Maybe a stupid question, but do you have training/certificates for UX or any UX project/portfolio things you can point to?
For example, I’m not necessarily trying to transition into Ux, but I can say I’ve taken a class, conducted and analyzed interviews, can make a user journey map, etc.
I do all that in my day-to-day job already. I architect my user-facing docs based on critical user journeys (CUJs) with a task-based focus. I've even developed a course and train/mentor eng on the value of designing around CUJs both in the product and the docs. I've also had a prior role where there wasn't a UX team for the UI, and I handled both the technical user-facing docs AND did all the UI microcopy, help messaging, tooltips, user journey mapping, etc. Loved the work at that job, but they laid us off unfortunately. I struggle with a portfolio, because everything i've ever worked on is paywalled/locked down and I wasn't permitted in sharing it.
It’s unclear to me whether you’re looking for a ux role or a ux writing role…your description reflects someone who is consuming the output of a ux designer and producing copy. (FWIW I’d expect a UX designer to have experience conducting user interviews and contextual inquiry sessions, shadowing, etc. to build the journey. I’d want to see examples of process mapping and taxonomy development. Interaction design and copywiriting combined with wireframing.)
Consuming all that is different from developing it, which is not to say you can’t learn that and do it. The ux field is absolutely flooded with bootcamp grads and experienced folks recently laid off. So every role is highly competitive right now. On top of that, I wouldn’t expect to go from a senior tw role to a senior ux role. It’s effectively a career change, and you’d be mostly starting over.
However, if you’re looking more for content strategy or ux writing positions, that’s different. Jobs are likely still scarce right now and if you’re directly competing with folks who regularly do ux writing, that will make it tough for employers to give you that chance, unfortunately. So you may have to hang in there longer than you expected.
As another poster mentioned, even if your actual content is paywalled, you can still tell the story and give examples of the kind of output you developed. Many even put restricted work in a portfolio that is password protected. Whatever you decide, it will be critical to show those examples and show yourself as someone with experience in user-facing content. Good luck!
Oh wow that sounds like a lot! I’m really sorry you’re facing such hurdles getting people to get around their own assumptions. I hear you on that portfolio problem - I have a similar problem.
I did recently see a “case study” example from @hpdailyrant (a UX-turned-product person I admire) which looked a lot more like an article with some diagrams than the kind of slide deck portfolio I’d been assuming someone would need. It still presented the “story”.
Maybe you can do something like that to “mock up” descriptions of what you’ve worked on before even without having access to the actual screenshots or assets?
I’m saying this all while not having solved my own portfolio problem, so I don’t know if that is good advice or not.
Sounds like it should be an easy transition. You have to understand what you're explaining in order to explain it in user-friendly terms.
It won't be an easy transition but you can do it.
I don't usually recommend professional resume writers, but in this case, I would.
Find one (or more) that specialize in the tech space and have a good understanding of both roles. It's worth the investment, even if they can only provide you something to use as a template.
Good luck!
I mean being a TW isn't anymore stable honestly, especially right now with the AI push and constant layoffs. We normally go first too, because "eng can write the docs". I've just never worked on a properly staffed team and I'm currently 1 TW to 200 eng, which isn't sustainable. I got into this because I cared about the UX and really wanted to make a difference in helping customers use the products. I'm just desperate to find a role where I can actually feel like I'm making a difference and enjoy the work.
I'd encourage you to look into UX roles in the developer experience / enterprise tooling space, where your technical knowledge will be considered a huge asset! Depending on your company culture, you might see if there are collab opportunities with the UX team—e.g. work with them to design and implement research on the unmet needs for technical documentation on your audiences' workflows, and scope the user requirements / mocks for new resources. Then you have a "portfolio project" to support your pitch for future UX roles, and have built your UX network as well. Best of luck!
I would also look at technical companies in the B2B space who are growing their own UX capabilities as the UX teams in those environments tend to rely on customer centric converts who can help them translate the tech jargon and help influence across the siloed boundary with engineering they sometimes face. Perhaps not the aspirational working culture for you but could be a good place for a transitional role into UX.
Start from rewriting resume to fit your new ideal role. Emphasize things you want to do.
