Last night I took apart in a panel discussion on the general state of interaction design education at IxDA Toronto.

My fellow panelists included a senior Digital Planner from a large agency, an interaction designer/educator from a design studio and designer who recently graduated from a MDes IxD program. The main theme of the rich discussion was that UX career paths are not “one size fits all” and that people in UX benefit from their past experiences and the skill sets they bring from their education and work history. Individuals follow diverse paths to end up in the UX field. Some people began with formal education in a completely different field (accounting, computer science, information science, fine art and design).  Others fall into the role by learning on the job or are self-taught.