I am a midlife career changer that would like to get into the area of
interface design (ui)(and possibly usability/accessibility in the
future...). My background is in special education and I currently
teach computers to individuals with special needs. Ideally I would
like to get into ui as it relates to education computing
(web/software) and assistive technology but am open to all areas. I
have some past experience with basic web design and graphics and some
experience with computer based assistive technologies.

Really I would be starting from the ground floor. I would like to
eventually earn a masters in a field such as cognitive psychology or
human computer interaction but that is a few years off as I am a
parent of young children and only have so much time. I have some time
for classes or volunteering/working for experience but not enough to
commit to pursuing a masters right now.

The problem I am having is in finding specific helpful information
about pursuing a career in ui. Ideally I would like to find
information on specific experiences and training and steps to take
when pursuing a career in ui. I am looking for very exact information.
What are the baby steps I can take now before I am able to pursue that
masters? What are the sub skills and how can I get experience and
learn them without getting into a whole other path such as becoming a
"web design"? Where can I find real useful career advice specific to
the area of ui?

 It seems that people get into this area from a variety of other
disciplines from software development to technical writing and
psychology - perhaps this is the reason I am having trouble finding
details. If I can provide any more information that would be helpful
or if anything I have said needs clarification please let me know.

Online resources are the easiest for me to access.

Thanks

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Clarification of Question by liddys-ga on 04 Oct 2005 06:04 PDT

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