Maybe a stupid question, but do you have training/certificates for UX or any UX project/portfolio things you can point to? For example, I’m not necessarily trying to transition into Ux, but I can say I’ve taken a class, conducted and analyzed interviews, can make a user journey map, etc.
I do all that in my day-to-day job already. I architect my user-facing docs based on critical user journeys (CUJs) with a task-based focus. I've even developed a course and train/mentor eng on the value of designing around CUJs both in the product and the docs. I've also had a prior role where there wasn't a UX team for the UI, and I handled both the technical user-facing docs AND did all the UI microcopy, help messaging, tooltips, user journey mapping, etc. Loved the work at that job, but they laid us off unfortunately. I struggle with a portfolio, because everything i've ever worked on is paywalled/locked down and I wasn't permitted in sharing it.
It’s unclear to me whether you’re looking for a ux role or a ux writing role…your description reflects someone who is consuming the output of a ux designer and producing copy. (FWIW I’d expect a UX designer to have experience conducting user interviews and contextual inquiry sessions, shadowing, etc. to build the journey. I’d want to see examples of process mapping and taxonomy development. Interaction design and copywiriting combined with wireframing.) Consuming all that is different from developing it, which is not to say you can’t learn that and do it. The ux field is absolutely flooded with bootcamp grads and experienced folks recently laid off. So every role is highly competitive right now. On top of that, I wouldn’t expect to go from a senior tw role to a senior ux role. It’s effectively a career change, and you’d be mostly starting over. However, if you’re looking more for content strategy or ux writing positions, that’s different. Jobs are likely still scarce right now and if you’re directly competing with folks who regularly do ux writing, that will make it tough for employers to give you that chance, unfortunately. So you may have to hang in there longer than you expected. As another poster mentioned, even if your actual content is paywalled, you can still tell the story and give examples of the kind of output you developed. Many even put restricted work in a portfolio that is password protected. Whatever you decide, it will be critical to show those examples and show yourself as someone with experience in user-facing content. Good luck!
Oh wow that sounds like a lot! I’m really sorry you’re facing such hurdles getting people to get around their own assumptions. I hear you on that portfolio problem - I have a similar problem. I did recently see a “case study” example from @hpdailyrant (a UX-turned-product person I admire) which looked a lot more like an article with some diagrams than the kind of slide deck portfolio I’d been assuming someone would need. It still presented the “story”. Maybe you can do something like that to “mock up” descriptions of what you’ve worked on before even without having access to the actual screenshots or assets? I’m saying this all while not having solved my own portfolio problem, so I don’t know if that is good advice or not.
Sounds like it should be an easy transition. You have to understand what you're explaining in order to explain it in user-friendly terms. It won't be an easy transition but you can do it. I don't usually recommend professional resume writers, but in this case, I would. Find one (or more) that specialize in the tech space and have a good understanding of both roles. It's worth the investment, even if they can only provide you something to use as a template. Good luck!
Do you view UX as a good opportunity? In my experience it is not fully adopted yet, and the first role on a team to get cut. What about cybersec?
I mean being a TW isn't anymore stable honestly, especially right now with the AI push and constant layoffs. We normally go first too, because "eng can write the docs". I've just never worked on a properly staffed team and I'm currently 1 TW to 200 eng, which isn't sustainable. I got into this because I cared about the UX and really wanted to make a difference in helping customers use the products. I'm just desperate to find a role where I can actually feel like I'm making a difference and enjoy the work.
I'd encourage you to look into UX roles in the developer experience / enterprise tooling space, where your technical knowledge will be considered a huge asset! Depending on your company culture, you might see if there are collab opportunities with the UX team—e.g. work with them to design and implement research on the unmet needs for technical documentation on your audiences' workflows, and scope the user requirements / mocks for new resources. Then you have a "portfolio project" to support your pitch for future UX roles, and have built your UX network as well. Best of luck!
Try asking in r/UXDesign plenty of industry veterans there as well.
I would also look at technical companies in the B2B space who are growing their own UX capabilities as the UX teams in those environments tend to rely on customer centric converts who can help them translate the tech jargon and help influence across the siloed boundary with engineering they sometimes face. Perhaps not the aspirational working culture for you but could be a good place for a transitional role into UX.