From Physicist to UX: The Long Way Home
I didn't set out to become a UX researcher. Like most good career paths, mine happened through a series of wrong turns, chance encounters, and one spectacular consulting failure.
I didn't set out to become a UX researcher. Like most good career paths, mine happened through a series of wrong turns, chance encounters, and one spectacular consulting failure.
The Early Years: Physics and False Starts
I started university studying physics. The math was elegant, the problems were solvable, and the universe made sense on paper. Then I switched to mechanical engineering, thinking I wanted something more applied, more tangible.
I made it through Vordiplom—the first two years—before realizing something crucial: I was bored.
Not "this is hard" bored. Not "I need a break" bored. The bone-deep boredom that tells you you're in the wrong place entirely.
The Turn: Communication Design
I switched to communication and multimedia design at FH Potsdam. Finally, something that combined visual thinking, technology, and human behavior. I was building interfaces, designing interactions, making things people could actually use.
Then I met the professor who changed everything.
He didn't teach design techniques or software tools. He taught the science of UX—the research methodologies, the cognitive psychology, the evidence base that separates good interfaces from guesswork. Suddenly I understood why some designs worked and others didn't. There were principles. Patterns. Ways to test and measure and improve.
I was hooked.
The Failure: Learning Consulting the Hard Way
Fresh with this new knowledge, I joined a company and tried to introduce user-centered design practices. I had the research. I had the frameworks. I had everything except the ability to get anyone to listen.
I failed. Completely.
Nobody wanted my UX audits. Nobody implemented my recommendations. I couldn't translate research insights into action, couldn't navigate organizational politics, couldn't make the case for design changes in language stakeholders understood.
It was humbling. And it was exactly what I needed.
The Education: Learning to Do It Right
I realized I needed proper training—not just in research methods, but in consulting, facilitation, stakeholder management, and how to actually help organizations change. So I went back to school for my MSc in Usability Engineering.
This time, the education stuck. I learned how to:
- Conduct research that answers business questions, not just academic ones
- Present findings that drive decisions
- Build relationships with stakeholders before proposing solutions
- Navigate the messy reality of organizational change
The Practice: Research Agencies and Real Projects
After graduating, I worked with top UX research agencies like eresult. Field research at trivago. Usability testing across finance, healthcare, travel. Contextual inquiries for enterprise software.
Every project taught me something new about how people actually work, what tools they need, and how to help teams build better products.
The Work: What I Do Now
Today, I help teams build thoughtful products grounded in research. Design systems for insurance and banking platforms. Hardware control interfaces that translate physical knobs to software. Biometric surveillance tools for law enforcement.
The work spans domains, but the approach stays the same: start with context, understand what people actually do, identify the gaps, and build systems that bridge them.
Why I'm Telling You This
If you're considering UX as a career, here's what I wish someone had told me:
The failures matter.
That botched consulting gig taught me more than any successful project. It showed me what I didn't know and gave me the motivation to learn it properly.
The science is crucial.
UX isn't just "make it pretty" or "make it easy." It's grounded in cognitive psychology, research methodology, and measurable outcomes. The science gives you credibility and a framework for solving problems systematically.
The path isn't linear.
Physics → mechanical engineering → communication design → failed consulting → usability engineering → research agencies → independent consulting. Each detour added something valuable.
It brings everything together.
That's what I love most about UX. It combines research, design, code, and human behavior. Every discipline I studied—physics, engineering, communication design—finds a place here.
What's Next
I'm exploring privacy-first personal data infrastructure using Solid Pods, continuing my work on design systems, and always learning from the teams I work with.
If you're on a similar journey—or just starting out—feel free to reach out. I'm always happy to talk UX, research methods, or the messy reality of building great products.
Want to work together? I help teams with design systems consulting, user research, and product strategy. Get in touch.