The UX Unicorn

Whenever I think about UX, I think about the designing "Windows Screens" work I did at Quintrex. I remember I did not embrace the work when first presented to me. I thought it was work I wouldn't be good at and that any hours I spent doing that work meant less hours in the work week for the technical writing work I felt like I needed to get done. Vividly, I remember calculating how many hours were in my backlog of technical writing work. In order to make my changes to the documentation prior to the deadline, it would take a miracle. Yet, somehow, I got the work done. I feel good about how I was actually able to balance the two full-time jobs. Sometimes, it was stressful, but overall, I think I was successful. That's why when I read this article - Complementing Your UX Skillset with Business Analysis - it was this quote that resonated within me:

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A UX unicorn is someone who can deliver broadly on the UX skillset, plus something else that most would consider rare—though perhaps not mythical, as the term unicorn might imply!

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I felt like a unicorn because I was relying upon my technical writing skills in order to deliver UX, if that makes sense. I have no formal training in UX so every thing I learned, I learned from listening and researching and experimenting. I also relied heavily upon BSS, my friend.

And, because it's related, remember how happy I was on Monday about a potential moonlighting gig? No? Well here's a refresher:

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I spoke with the recruiter and he told me that the client changed their mind about going forward, deciding to try out someone internally. While I'm disappointed, I also have the faith in God to realize that it wasn't His plan for me to do that work. It was my plan and all things are done according to His plan. Getting the courtesy call from the recruiter was a reminder of that truth in my life.