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Jeremy Miller - Are you cut out for enterprise UX at a big corporation?

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Highlights

Jeremy Miller shares his advice on how to find success at a large corporation. From what attributes will help you succeed at a large organization to the pros and cons he has experienced while working in enterprise UX, he dives into everything he has learned along the corporate portion of his career path. Read the article below and listen to more of Jeremy’s great advice in the full episode!

🧩 Is big corporate right for you?

Every UX Designer is different, and each individual has varied preferences, but finding the right fit is so important for the trajectory of your career. If you are a patient person willing to network internally as you grow and can tell a story to sell your idea, big corporations may be a great fit for you!

📢 Would you like the opportunity to create your own career path?

As you network and learn more about the people on your team, you may be able to take on some of their responsibilities to uncover the need for additional roles. By showing your skills to others on your team, you help earn their trust, which can help lead you down a career path custom-designed for your strengths!

🤔 Do you get bored by solving the same problem twice?

In large organizations, you will be working on internal projects, and once you solve a problem, it is likely that you will not need to solve it again. The variety is awesome for people who like to dive deep into solving a problem and then move on to the next one!

Are you cut out for enterprise UX at a big corporation?

In episode 31 of The Product Design Podcast, Seth Coelen interviews Jeremy Miller, Senior Staff Experience Architect at GE Aviation! He is also a mentor and a Retro Time Podcast host where they talk about software, from product design to software development, and the soft skills needed to make it in our industry.

Jeremy has worked in agency, startup, and large corporate environments throughout his career. During our chat, he let us know what led him to enterprise UX for a large corporation. Jeremy also shares the skills that have helped him climb the ranks and tips for working in a large corporate environment.

Seth Coelen and Jeremy Miller on The Product Design Podcast

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How Jeremy fell into design and his path to enterprise UX at GE Aviation

Jeremy had no intention of going into design when he was younger; he wanted to be a chef and a musician. He planned to go to culinary school, but all of his friends were going to LSU, so he also ended up going there. During his time at LSU, Jeremy was in several bands and enjoyed designing their websites. After getting this experience in web design, he had friends ask for flyers and websites, so he started to make some money doing this while he was in college.

He eventually dropped out of school, moved to New Orleans, and started a freelance company with a guy from one of his bands who was an architect and graphic designer. Once he met his wife, they worked on websites together until they both took jobs at a local agency for a while. Once Jeremy and his wife decided they wanted to have children, Jeremy decided he wanted a more steady job with typical business hours and excellent benefits, so he moved to GE. Jeremy has worked his way up the ranks there and enjoys the work he gets to do for this large corporation.

Are you a good fit for a large corporation?

When you work for a large corporation, more people are involved in decisions which can slow things down from what you may have experienced in an agency or startup. Jeremy shares three attributes you should have if you plan to look for a job at a big company to ensure it will be a good fit for you!

⏰ Are you patient?

Patience is key when working in large corporations. Nothing happens overnight in a large organization. Changing the minds of stakeholders happens over time. Approaching your work with the mindset that it is a marathon, not a sprint, will help set a better tone as everything can be very process-driven.

🔥 Are you bold and willing to put yourself out there to meet people?

Networking is important to get the job initially, but it is just as important to being promoted or moving to another role in a large organization. Meeting other people in the company and letting them see the value you bring in your work will help propel your career.

➡️ Pro Tip!

Get creative about how you network in a large organization. Jeremy decided he would schedule time to have a little coffee chat with different people in his organization to get to know them. Networking like this can help lead you to new opportunities in the long run!

“Networking is important for getting a job, but at a large corporation, networking is important to get promoted and to find another role.”

✨ Are you a storyteller?

Can you communicate the importance of a feature to an executive and get them to sign off on a project? Can you explain to a developer why it is important to implement the design you created to improve the user experience? The ability to tell a story and gain alignment throughout your organization will help you move ahead!

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Top perks of working in a big organization

Jeremy has found that he enjoys working in enterprise UX for a large company. There can be pros and cons for any company you choose to work for, but it is crucial to determine what works best for you! Here are a few of the perks of working at a larger company that Jeremy discussed during our chat!

🎯 You get to go deep and never solve the same problem twice.

You will always get to work on something new. The variety keeps work from becoming boring or burning you out when you don't want to do the same things over and over for different clients.

💵 Bigger budgets.

The money that large corporations are willing to spend to support employees can come in many forms and can be a huge perk that will allow you to grow in different ways, including leadership. From travel to technology to training and development opportunities, budgets are typically larger at a big corporation.

📢 Opportunity to create your career path.

Since there are more people at the organization, there are more opportunities to move into other departments or divisions to help move down the career path that you see for yourself. If a role doesn’t exist, you can work with the right people to make that role for you. Taking tasks off someone’s plate could make it apparent that there is a need for a separate role altogether that will open up opportunities for you to grow in the direction you prefer.

➡️ Pro Tip!

Make sure people know that you are interested in an open role or want to be included in conversations that will help propel your career path in the direction you wish to move. No one will know if you don't ask for a seat at the table!

“One of the things that I like about enterprise is there's always a new problem to solve. It's like; we solved that problem last month, now let's go solve a different problem.”

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Thank you so much, Jeremy!

Wow! That was an excellent look into working in enterprise UX for a large company. It was great to get Jeremy's insight into the attributes that work best for larger organizations and the perks he has found during his time at GE. We are so grateful that he shared so much valuable advice on how to fund success in big corporations as well.

Listen to the complete episode on The Product Design Podcast, which includes a deeper dive into some downsides of working at a larger company and Jeremy’s take on team building on a large team. Don't forget to follow Jeremy on LinkedIn and listen in on the Retro Times Podcast, where he shares even more great advice!

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Where to find Jeremy

LinkedIn: Jeremy Miller
Website: https://www.jmillspaysbills.com
Retro Time Podcast: https://www.retrotimepodcast.com