How I knew when to switch careers

As a postgrad, I was desperate to find work within the field I studied for in university. I had been a film major, primarily focusing on Producing and Art Direction. I knew I loved organizing events, collaborating within cross-functional teams, and dissecting a person's character based on the items they kept around the house, but I thought those skills could only apply to working in the film & television industry.

I thought finding work after college would be achieving the impossible. I hadn't yet figured out about layoffs, budget cuts, or positions being eliminated, but I did know that there was no formal application process to getting a job in television. Professors, friends, and colleagues would somehow allude to working on set, being "in the trenches" working 12 hour days, and I yearned to know HOW they were able to get in the door. How do they know the secret of working in the film industry and I don't?!

But somehow, about eight months after graduation, I found myself on the other side when my friend asked me to work on a television show with them for a month. That job was able to lead me to another contact that brought me on another television show as an office production assistant, that eventually lead me to being an Art Product Assistant for another TV show, the position I had been aiming for since graduation that I thought would kickstart my career as a Set Decorator.

But after two years working in television, I realized I didn't like working in this industry at all. I didn't like the class system, and how it played out to being reminded how replaceable I was. It seemed that no matter how hard I worked as an Assistant, there still weren't enough options for moving up in the field I was interested in.

How I knew my time had come to make a career change was when I spoke with one of the leads on our team about how he was able to climb the ladder, and all he said was, "I'm not really sure... I was a marine biology major in school, but one day I was asked to day-play on a shoot, and now, twenty years later, here I am as the Boss."

Some people might have overheard our conversation and think his story is an inspiration for anyone to get into the industry, but on that day where I felt lost in my career, I felt it was a sign. Our conversation reminded me of what I already knew, if I stayed working here and continued saying yes to opportunities, even if I didn't want them, I could find myself twenty years later working a job I hadn't even really wanted in the first place.

When the season ended and it was time to go on hiatus until next season, I knew I didn't want to go back but I wasn't sure what I wanted to do yet. I decided to take a trip to Berlin and met up with some old high school friends. They let me stay with them while they were working on this online course that would allow them to make career changes as well.

This was the moment I was introduced to a job called UX Design. I had heard of that term a few times, but when they interviewed me for their new app ideas, and showed me how they were planning on designing their websites, I found many similarities of what I had previously been doing in television could actually apply to UX Research, a job where I get to ask people questions all day? And hear about their experiences? This job would allow me to have a healthy work/life balance? And be compensated for a livable wage?? Sign me up!

I have spoken to quite a few UX Researchers over the years, and we've agreed that we each had our own 'Aha!' moment when we found out about UX Research and couldn't believe we hadn't heard of a job that fit so perfectly for us. My own 'Aha!' moment was when I had no job, and was irresponsibly spending my small wages traveling to Europe to see my friends.

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If you liked this story, I will continue to post about my experience of learning about UX Research, and discuss my own CareerFoundry UX Immersion experience each week, and if you want to sign up for my newsletter, you'll be notified when I post new blogs.

Thank you for reading!

Elizabeth Turnell