The need for freedom, freedom from location, and tourism-dependent jobs as well as a love for media, design, technology, and business landscapes was the driving force that led me to enroll in Web Design for Everybody: Basics of Web Development & Coding Specialization course by Michigan University on Coursera and later on to Google UX Design course, also on the Coursera platform.
What came before was a MA in Communications and years of freelancing as a content writer, booking manager, and WordPress website designer where I designed websites through premade templates and their customization. I came to a point where I wanted to step up my game and learn how to code. I wanted to do so primarily because of the good money coding jobs paid and job security that would ultimately give me more freedom to travel, buy things I want, and make investments.
For a long time, I was afraid of the thought of actually having to sit down and dive into a never-ending process of learning to code. My thought was that perhaps it was too late to start learning something so complex. I was lucky enough to have friends who worked as senior software developers and boosted my morale, saying it’s possible and I shouldn’t be afraid. But it will take time. They helped me find the best available introductory course to Web development course on Coursera by Michigan University.
I completed the Introduction to HTML5 in a week by approximately setting aside 2,5 hours per day for studying and completing assignments.
More than 10 years ago I took some HTML and CSS online classes on Codecademy. Together with previously designing and customizing WordPress premade websites I wasn’t completely clueless about HTML. Upon receiving a certificate confirming I have passed the Introduction to HTML5, Google’s UX design course showed up on my feed. I went to google what a UX designer does and after checking what the course was all about I realized UX design fits my personality and interests more than coding alone. And so I wrote down the plan outlining my road to financial and location freedom:
1. Finish Web Design for Everybody: Basics of Web Development & Coding Specialization course by Michigan University on Coursera
- Introduction to HTML5
- Introduction to CSS3
- Advanced Styling with Responsive Design
- Interactivity with JavaScript
Simultaneously, while studying web development basics, I plan to get familiar with UX design key principles, UX design methods, and what a UX design can do for a business before I actually enroll in a UX design course.
2. Enroll in Google UX design course on Coursera
Upon completing Web Design for Everybody, I plan to enroll in the Google UX design course on Coursera. I believe it would be too much to take these two courses at the same time. In the meantime, I will document my journey and what it takes to become a UX designer.
Wish me good luck and be free to share any tips or story how you became a UX designer.