Quick thoughts about the fractured UX community

So, I’m not familiar with who’s on the UXPA board and what kind of experience they have organizing a community. But I wonder if the current state of the UX community as a whole can somewhat explain how they arrived at their current predicament.

I came up into UX by volunteering at orgs and conferences, but I feel like that’s not something people do anymore, even before COVID. There’s too many bootcamps and online courses to pursue instead. I don’t think people really look for communities now.

Whereas I feel that I actually gained most of my UX knowledge by connecting with more experienced folks. I wouldn’t say I had a singular mentor during my entire career, but I definitely had communities to lean on. And we can check in with each other about who is a true ally and supporter, and who is not.

UX is a skill set and a way of approaching problems, that can be learned on your own if you so choose. But the UX community is a whole other thing. Never discount the “people factor” in anything you do. And honestly, you’ll always do better UX work if you remember there are people involved.