From Psychology to UX Management: Cary's Path and Career Tips

Welcome to our UX Professional Spotlight series, where we explore the journeys and insights of professionals in User Experience Design. Today, we're featuring Cary, a UX Manager who shares valuable advice for professionals at various stages of their UX careers.

From Psychology to Pixels

Cary's route into UX was refreshingly direct. "I studied psychology at the University of Waterloo, and one of my professors was researching eye-tracking movements, which I found really interesting. That was the first time I learned about UX as a profession."

The rest was a bit of luck and openness. "When I graduated, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do as a career, I applied to various jobs across Canada and happened to land a UX job, which I liked."

Why UX Keeps Her Interested

What holds her attention is the breadth of the work. "It's a nice mix of different kinds of disciplines and different types of skills," she says. The visual side matters to her, and it echoes her life outside work. "I enjoy the aesthetic side of UX. My other hobbies are also quite visual, like photography, painting and digital art."

Management added a new layer. "It brings a different dimension to UX, focusing more on communication, stakeholder management, and people. This may tie in somewhat with my psychology background." Working alongside researchers and data rounds it out. "It's a combination of many different elements, so the job is never boring."

Moving Into Management

The move from individual contributor to manager reshaped her days. "The experience is quite different from being an IC designer. Most of my time is now dedicated to meetings and strategic decision-making."

She has grown to enjoy that altitude. "I enjoy the operational-level challenges that come with this role. Managing designers is rewarding because I get to assist them, and build the kind of team culture I want."

The Manager's Toolkit

Cary has watched the industry consolidate. "The whole industry has converted from Sketch to Figma in the last three to five years." She works across the usual project and document tools, but keeps them in perspective. Atlassian, Miro, and FigJam are fine, "but nothing beats pen and paper at the end of the day."

Where AI earns its place is in cutting manual work. "The most useful AI tool I use at work is FigJam. They introduced a feature that can summarize a lot of sticky notes at once, which is really helpful since I host workshops quite often." The math is compelling: a workshop can generate a hundred sticky notes she would otherwise type up and cluster by hand.

Dovetail plays the same role for research. "I just upload the audio from user interviews, and it transcribes everything. Then I can highlight key points in the transcription, and it helps me find patterns across multiple interviews."

Staying Informed

Her reading habits lean local and general. "One newsletter I have followed since moving to Berlin is from this guy who releases one every Monday about tech happenings in Berlin. It's called Handpicked Berlin. It's really popular and focuses on tech in general, not just UX."

There is a gap she wishes someone would fill. "I'd really like to follow a more reliable, leadership-level UX source, something like a UX newspaper with high-quality insights. I feel like the industry needs something tailored for seniors, managers, and C-level or VP-level professionals."

She also makes time for Figma's conference. "The most valuable part was hearing directly from Figma about what was coming up next. It gives you insights into new features straight from the source, which helps keep you ahead of the curve."

Advice for Junior Designers

Cary has mentored many people trying to land a first UX role, including career transitioners from marketing or graphic design. She is honest that the market is tough. "It's hard for juniors to find a job because the market is saturated."

Her practical move is to create evidence before you have a title.

"Look for opportunities to improve the software they're already using. Start using tools like Figma, draft ideas on how to enhance the software, and then discuss these ideas with the developers who maintain the system."

The payoff is that you arrive already able to prove it. "It becomes easier to find a full-time UX job because they've already demonstrated the ability to work with developers, stakeholders, and within a business context."

Advice for Mid-Level Designers

For designers a few years in, the bottleneck usually is not craft. "It's not their hard skills that need work. Their Figma skills are solid, and they can create beautiful designs. Instead, it's more about soft skills, like communication."

Presentation is the skill she flags most. "How do you present your ideas in a way that gets different levels of stakeholders on board? How do you read the room when you're in a meeting with executives?"

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We hope you found Cary's interview insightful. Her experiences in the field provide practical insights for UX professionals at every level. Want more conversations like this? Join our newsletter for new interviews and the latest UX tools in your inbox.