Getting to know… Aimee!

Aimee recently joined the team as a Junior UX Researcher and we’re very happy to have her. We caught up with her to find out a bit more about her!

Where are you from?

I am from a small town 20 minutes east of Glasgow called Coatbridge. I really love it as it’s close to Glasgow and there are plenty of trains and buses which take you all over Scotland. All my family are from Coatbridge which is really nice, so if I need anything at all I am minutes away from them and I get to spend time with them often.

What were you doing before you joined UserLab?

Living my best life as a student teacher at the University of Glasgow. From being a little girl I always wanted to make a difference, so teaching seemed like the right thing for me. In my 3rd year of university, Covid-19 happened and I started to see my career in a different light. I began to see gaps in education for children from lower socio-economic backgrounds when it came to digital literacy. I was speaking to my now mentor of User Experience Design (UXD) about this and she introduced me to user-centred design. I started to see the children as users of a service and that service wasn’t serving them very well. I  wondered how I could make a bigger impact by exploring how to tackle these issues, so this is where my interest in UXD began.

How important is it for you to have a mentor?

I think it is very important to have a mentor especially at the beginning of your career. It gives security, a sense of safety and I feel the support has really helped me embed myself within UXD so far. A mentor also gives me the opportunity to learn, further my skills and knowledge and understand that no question is not important. 

How easy/difficult was it to break into the industry?

I think for me, in terms of information and courses, there is a lot out there to further your knowledge of the discipline. However, when it came to breaking into the industry and finding opportunities for junior and graduate roles, I struggled. I found that a lot of the graduate programmes available in UXD seem to be design focussed, I haven't come across any for user research alone, which was difficult for me as most design programmes look for a design background. The industry is looking for quite a high skill set from juniors rather than focusing on the skills they may have to begin with and nurturing those to help find them a place within UXD. I was lucky enough to meet with Tom, founder of UserLab, who believed in my potential and gave me this opportunity as a Junior UX Researcher to kick start my career and allow me to study the field further.

What do you do at UserLab? Tell us what a typical day looks like.

I work as a Junior UX Researcher with UserLab. My key duties are meeting with clients, identifying and understanding both their needs and the needs of their users, designing screeners for recruitment, conducting screening calls, scheduling interviews, note-taking , analysing findings and providing recommendations for clients. A typical day at UserLab involves a stand up in the morning, this is where we discuss what we did the previous day and set our goals for the day as well as any blockers for the day ahead both as a team and individually, and of course catch up on anything we have been doing in our free time. Depending on my daily tasks I could be working on mini-projects myself or working closely with the team if they need help with some research that’s going on. If so, we usually schedule regular meetings throughout the day.

What is your favourite thing about the job?

My favourite thing about the job is that it is always changing. The variability of the job allows me to contribute my skills and experience in many ways. Each project presents unique challenges. I also enjoy the collaboration environment. I love learning from others and I especially like working with an experienced team and developing new knowledge and skills along with building upon skills I already have. I also enjoy that I have a degree of control and freedom within the job. I work full-time with a flexible schedule and Tom trusts me to produce high-quality work and results. I work hard and maintain that level of trust, which keeps me engaged and excited - but at the same time I like that the job enables me to enjoy my other interests.

How do you spend your time unwinding?

I spend my time unwinding by exercising. I love walking and attend Boxercise classes regularly throughout the week. I also attend regular singing lessons which I really enjoy as I have a great interest in the performing arts and singing helps me de-stress. As well as singing, I love to unwind by spending time with my family and friends by going out for dinner, shopping and having nights in watching movies.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to your younger self?

To believe in myself and worry less and that everything happens for a reason.

So, as you love singing... what’s your go-to karaoke song?

My go-to karaoke has to be ‘Young Hearts Run Free by Candi Station’.