Hi everyone!
I’ve asked this on other forums already but I’m always looking for opinions so any advice, insights, or experiences are greatly appreciated thank you!
So a bit of background…I’m a recent graduate in Industrial Design with pretty much no experience in UI/UX design (took one class and have maybe one and a half projects in my portfolio). I do have about 2 years of cumulative experience in Industrial Design in a workplace setting (with some mass market product out). I was recently offered a job in UI/UX design and the job looks promising (decent work, pay, convenience, etc), but part of me is afraid of being pigeon holed this early in my career. I don’t have much experience with the field so I’m not sure yet if it’s what I want to do, but I do have an interest.
On the one hand, without any experience at all, I think this is a good chance to learn of the field and then decide if it’s something I want to pursue further. I know UI/UX is a hot and in demand area so I’m interested in learning about it further. On the other hand, I’m afraid that since UI/UX design is pretty much mostly digital that it’ll reflect poorly on me later on if I decide to transition back into ID (since I’ll be rusty on professional skills relating to things like manufacturing and prototyping and whatnot). I don’t mind the mostly digital nature of the work but I feel I won’t get a proper handle of whether I like or dislike it without doing it?
I guess my questions would be as follow (and feel free to interject opinions not related to these questions):
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How easy is it to transition between these disciplines? Is ID to UI/UX easier than the reverse (knowing that i have formal training and some work experience in ID, but almost none in UI/UX).
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Is there anything I should be aware about by making this transition? If I go down the UI/UX rabbit hole, will I never come out? Let’s say I decide to switch back within a year or two…will that be possible at all assuming the ID side of my portfolio will at best grow with personal or side projects as opposed to professional ones?
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Any experience from people who have done (or know people who have) this change (in either direction) is welcome! I’d be interested I guess in how at an early stage in my career, maybe going this route is bad (but I don’t yet have other options and I’m afraid to pass up on an opportunity).
Thank you everyone in advance for your replies!