I started my UX career in Customer Service, which I believe is a fantastic way for aspiring UXers to begin.  You empathize quickly with users who are having problems and you get first hand feedback about what they are doing and how your product can be better.  It’s like observing informal usability studies all day long and it was invaluable to me as a foundation for my future in user experience.

I began to notice patterns in the questions that our team would receive and it struck me that if we fixed about 10 usability issues in our product, we could cut the customer issues nearly in half, which would mean that the company could save money by not having to grow our team to answer the ever increasing amount of calls and emails.

I pitched my idea to the management and development teams and they were really excited, this being the first time they had ever really considered usability.  We worked through the list and over time noticed a significant decrease in the number of calls and emails related to these specific issues.  The plan had been a success and I began to wonder how many other companies out there were having similar issues.

Since then I’ve helped companies advocate for their users while also working closely with development teams and keeping business goals in mind.  It’s a balancing act that I enjoy because I always try to look for win-win scenarios for all parties involved.