I ran a volunteer accessibility audit of our school's learning platform and found 87 WCAG violati…
T=0: The Decision
Nine years teaching Year 10–13 English. I loved the students and was burning out under the marking load, the government's relationship with teacher pay, and the slow bureaucratic grind. Take-home was NZ$847 a week after tax. By year 8 I had no idea what I was saving it for.
I ran a volunteer accessibility audit of our school's learning platform and found 87 WCAG violations. Then I spent three weeks fixing them. It was the most energised I had felt in years. I looked up 'UX designer salary Auckland' and enrolled in a 6-month intensive programme the next morning.
A junior UX role paying more than teaching within 12 months. Still believing the transition was worth it a year after that.
6 Months Out
The bootcamp was excellent. The job market was not. Sixty applications, four interviews, zero offers in three months. The imposter syndrome was ferocious.
“Do the programme but build a real project simultaneously. Employers want to see decisions you actually made, not assignments you were told to complete.”