Her Story
About Olive
I studied computer science in school, but during that experience I quickly discovered my passion for design. After graduating, I pursued UX design and front-end development, which has been the perfect blend of technical coding work and artistic creativity. I've been working in this field for about 5 years now. My expertise centers on UX design, graphic design, and front-end development. In my day-to-day work, I meet with clients to understand their requirements and business objectives, then design websites or software that bring their vision to life. I focus on incorporating their brand identity throughout the user flow, ensuring their brand is clearly communicated to visitors. The biggest thing that shaped my journey was an apprenticeship at Clean Coders Studio, where I had a mentor with 10 years of experience who gave me one-on-one guidance. He taught me everything I know within about 6 months - it was pretty life-changing, and I don't think I would be where I am today without his mentorship. Last November, I won an award from Awards.com, which was a really big deal for me because that's the site I use for inspiration pretty much every day.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Olive
01What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say to follow your excitement. Whatever you're passionate about, just create projects and create the things that you want to exist, because no one is going to - very unlikely, right? - no one's gonna pay you to create these things, so you have to kind of be your own boss in that way and take the wheel. The biggest challenges right now is just how oversaturated the industry is and how difficult the job market is, so for people who are just starting, it's gonna be really, really hard for them. In order to overcome that, you have to really make yourself stand out, and the only way to do that is to work on creating things that you just want to exist, so that you have a really great portfolio of work and something to be proud of to talk about, not only in interviews and whatever you're trying to do, but just to get the experience really, so that you're building all these skills while you're also creating at the same time.
02What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenges right now is just how oversaturated the industry is and how difficult the job market is, so for people who are just starting, it's gonna be really, really hard for them. In order to overcome that, you have to really make yourself stand out, and the only way to do that is to work on creating things that you just want to exist, so that you have a really great portfolio of work and something to be proud of to talk about. You need to get the experience while you're building all these skills and creating at the same time.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Definitely craftsmanship, because I view this more as a craft rather than my job. It's something that I want to keep improving on for the rest of my life and have something really cool to show my kids and my grandkids when I'm older, and just be really proud of the things that I created.
Keep Exploring
More Influential Women · Arizona
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.