Surviving UX

Ever wondered what plumbing is like at theme parks? Does it seem weird when a colleague is working from bed? What do you think you'd differently when next years performance review season rolls around? And will you actually do it?

Jessamyn and Meg catch up on surviving as springtime emerges, even though those pesky germs haven't gotten the memo.

Do competitive designers get ahead? What does healthy competition look like? Have you ever thrown anyone under the bus? Meg and Jessamyn talk to Shubha Gargava, senior user experience designer for artificial intelligence and machine learning at AWS.

What does it feel like to wake up to a layoff notice? Why are recruiters sensitive to their interview count? Should you keep your job hunt on simmer or just wait for the phone to ring? Jessamyn and Meg talk to Adam Starr, relationship-first technologist and people person.

Scared to talk to managers and HR about unexpected life events? What kind of support do employees need during a major medical crisis? And what can you do for a colleague taking leave? Check out our episode on the "Working with Cancer" pledge and navigating life's big and little reasons to press pause.

Will you miss pushing pixels if you become a UX manager? Is anyone reading your Figma comments? Can you claim the business's success as your own after designing a feature? Jessamyn and Meg chat with Laura Martin, Senior UX Manager at Amazon.

Have you been affected by recent layoffs? How do you share your layoff story in social media? Meg and Jessamyn talk about the broken fantasy of tech careers.

Is it possible to minimize UX drudge work? Can you let go and shake up your process? And just how many of your houseplants should you expect will die? Jessamyn and Meg wade through UXPA (UX Professional Association) conference reviewer feedback and wrap up Surviving UX Season 2!

Anything worse than saying good-bye over zoom? Where do you go at work to talk about parental leave? T-shirt or notebook? Jessamyn and Meg invite guest Krishna Vadrevu, fellow UX Designer, to chat about the best swag, switching jobs in the pandemic, and advice for the non-birth parent.

Just how many UX internships do you need to apply to, anyway? What will your parents think about your UX career? What type of work will you end up doing at an internship? Jessamyn and Meg talk to Adaeze Ezekwerre, Drexel University HCI student and summer intern at AWS.

Where do you find 1% users? Who are the unsung heroes of the UX world? Are the days of onsite interviews over? Jessamyn and Meg talk to Brian Ashbaugh, UX leader and user research director with 20 years in the biz.