Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark Lee.
Hi Mark Lee, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
Well… Back in 2014, I was laid off from my job for the second time that year. At the time, I had my degree in Business Administration, after jumping between several different focuses’ over the course of my college career. Truth be told… I had no clue what I wanted to do in life. Truth be told, I was lost but I did know one thing. I was determined to find my way and trust God in the process.
Sometime later a friend of mine recommended that I apply to work in the Call Center at a local Telehealth company that was on the rise. I had no clue what Telehealth was at the time but I knew that I needed a job and was desperate for an opportunity. So with all pride aside, I applied and a few weeks later received a call to come in for an interview. When the interview came around I was nervous but desperate for an opportunity. I met with the interviewer and 15 mins. later I was offered the job. I was happy. I didn’t quite know it then but this would be the Genesis of the career I hold today. But let’s not jump too far ahead.
Five months had passed. I established myself as a part of the company culture. Attending town halls, going to corporate walks, holiday parties, you name it. But to be honest, I wasn’t too happy in the role I’d been in for the past 5 months. I didn’t feel as though it really allowed me to be in a place that would give me room to truly contribute to a product or overall cause. I was in luck.
The operating CTO had the idea to hire employees within from the Call Center and introduce them to the world of Software. I was recommended to go for the position but there was one problem. I was TERRIFIED! I had no experience when It came to software. 5 months ago I was jobless. How the heck was I going to learn to work with the software? With all fear accompanying me, I decided to take advantage of the offer. And boy am I glad I did.
“Does it work” my coworker asked me. “Yes, but it looks horrible”, I said. I was now a Quality Assurance Test Engineer. My role was to test the software that was coded by a team of Web developers. For some reason, although the product would work and function according to a set of requirements provided to me, I always had an issue with the presentation of the Interface for whatever project I was working on. I had no clue why, but I know that I couldn’t shake it. One day I saw a group of co-workers whom I saw in passing. And one thing is for sure… They always looked happy.
I decided to poke my head in their office one day and to my amazement, I was fascinated by what I was seeing. DESIGN! They were in charge of the front end look and feel, the flow of the product and I knew right then and there that I was in the right place and I found my people. I asked what they did and a coworker (who now works at Facebook) said to me we’re UX/UI Designers. I wondered how I can get into the field. I had just spent so much time bouncing from focus to focus and I could not possibly go back to school to be a designer. He then mentioned a Software/Design boot camp by the name of Ironhack in downtown Miami and suggested I check it out. I knew this would change my life forever.
Let’s fast forward a bit. the year is 2018 and I had finally saved up enough money to start the program. All my pre-work to start the course had been completed and it was the day before the program was scheduled to start. There was just one problem. My car would not work and I had to travel well over 30 miles across two counties to attend my first day. Luckily, my girlfriend at the time allowed for me to use her care that day but over the course of the next few months, I was catching Ubers, Lyfts, and two trains 3-4 times a week in order to complete the Design Bootcamp at Ironhack. Can we say stressful? Keep in mind I was working a full-time job still at the company I had been hired at. During my journey as A UX/UI Designer the world as we knew it would change. We were hit with the Covid-19 pandemic and life would never be the same.
Due to the pandemic, we were forced to finish the program remotely, And just 2 weeks prior to completing the program, I was laid off from my job of 6 years. I was heartbroken, to say the least. 6 years and just like that… I was gone. I knew, not to panic. After all, I was already experienced in the area of job loss. Lol. I decided to take a different approach and instead of worrying, I would get creative. The idea came to me to write an article on Medium entitled “5 Ways To Handle Job Loss During a Pandemic”. Because I knew so much about it right? lol. Anyhow, I published the article on Medium and attached the article link to my LinkedIn account the next day. Oh boy! Let’s just say I was not expecting what was next.
20,000 plus views!!! By the end of the week, this article that I wrote had over 20,000 views and I was the “talk” at my old job. My email and phone were flooded with recruiters and job offers from everywhere. I was let go on a Friday and by the following Tuesday, I had multiple job offers. Crazy!!! I ended up finishing my Design Bootcamp that following week getting certified as a UX/UI Designer and now fast forward to today, I am a UX/UI Designer at an amazing corporation, where I get to work with an amazing team doing something I love.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Smooth… Ha! Not at all.
One of the biggest struggles was the loss of both my parents and my Godfather within 3 weeks’ time. I went from having all 3 parents here and in the blink of an eye, I was an orphan. My mom had a 7-year long battle with Dementia and Alzheimers and after so many years it took its toll on her. My father and Godfather both lost their lives due to the Covid-19 epidemic, unfortunately.
But I see the silver lining in it all. I have 3 angels looking out for me in Heaven. I’m blessed.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a UX/UI Designer at EZCorp where I get to design the front-end experience for our customers and users in both the United States and Latin America.
I’m most proud of my work on Youtube (restructuring) as well as my podcast, “Creatives Are Essential” where we have “therapeutic conversations for the creative mind.” There I get to have conversations with 4 of my amazing friends and fellow creatives. We talk about life, creativity, struggles, challenges, and everything that comes with being creative.
I love it.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Beautiful scenery.
Contact Info:
- Email: mark.dumesle@gmail.com
- Instagram: @markleefilms
- Twitter: @markleefilms
- Youtube: youtube.com/creativesareessential.com
- Other: youtube.com/markleefilms
Image Credits
Christina Jones and William Stitt
