Surviving UX

What's it like to work at a big company with your spouse? What's it like to work in a small space, also with your spouse? And what's it like to be hitched to a UX professional? Surviving UX tackles love and marriage with two special guests.  

Do fur babies get more perks at work than children? What's it like to dip back and forth between military service and big tech? Why is Product put in charge of UX teams and not the other way around? Join us and special guest, UX leader Laurie Lynch, as we sort out which self is the right self to bring to work.  

Where can you have the most public of romance/work breakups? What is especially disgusting about cryptocurrency? And how can you archive the toxic work experiences you just want to forget? Join Jessamyn and Meg for their hot investment tips and the trials of tech. 

Can you design away a one-thousand-page manual? Does saying yes to UX mean letting go of other passions? Meg and Jessamyn talk to Bahar Espiritu, creative director of Essence of Hockey.

Are you scared to go to reunions? How great would it be to bring your work bestie along to your next gig? What fun things could you learn if you take a virtual tour of your colleague's home? Senior Product Designer Brianna Koch joins Jessamyn and Meg for a chat.  

Have you ever dreamed of hanging out your consulting shingle? Can you signal that you're open to new jobs without risking your current one? Amber Braden and Jill Christ join the podcast to share how they founded GLOW Insights, a user research consultancy.

How attractive are 4 day work weeks? Can one UX individual actually get more done in less time? When's the last time you used a new product or service where it felt like they really talked to users? 

What are you willing to do to put food on the table? Do you bother applying to jobs where 300 people have already applied? How do you keep swimming without anything to hold on to? We welcome freelance UX designer and researcher Tim Duffield.

Back in the office? Starting over yet again? Climb aboard this UX career train and join Jessamyn and Meg to talk LinkedIn desperation, following dreams, and the glamorous return of commuting.  

Do you miss cubicle walls? What do you do with a piece of hot gossip? Why don't senior designers share their secrets? Meg and Jessamyn chat with designer Jo Carroll. 

Are UX card decks back, or just more divine? Does anyone really want to know about your bad weekend? Do melancholic leaders (wherever they might be hiding) wield power? Meg and Jessamyn ponder the Bittersweet (book by Susan Cain) and try desperately to beat the summer heat.  

Are you awake at night wondering if your design is ready for users? Are designers scared of talking to their own customers? Can you "borrow" research from other teams? Jessamyn welcomes Shilpa Bhat, senior designer in ML/AI at AWS.

Can cars be designed any worse for infants? Does GDPR protect us from getting too many catalogs? Is your workplace menopause-friendly?

Have you been on a project team that released a chatbot but detest them in real life? Can you navigate your job like a roomba while smashing through walls? How do you work through the evening and have dinner with your kids? Meg and Jessamyn consider talk chat crap, dreaming big, and mealtime etiquette. 

Could women's bathrooms be designed any worse? Do theme parks even realize people come in different sizes? Is my brastrap showing on this video call? Jessamyn and Meg doubt anyone would understand their LinkedIn posts, so they don't even bother.

Ever wondered what plumbing is like at theme parks? Does it seem weird when a colleague is working from bed? What do you think you'd differently when next years performance review season rolls around? And will you actually do it? Jessamyn and Meg catch up on surviving as springtime emerges, even though those pesky germs haven't gotten the memo.

Do competitive designers get ahead? What does healthy competition look like? Have you ever thrown anyone under the bus? Meg and Jessamyn talk to Shubha Gargava , senior user experience designer for artificial intelligence and machine learning at AWS.  

What does it feel like to wake up to a layoff notice? Why are recruiters sensitive to their interview count? Should you keep your job hunt on simmer or just wait for the phone to ring? Jessamyn and Meg talk to Adam Starr, relationship-first technologist and people person.

Scared to talk to managers and HR about unexpected life events? What kind of support do employees need during a major medical crisis? And what can you do for a colleague taking leave? Check out our episode on the "Working with Cancer" pledge and navigating life's big and little reasons to press pause.  

Will you miss pushing pixels if you become a UX manager? Is anyone reading your Figma comments? Can you claim the business's success as your own after designing a feature? Jessamyn and Meg chat with Laura Martin, Senior UX Manager at Amazon.

Have you been affected by recent layoffs? How do you share your layoff story in social media? Meg and Jessamyn talk about the broken fantasy of tech careers.

Is it possible to minimize UX drudge work? Can you let go and shake up your process? And just how many of your houseplants should you expect will die? Jessamyn and Meg wade through UXPA (UX Professional Association) conference reviewer feedback and wrap up Surviving UX Season 2!

Anything worse than saying good-bye over zoom? Where do you go at work to talk about parental leave? T-shirt or notebook? Jessamyn and Meg invite guest Krishna Vadrevu, fellow UX Designer, to chat about the best swag, switching jobs in the pandemic, and advice for the non-birth parent. 

Just how many UX internships do you need to apply to, anyway? What will your parents think about your UX career? What type of work will you end up doing at an internship? Jessamyn and Meg talk to Adaeze Ezekwerre, Drexel University HCI student and summer intern at AWS.

Where do you find 1% users? Who are the unsung heroes of the UX world? Are the days of onsite interviews over? Jessamyn and Meg talk to Brian Ashbaugh, UX leader and user research director with 20 years in the biz.