After losing my graphic design job to AI tools like Midjourney and DALL-E, I spent weeks feeling defeated. But then I realized something crucial: I needed to work WITH these tools, not against them.
Here's my journey over the past 6 months:
Month 1-2: Learning Phase
Month 3-4: Building Portfolio
Month 5-6: Client Acquisition
Key Lessons:
1. AI is a tool, not a replacement - it needs human direction
2. Your years of design experience give you taste and judgment AI lacks
3. Speed is the competitive advantage - deliver in days what took weeks
4. Specialize in AI-assisted workflows - become the expert
Resources that helped:
Happy to answer questions!
This is incredibly inspiring! I'm a UX designer and feeling the same pressure. Which Academy course would you recommend starting with?
Start with "AI-Powered Freelancing" - it's only 4 weeks and gives you the mindset shift. Then move to "No-Code AI Apps" if you want to build tools.
Beautiful example of adaptive resilience. I'm sharing this with my counseling clients dealing with AI displacement.
Love this! But we also need to push for corporate accountability - they should fund retraining programs, not just displace workers.