9
The road
ahead
Becoming a designer is a long but exciting journey. Now that you have a better understanding of our discipline, it’s time to start planning the next steps towards shaping your design career.
Oh, the things you’ll create.
![Illustration of a unicorn](https://i-p.rmcdn.net/5ecbe27f82f5b3005df02f46/1937030/upload-84d57509-bf59-4e9e-b0a3-79c36d98514d.jpg?w=1006&e=webp)
Goal
Get clear on the next steps for starting your design career.
Illustrations by Michela Picchi
We’re hopeful that at this point, you have a good understanding of what it takes to create digital products and services that are truly designed for humans. From knowing your purpose as a designer, to understanding the importance of bringing users into your process, to learning about the design methods you can use to create experiences that are both useful and delightful.
But there’s still a lot of work ahead of you.
Learning design is an ongoing process. If you ever feel like you’re done learning, it’s because you still don’t know what you don’t know. As a designer, it’s important you maintain a curious mind and continue to absorb knowledge from the people around you. Question everything you know to be true and invite other perspectives into the conversation. That’s how you grow.
There are so many ways to learn more. Continue to expand your references and sources. Connect with other designers, join online communities, participate in events, find a mentor, and read more in-depth articles and books.
There’s an exciting journey ahead of you, and we can’t wait to see what you’ll create next.
Next steps
Set new goals
1. Think back to when you defined what design is to you, and your dream job. How has it changed?
2. What you have been learning about design can be applied in many ways, beyond a traditional design job. Reflect on how you want to apply what you learned.
3. Define your career goals. What type of projects do you see yourself working on? What kind of design role might help you achieve that?
Build your community
1. Find people around you that are also learning, working in design, or working in a related field. Team up with them and find ways to support each other on your journeys.
2. Join Slack and LinkedIn groups to meet people, ask questions, and practice some networking skills.
3. Find online meetups and conferences to join.
Find a mentor
1. Create a high-level outline of what you want to ask and learn from a design mentor.
2. Reach out to designers you admire (like someone you found in Chapter 2).
3. People might be busy or take a while to respond, so it's good to reach out to a few people. To make the most of the opportunity, after finding a mentor, focus on what you can learn from them before contacting others.
Keep learning
1. Reflect on all you learned in the past classes. What topics are you curious to learn more about? What are the ones you struggle with the most?
2. This class was just the beginning of your journey. Decide how you want to keep learning! There’s plenty of content out there for you to take in.
3. Before signing up for a specific course or program, find people who have gone through it before and ask how their experiences were.
Keep practicing
1. Design is thinking and making. Both require practice. Don't rush to find a job in design or to publish your portfolio, focus first on learning, and finding your voice in design.
2. Go beyond what you’ve done so far. Find more exercises, examples, and practices beyond the ones listed here.
![Abstract shapes](https://i-p.rmcdn.net/5ecbe27f82f5b3005df02f46/1937030/upload-512d07df-8027-4536-aa2f-c2a3da4f3759.png?w=2008&e=webp&nll=true)