from cubicle to cloud 9: architecting career happiness

F R O M C U B I C L E T O C L O U D 9 :A R C H I T E C T I N G U X C A R E E R H A P P I N E S S

M A T T H E W M A G A I N @ M A T T Y M C G

I gave this talk on my birthday, which is why I had more license than usual to talk about myself!

I visualise information—animated videos, graphic recording, visual facilitation. I also illustrated a kid’s

book. UX helped me find this common thread.

C O D E M O N K E Y

A R T I S T I C I N S T R U C T O R

W O R D N E R D

P I X E L P U S H E R

U X U N I C O R N

V I VA C I O U S V I S U A L I S E R

I drew a lot as a kid—comics, caricatures. If I wasn’t on the computer, I was drawing.

An illustrated essay about the ANZACs. Clearly I failed to grasp the horror of war at 8 years old!

Even at university when I was studying Maths and Physics, I would use type, colour and containers to

make my notes more readable and visual.

C O D E M O N K E Y

I worked as a software developer for a few years. I was never really passionate about code though, and ran away to teach English in Japan, and think about things.

A R T I S T I C I N S T R U C T O R

Working as a school teacher meant I began drawing again, creating board games and worksheets for my students. I discovered the web as a medium where I could be both creative and technical.

W O R D N E R D

When I came back to Australia I got a job editing computer books. I got to combine my love of language and teaching with my technical skills. It was fun!

P I X E L P U S H E R

I moved from an editing role to graphic design and web design roles, and eventually lead the design team at SitePoint. But my process sucked—I had no experience in validating or communicating my designs.

U X U N I C O R N

A mentor spelled out for me what he thought was “best practice” and I applied some of these techniques at work. What do you know, they worked! I became passionate about UX design and started uxmastery.com with a friend as a way of sharing what I’d learned with others.

V I VA C I O U S V I S U A L I S E R

Part of my journey to improve as a UX designer included helping the organisations I worked with improve their visual literacy. This lead to me creating whiteboard animations, and performing graphic facilitation at conferences and workshops.

B I R T H D AY B O Y

This field we call “UX” let me explore all of these fields without making too many drastic changes to my career. Working as a UX professional gives you plenty of room

to move around, so you’re never stuck in a rut.

1 0 T I P S F O R A R C H I T E C T I N G U X C A R E E R H A P P I N E S S

1 . L O V E T H E W O R K Y O U D O . ( O R Q U I T. )

C H E C K O U T Z E N P E N C I L S . C O M

2 . K N O W Y O U R S H I T

It’s hard to great work if you’re still getting your head around the basics. Doing great work is very satisfying and makes us happy!

3 . B E L O YA L ( B U T N O T T O O L O YA L )

Loyalty is a good thing, but don’t forget to look out for yourself. If the time comes that you don’t believe in the vision of your employer anymore, do something about it.

4 . E M B R A C E F E A R

Someone once told me that fear was an indicator that something big was about to happen. I’m a big believer in this.

5 . F I N D A M E N T O R M E N T O R S

The moments that I took big steps (e.g. my first public speaking gig, leaving my job to go freelance) were a direct result of my mentor challenging me to put myself out of my comfort zone.

6 . N E T W O R K L I K E A M O - F O

Meetups, conferences, coffee chats … you never know what opportunities might come along if you don’t get out there and meet people.

7 . A S K F O R F O R G I V E N E S S , N O T P E R M I S S I O N

If you believe that running some usability tests or performing user research is the right thing to do, do it, and face the consequences rather than waiting for permission that may never be forthcoming.

8 . O W N Y O U R C H A N N E L

Personal branding is a necessity in this day and age. It can be easy to feel like you need to “be everywhere”. It’s better to pick one channel (e.g. Twitter, YouTube?) and do it well.

9 . B E A C O N D U I T

Connecting others is a valuable skill that people pay lots of money for (it’s called recruiting). If you can bring people you know together, it will come back to you in spades.

1 0 . TA K E A C T I O N

There are lots of good books about taking control of your career, or your life. But reading them amounts to nothing if you don’t take action.

Two days before I gave this talk, I received news that a friend’s young son had passed away in tragic circumstances. This knocked the wind out of me, and made me question this list of tips I’d put together.

I realised that more important than “finding my passion” or “being happy” was family. Ultimately, every decision I’ve made has been for them. I’m very fortunate that the flexible hours I work means I’m able to be there for my daughters.

M AT T H E W M A G A I N @ M AT T Y M C G

U X M A S T E R Y. C O M