This week, Edward Chechique joins me to discuss rethinking design careers, ditching outdated career advice, and learning how to survive in a chaotic job market. We talk layoffs, AI, content creation, side hustles, and redefining what it means to be a UX pro today.

What if your job title doesn't define your career? What if your "career" wasn’t the point at all?

I used to think being a great designer was enough.

Then I got laid off.

Then it happened again.

🤯

I started to wonder if the career “ladder” everyone talked about when I was younger exists anymore.

But first, check out this week's sponsor:

One thing is certain: my career doesn’t look like my parents’ careers.

I’m pretty sure yours doesn’t either.

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Edward Chechique has been through it too, and on this week’s episode of Beyond UX Design, we talk about the real UX career advice no one gives you:

⇢ Why chasing design jobs isn’t a career plan
⇢ The myth of full-time job “security”
⇢ Why passion alone doesn’t pay the bills
⇢ How to build income streams that actually stick
⇢ And how to treat your career like a startup that needs funding

If you’re a mid-level designer tired of waiting for someone to pick you, I hope this episode will help you pick yourself.

Listen wherever you get your podcast fix.

Not Your Parents’ Career: Wh... Apr 17 · Beyond UX Design 58:50   ​

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1️⃣ Stop seeing your career as linear and start treating it like a business: As Edward puts it, you’re constantly seeking funding—whether that’s a paycheck, a freelance gig, or a course you’re selling. You are the product. Treat your skills, reputation, and income like a business you’re responsible for growing.

2️⃣ Diversify your income like you’d diversify your investments: We often rely on a single full-time job for 100% of our income, and when that disappears, the stress hits immediately. Work to spread your income across multiple streams. This could be freelance work, content creation, or even something totally unrelated to design. Build a cushion so you're ready when (not if) layoffs hit.

3️⃣ Redefine “career” as how you make money—not who you are: Let go of the identity crisis that happens when you’re not working in a traditional design role. Your career isn’t your calling; it’s just how you pay the bills. That mental shift frees you up to explore new paths without guilt, shame, or feeling like a failure for doing something outside of design.

4️⃣ Use the skills you already have, but repurpose them: You don’t have to start from scratch to pivot. The UX research, storytelling, and design thinking you’ve already mastered can translate into writing, teaching, speaking, product development, and more. The trick is learning to reframe what you already know into something others will pay you for.

5️⃣ Pivot before you need to: The best time to rethink your career isn’t after a layoff—it’s before. Don’t wait until you’re desperate to start experimenting. Build something small now. Start a side project. Learn a new tool. That momentum will pay off when things change. And they always change.

Listen to episode 121 now!

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