83. Design Your UX Career on Your Terms with Michelle Pakron

Can you truly craft a rewarding UX career without prioritizing yourself?

In this episode, I’m joined by Michelle Pakron, a seasoned UX professional with a background in graphic design and an MBA. Michelle has done a lot in her career, from teaching herself web design to becoming the head of UX at ChaiOne, a digital consultancy. She also teaches courses in human-centered interaction design at Harrisburg University.

We talk about the confusing UX job market, where job titles and roles can be very different from one company to another. Michelle explains that instead of getting stuck on these differences, you should focus on shaping your career to fit your goals and interests. She shares how she combined formal education with a lot of self-teaching, showing that there is no single way to succeed in UX.

In our engaging conversation, Michelle emphasizes the importance of self-direction in navigating the ever-changing UX landscape. She encourages designers, regardless of their career stage, to take ownership of their professional growth and actively shape their roles. Michelle shares her experience of constantly seeking new challenges, embracing responsibility, and fostering collaborative relationships with developers and product managers.

Topics:
• 08:54 – How do teachers prepare students for the real world
• 13:08 – Try different roles before you niche down.
• 17:54 – Starting your career as the sole designer
• 22:24 – How does a junior designer know who to trust?
• 26:40 – Have the audacity to ask for what you want
• 29:23 – UX is a leadership role
• 33:04 – Have a great relationship with your engineering and product partners
• 45:48 – You have more power to shape your career than you might think

Helpful Links:
• Connect with Michelle on LinkedIn

Michelle Pakron
Head of UX DesignHead of UX Design @ ChaiOne

About Michelle

Michelle is a self-described ‘elder of the internet” who has been designing since the late 90s. She studied psychology and graphic design at the University of New Orleans and quickly moved into digital design after taking a course that featured Macromedia Director. From there, she taught herself interactive design and then web design and HTML/CSS. Years and years of leveling up, learning new skills, and growing in the industry commenced. She has worked in many industries including death care, egov, finance, healthcare, and software. A few years ago, for kicks and giggles, she went to grad school and got an MBA. Currently, Michelle is the Head of UX Design at ChaiOne, an experience-led digital consultancy headquartered in Houston that specializes in industrial and enterprise clients. Michelle is also part of the corporate faculty at Harrisburg University where she develops and teaches multiple courses in the Human Centered Interaction Design master’s program. On top of all this, Michelle is an artist, photographer, jewelry maker, and collector of Lego minifigs. She also has too many Grogus… Dont’ judge!

Connect with Michelle on LinkedIn

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