On transitioning careers and continuing education with Anindya Basu
By: Sara Holburt
Tags: User Research, Human Factors, UX, Career Development, UX Research

What advice can you share for people looking to make a lateral career transition?

When trying to make the lateral shift, there were several things that I struggled with. Earning potential, the amount of time already invested in my current degree, and whether I was sure UX research was what I wanted to do. I asked myself, “What if I want to change again in a year? In 5 years? What if I find myself wanting to come back to coding and I’ve wasted all this time?”

Sheryl Sandberg, author of “Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead” said in her book, “career journeys to jungle gyms, rather than ladders.” I learned that regardless of the specific job I was performing, the experience I was getting was valid. It would help me in the future regardless of what I decided to do. In fact, the lateral career transition prepared me in ways I would never have expected. Having worn both hats in the past makes me a better collaborator and communicator.

Managers and mentors can encourage and enable people to make lateral shifts by helping people in pursuit of their curiosity. At my first job, my manager encouraged me to sit with the UX folks. That exposed me to their day-to-day work and helped me actualize my interest in UX. Another mentor shared learning resources including textbooks, conferences, and free online resources.

As a community, we can all act as mentors. Answer questions and share resources with folks looking to make the shift into our field. I’ve personally been gifted textbooks that were invaluable to me when I first started out and I like to send them to people who are interested in UX research. It helps me keep my own clutter down while passing on the kindness I was given.

“ I learned that regardless of the specific job I was performing, the experience I was getting was valid.”

Shifting gears to your current studies, you’re currently getting a Masters in Human Factors Engineering. What inspired you to pursue a Master’s in this area?

Something I struggled with was the feeling of being an impostor in my jobs, even though I’ve done work I’m proud of and love. I always felt like there was information out there I needed to do better at my job — be it experiment design, knowing about research methods, or being able to defend my findings and research.

My mentors have been a supportive resource to help me push through my impostor syndrome. Seeing their work and achievements is an inspiration and I admire them greatly. One mentor, Tressa Daniels, had a heart-to-heart with me about what I’ve learned and what I want to learn to operate at a deeper level. That conversation influenced my decision to pursue a master’s degree.

At the time, I wanted to focus my professional growth around synthesizing research, applying new research methods, and building complex experiments. As I learned more, I felt more confident about my education and job qualifications. It has been a tough and rewarding experience.

“Managers and mentors can encourage and enable people to make lateral shifts by helping people in pursuit of their curiosity.”

I’d love to hear about how your studies have shaped your practice as a UX researcher.

My studies focus a lot on the research and design of complex systems. I attend a university focused on aerospace engineering and my classes have exposed me to complex systems. These systems need extensive consideration of anthropometry, ergonomics, human cognition, artificial intelligence, automation, and adaptability.

While it may not seem like aircraft cockpit design applies to the work we do at DocuSign, there are a lot of principles and concepts that can transfer over as SaaS systems become increasingly complex. Today, I include these elements when I design my studies. That way, the studies better reflect authentic user experiences and increase the usefulness of our research insights.

At DocuSign, we look at ways people learn and how brains organize information. We then apply it to how we adapt our systems in the interest of resilience and great user experience. Considering how people learn, how the brain organizes information, how systems adapt and build resilience over time are all things that can be applied to DocuSign’s developer space to build better experiences.

Want to get in touch with Anindya? Connect with him on LinkedIn

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