Meet Dila: From Writer & Entrepreneur to UI/UX Designer at Alignment Healthcare

Before beginning her journey with UX Academy, Dila had various job experiences in different fields—from freelance blog writing to helping students at a language school while starting her own homemade lip care business. 

While growing her business D’s Organic, Dila made the life-changing decision to follow her heart and move to the United States, with courage and hope to start a new life. This move brought her a new opportunity, working as a Social Media & PR Intern with two co-founders at Taza Ayurveda. 

A Career Pivot to UX Design

After her time at Taza Ayurveda, Dila knew she wanted to pivot her career into a more challenging and creative field, and work in a collaborative environment with people who loved what they did.

The only problem: she wasn’t sure what that might look like. 

“As I was trying to figure out the next steps in my career, one of my dear family members mentioned UX design, which I didn't know about back then. I did get very excited about the idea of creating digital products though, it sounded like a dream job to me!” says Dila.

How Dila Chose UX Academy

After learning more about UX and product design, Dila realized that she needed a structured education to help her step into the field. Although she wanted to learn the ins and outs of UX, she also did not have the budget to invest in traditional higher education. So she started looking for online education programs.

This research led Dila to Designlab, where she was impressed by the positive reviews alongside the mentorship, community, and Group Crit opportunities that were available alongside a solid, structured curriculum. 

UX Academy: An Immersive Training Experience

Dila decided to sign up for UX Academy and spent 8 months learning and practicing UX/UI design principles across the bootcamp and prerequisite course.

“I honestly did not know what to expect from UX Academy when I first started,” Dila shares. “I was familiar with colors, fonts, logos, etc., but UX design is more than that.”

“Overall it was a great 8 months for me,” she says. “Meeting with many people who have the same goal as you, participating in Group Crits to receive/give feedback on our design work, and having the opportunity to connect with a mentor who has been in the industry for many years made a huge difference in my learning while making progress in every unit.”

Landing a Job at Alignment Healthcare

Everyone’s hiring journey is unique. Dila found her job at Alignment Healthcare through a connection she made during a session on the Clubhouse app. 

“It was very unexpected and random,” she admits. “I got a referral through the connection, and it all happened really quickly. I did the very first round of interviews with the hiring manager. After the first call, I completed a design challenge and presented it to the team and I got the offer within a week after the presentation.”

As part of a team which has just three designers, Dila has the opportunity to collaborate with different team members based on the project she’s working on.

“We have a lead designer (manager), multiple stakeholders, product managers, and developers. We recently designed a brand-new mobile app to help brokers/agents submit new member enrollments digitally. The app allows internal staff members to save new and prospective member data much easier. It was an exciting project where I could be part of the design process from start to end,” Dila shares.

A Bright Future With New Solutions

With her new remote role as a UX/UI designer, Dila decided to move to Jersey City, New Jersey, and enjoys exploring the neighborhood and new restaurants in the area. 

“I’m learning to be a plant mom to a bunch of different plants that I’ve recently purchased,” she says. 

“It’s hard to believe it’s already been five months since I started my new job—I’m looking to grow within Alignment and gain as much experience as possible while bringing the best design solutions that I can bring for our users.”

See Dila’s work on her portfolio and connect with her on LinkedIn. 

If you’re inspired by Dila’s story and are ready to make your own career switch into UI/UX design, take a look at our UX Academy program.