Digital Design.

Tell me about your selection process

The good part of doing several interviews is that you end up getting used to it and understanding how the dynamics work.

In that sense, for the interview for my current job I was very relaxed and none of their requirements were out of the ordinary.

As I mentioned, they needed someone who understood a little more programming language to be able to talk to the company's developers. I'm the only UX Designer there, so I add all the responsibilities in the area.

In addition, of course, they asked for my portfolio, which currently has 2 projects. One of them includes the end-to-end of the project, from its conception to the final version of the product.

This point is quite important. Companies want to understand how you solve the problem and not how you make the screens and whether the product looks good. It is important to include the reasoning and logic used in UX Design projects.

Reading Tip: UX Design Portfolio - 6 Essential Tips for Building Yours

How is the UX Design market in São Paulo?

São Paulo has a lot of opportunities and the UX Design market here is very hot. Even in one of my professional experiences, I even worked with another student here at MID, without knowing it! We went to talk about it only later. It was a lot of coincidence!

In addition, and often, companies that have the UX Design part well developed Open events to professionals in the field for conversations or lectures. And they are market reference companies, such as iFood.

The company where I work is also very open for employees to participate in this type of event, as long as they are relevant to our daily lives.

What are your plans for the future?

I intend to continue studying, finish the MID and develop myself a lot in the area of UX Design and in my career.

Also, that one of mine desire to live and work abroad it still exists.

I even went so far as to survey the market and applied for a vacancy in Portugal that, unfortunately, ended up not happening.

What tips would you give to those who want to migrate to UX Design?

UX Design is an incredible area that is growing with a very hot market.

A friend of mine asked me for that same advice recently and I only said one thing to him: It's going to work!

Of course, you have to study hard. It's not an easy path, but it's not impossible.

So study hard, use LinkedIn and do the MID!