Earlier in my career, when asked in interviews “how did you get into UX?” I answer that it was a matter of genetics.

“I went to a liberal arts college. Meanwhile my mother is an accountant, my dad is an electrical engineer, and my sister is literally a rocket scientist*. So I have it in me both the left- and right- sided brain. I am attuned both to the analytical and the creative, which, I think, is a nice description of UX.”

* Technically she interned at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in college and then went on to design planes for the military; “rocket scientist” was maybe an exaggeration for emphasis.

Whether that was a good interview answer or not, it did get at something I feel to be true. Not the genetics, part, but the desire to find work that allowed me to exercise both my creative side and a more analytical, problem solving side.

In college my major was creative writing (with a double minor in philosophy and political science). I wanted to be a writer, a creative endeavor. I did not ultimately pursue that career. I got a job nominally in tech. More accurately it was with a publisher of numerous tech-focused magazines (they were still a thing back then) where we were responsible for digitizing the magazine content and posting them online. I enjoyed the people I worked with and thought I made a decent amount of money out of school (I did not). However the work was not interesting or challenging (I did meet the woman I would marry at this job, but that’s a story for another time).

A year later I applied to grad school and got accepted into a masters program for creative writing. I moved to Philadelphia and threw myself into the program. And was miserable.

The work was hard and the writing solitary. I made friends, and I was poor. I missed the daily grind of an office job, working collectively on a project, as a team. I knew I didn’t want to devote my life to the grind of becoming a professional writer. I left the program after one semester.

I got a job in marketing. I did not like writing jingles and ad copy for local businesses. I moved to Chicago and got a job in sales. I enjoyed the high of completing a big sale and the compensation it brought. I hated the lows when I couldn’t sell anything. I did not enjoy the grind of calls and rejection and pushing.

I was adrift.

I got an interview with a small digital agency for a project manager role. My current role was as an account manager. How different could the role be?

I didn’t get the job.

And then a week later the hiring manager (who also happened to be the owner) reached out and asked me to come back into the office. For two hours he and one of his employees ran me through various scenarios looking at web pages and thinking through how to solve various user flow challenges and how to structure the information to be usable for visitors.

At the end of the session the owner asked if I would like to become an information architect. That was my introduction and entry into UX.

I loved my new role. It required analytical skills — these were often complex problems with little direction on how to solve them. No two projects were the same. And the job required creativity. Every wireframe and site design I created was unique and tailored to the client.

I worked on a touch screen-based weather application for commercial maritime ships. I traveled the country conducting user interviews for a fleet management company. I worked on a new heads up display (HUD) to be used by air force pilots.

That agency didn’t last long. It closed its doors about a year and a half after I joined. I found a role with a bigger agency. My compensation grew. I started designing ecommerce platforms for medium and enterprise businesses.

My work was hard, challenging, and interesting. I would leave that agency and join another. And another. I would move inhouse (so to speak), building and leading product design teams at companies of all shape and size.

I’ve been working in UX and product design for 20 years and I don’t want to do anything else.

The concept of ikigai

Ikigai is a Japanese concept that is purported to be the secret to achieving a long and happy life. The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as “a motivating force; something or someone that gives a person a sense of purpose or a reason for living.”

In a professional sense, it can help one find a career they will enjoy and prosper in. One must consider four questions:

  • What do you love?

  • What does the world need?

  • What can you be paid for?

  • What are you good at?

Where these four questions overlap is your ikigai.

The above diagram was originally created by Marc Winn to illustrate the concept of ikigai. It was included in the book Ikigai, by Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles.

I only came across the concept of ikigai recently, and have not had the chance to read the book (though it’s on my TBR list). But learning about it was the first thing that helped me make sense of my career path.

UX requires you to solve complex problems with a blend of analytical thought and creative thinking. This is what I love most about my career. I never accept “this is the way things have been done” as an answer; pushing always to improve or refine things. This is UX.

The world needs UX. The digital revolution over the past 20 years has created a great demand for UX and product design as more and more of our lives move online. Crafting experiences that have never existed is critical.

UX pays good money. I’ve made a good living working in this field. I have no complaints and have achieved a level of financial success I had never imagined for myself.

I might be good at UX. I’ve maintained a 20 year career in it. I’ve worked on many different types of projects and have generally delivered results. I’ve had jobs I’ve liked and jobs I haven’t, but the career path — UX and product design — is something I’ve never wanted to diverge from.

Find your professional ikigai

Looking back at my professional journey and the stops along the way, I realize I wasn’t adrift — I was searching for my ikigai. Each role taught me something about what I valued in work: creativity without isolation, analytical challenges with human connection, meaningful problems with unique solutions.

Twenty years later, I still wake up excited about the problems I get to solve. That’s how I know I’ve found my professional ikigai in UX. The field continues to evolve, ensuring there are always new challenges to tackle and skills to master.

If you’re still searching for your professional ikigai, consider the four questions above. Pay attention to what energizes you and what drains you in each role. No matter how winding your path might be, when you find that sweet spot where passion, mission, profession, and vocation intersect, you’ll know it.