UX Academy alum Galyna Kaplan had a unique path into the world of UX design. After discovering her passion in UX, she leveraged the newfound skills she gained in UX Academy to shift into a UX role at Shopify, where she originally worked in Customer Support. Galyna credits the strong support structure at Designlab with helping her navigate her career growth and providing the guidance she needed to succeed.
I’d love to start off by learning a bit more about your background!
My background is in journalism and communications. I was doing broadcast journalism, like real old-school TV. But then I thought that TV, in its very traditional sense, will most likely die in my lifetime. So I was exploring somewhere else where I could go.
I actually never envisioned UX at that point. I was hired at Shopify, where I now work in UX, years ago starting out in support. But I started thinking about tech, and looking at where I could progress and go with my career. That was back in 2019 or 2020, and I started doing some short-term courses—I actually took Design 101 (Note: this course has now been replaced by UX Academy Foundations) with Designlab, where I got my first taste of UX. But at that point, I still wasn’t considering taking the full UX Academy.
What motivated you to move forward with it ultimately?
I loved it, and I thought to myself that I needed to do more of it. But I stepped back from UX a few times—I would do something and move forward, and then take a still back and really go into it. But then I ended up going on maternity leave, and when I returned to Shopify, I got a role working closely with the product team, which very much exposes you to the UX process.
I gave myself a few months to observe all the crafts without jumping in UX just again, to see if I was really interested. I chatted with the UXers on the team, and really liked their job. So at that point, I was ready to invest my time and energy in a bigger form of education. And I loved the Design 101 course I took with you guys so much, so that’s how I landed on UX Academy.
I was also lucky enough to have received a full scholarship for the program, which I appreciate so, so much. I probably would not have been able to do the bootcamp with it. So really grateful for that opportunity.
Oh wow, that’s amazing! So tell me a bit more about your experience in the actual bootcamp.
One of the reasons I chose Designlab was the structure of self-based learning as opposed to formal lectures or long in-person classes, which I have experienced before and let’s say really did not work for me. The hands-on education and assignments is what I needed most, so my learning style matched what UX Academy has to offer.
The mentor system is fantastic. Working with my mentor was a great experience, and I owe him a lot of personal growth as a designer.
And also the mentor system is fantastic. I ended up changing mentors—the first one we just didn’t click, which I think is normal sometimes. But it was the best thing that could happen to me because I ended up paired with Calvin Sims, and working together was a really great experience. We worked well together, and I owe him a lot of personal growth as a designer.
One thing I will say is that it’s really quite intensive as an education program. But I always had that feeling that the more work I put in now, the more future success I’ll have applying for jobs. So I didn’t want to do anything poorly from the start. But it meant the pressure was real.
Absolutely—it is a rigorous course, but that’s a great way to approach it. And in terms of finding a job, I know you have a bit of an unconventional story in that you ended up staying with Shopify. Did you still utilize Career Services?
So with Shopify, they have a policy where they don’t really hire junior talent outside of their official internship program. However, the intern program had been on pause for some time, which essentially meant that junior talent wasn’t being hired for at all. Because of that, I knew that my chances of getting a job at Shopify as a UX Designer were slim, so I wanted to utilize Career Services as much as possible.
I wanted to consider a world outside Shopify, because I had been there for five years. And despite staying there, I did receive another job offer.
Oh, interesting! So how was your experience with Career Services?
I think the biggest takeaway for me was that I learned how to twist my resume and cover letter to get that initial screening call. Regardless of ultimately ending up at Shopify, it’s still a skill, and I will be able to reuse it over and over again in my career. I really enjoyed working with my career coach, Sheena Mistry. She was great. I’ve ended up with all the best mentors!
That’s amazing! So how did you come to end up at Shopify, tell me a bit more about that.
I knew some of the UX managers from working closely with the product team, and I asked one of them to give some feedback on my portfolio. And she came back to me with a ton of feedback—not because my portfolio was bad, but because she cared so much and wanted to help. And we started chatting about my UX interests, and I very directly asked her if she would be open to doing a secondment, which is essentially a fancy word we use at Shopify for interns who are already employed by the company.
Honestly, there was no business need. It was just me inquiring if I could do it. She took a few days to think about it, but came back to me and said yes, with the condition that it would be a four-month internship but that it would not be converting into a full-time role. They said the chances of that happening would be less than 1%, but I could still proceed if I wanted to. At that time, I also got a full-time offer from an external company. So it was a really tough choice.
I’m sure! What made you decide to stay with Shopify?
The team I was going to work with at Shopify was a world-class team, and I really wanted to learn from them and accelerate. So I decided to take the risk and go with Shopify. And in that role, despite being an intern, I really got to do everything within the UX job—I was basically on the team. And towards the end of the internship, despite the 1% chance, I asked my lead about a full-time role. And they were looking to get funding for one more head count!
However, no one at Shopify is gifted a role. Despite that there was the role open on a team where I was already interning, it was still open to anyone who wanted to apply. And so I did apply, obviously, and I had to go through four rounds of interviews. And that’s where the Career Services came in handy. There was a portfolio review and a technical challenge, but I was able to get an offer. And now I’m officially in a new permanent role.
That’s amazing! And I can imagine you like the position that you’re now in. What are you working on?
Yes, and it's definitely helpful that I'm coming here after the internship, so I don't need to do much of an onboarding now. The responsibilities are now expanding, and there are also different requirements, but I already kind of understand.
As for my role, I work on a team that deals with orders, which is pretty much the bread and butter of Shopify. So whenever someone is getting an order on the Shopify platform, I work with the experience that the user goes through on the backend to order, fulfill, ship, refund, return—everything to do with the order.
It probably will be will be scary. But I think what helped me a lot is that support network. I always felt like there were people who were helping me and supporting me.
Very cool. So if you had to give anyone who might be considering a career change into UX advice, what you would say?
I would say that it probably will be scary. But I think what Designlab is able to offer, and what helped me a lot is that support network. You have people around you who truly cheer for you and who truly try to help you, whether they be your mentors, your critique facilitators, or your peers.
I always felt like there were people who were helping me and supporting me.
And that really helped. It allows you to feel like you have someone to tap into if you're struggling and you know where to go to ask questions. I think without that component, there would have been something missing, and it’s one of the reasons I didn’t do it sooner when I was initially interested in UX a few years ago. It helps to have someone beside you.
Check out some more student stories below:
Mert's Journey from UX Academy to Tech Entrepreneur
Designing Her Career: Meena's Creative Leap from Graphic Design to UX
How Taking a Leap After a Layoff Inspired Stephen's Career in UX
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