On Thursday, November 18, 2021, students in Rutgers Master of Business and Science (MBS) program had a fantastic opportunity to connect with Andy Van Fleet, founder of the successful and growing user experience design (UXD) firm, Visual Logic—a consultancy with clients including IBM, John Deere, and Accenture.
Two months ago, Van Fleet, seeking to expand and diversify his workforce, decided to Google 'Top UX graduate programs.' “Rutgers Professional Science Master’s (PSM) program was up at the top,” he says. Van Fleet subsequently reached out to Rupananda Misra, MBS’s User Experience Design (UXD) concentration coordinator, and Abbe Rosenthal, assistant director and executive coach, as well as head of industry partnerships and employment.
During yesterday’s session, Van Fleet not only shared with MBS students and alumni information about internships and potential full-time opportunities at Visual Logic, but discussed the landscape of UXD consulting as a prospective career path. “The UX field has grown so quickly that there’s great opportunity open to individuals with the right talent,” said Van Fleet, noting that a design background is not necessary to succeed in this very multidisciplinary field. In fact, the number one quality Van Fleet looks for in a candidate isn’t a fancy degree or years of industry experience – it’s empathy: the ability to connect with end-users and understand companies' business goals, make sure that those goals are aligned with user needs, and then ensure that the user journey is as seamless and delightful as possible.
“The session with Andrew was definitely an inspirational one,” says MBS student Naisargi Patel,who studies user experience design. “As a student who is new to UX and user experience design in general, it's so great to see all the possibilities this field has to offer. Often, we hear about large design agencies like IDEO and see opportunities from big tech companies like Google, or pharma and personal care companies like J&J," says Patel. "But these opportunities can sometimes feel so distant to students like me, who are just stepping into the field,” she says. "This brought UX closer to home."
MBS student Diana Fu, who is also studying user experience design, agrees that the session was informative, engaging, and highly relevant. "First, it gave me confidence that the UX work I've done toward my degree is directly in line with current industry best practices," she says, "and that all that I'm learning about business strategy, design process, and cutting-edge software are on point and up to date." Fu agrees with Patel that it was fascinating to hear the diversity of career paths available to students pursuing degrees in user experience design. "it was amazing to hear how UXD is now being employed throughout a variety of industries—military and defense, insurance, fintech, etc.," she says.
Now that so many companies are recognizing the value of integrating UX with business strategy, the need for UXD professionals is only growing, says Van Fleet. As for Visual Logic's own success, "If there’s a human on the other side," says Van Fleet of any interface, product, or service, "we know that we will make that person's life better,"
Students and alumni interested in more information or internship opportunities can contact Abbe Rosenthal at abbe.rosenthal@rutgers.edu.