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I rejected my medical program acceptances and pivoted my way into the tech industry. Fast forward, I am now a product leader at an AI startup and I get to design meaningful products.
Hey everyone! I’m Shela, and as I write this, I’m incredibly grateful to be living my dream of working as a Product Designer at an AI startup. What more could I ask for? I have a fulfilling job, an amazing team, and the flexibility to work from home.
Well… it wasn’t always like this. Like many others, I had to work hard, take risks, and navigate uncertainty to get where I am today. Maybe you're reading this while finishing up college or considering a career switch. If life feels overwhelming or uncertain right now, I want you to know this: life isn’t linear, and to trust the process and you’ll get there.
While in high school, I suffered through a car accident that had fractured my humerus bone in half. Without getting into too much detail, I basically had to undergo a lot of physical therapy in order to recover. Spending time with my therapist inspired me to become a positive impact on society. At the time, the only way I thought I could make an impact was to go into the medical field. I would spend the next 5 years of my undergrad studying sciences, volunteering at multiple clinics and really trying to do whatever I could to get accepted into a medical program.
Towards the end of my undergrad, I became mentally exhausted. The countless hours of studying and volunteering was tough. I started to realize that medicine wasn’t necessarily a passion for me. I dreaded the idea of studying science, but I still wanted to make an impact. I had to ask myself:
As I walked past the modern technology and business buildings, I started to think of how nice it would have been to be in tech. Unfortunately, I had to bring myself back to reality. I was too deep into my medical studies and thought I wasn’t smart enough to code. There was no way this dream could be realized. So I left it and finished the rest of my time in school pursuing this medical path.
The summer after graduating, I moved back home to the Bay Area so that I could take a gap year and apply to medical programs. While searching for jobs, through a series of events, I was able to network with a recruiter that was searching for roles to fill at a big tech company and offered me an interview. At this moment, I felt shocked and excited. Here I was, thinking tech was only for engineers, and was coming face to face with an actual opportunity to work in tech. At the same time, I started hearing back from my medical programs. I received a few offer letters! I was now at a crossroad. Do I give up everything I worked hard for in the past 5 years to try out this new and unknown tech journey or do I continue down my medical path?
After a long debate with myself, I rejected my medical acceptances and chose the path of tech. I wasn’t sure what was waiting for me at the end of the tunnel. I wasn’t even sure if I could do it. However, I trusted my gut that was telling me to take a chance on something that I felt might make me even more happy.
At the big tech company, I worked in various positions throughout the 2.5 years there. Unfortunately, I came to a point where I didn’t feel like I was making a strong enough impact. The work started to feel dull and there was never any opportunity to grow.
Towards the end of 2019, I decided that I wanted a change. After working in the real world for a few years, I figured out what I was looking for in my next role. Some things that I found important were:
After spending some time researching different career paths and talking to people, I found that I was really attracted to the field of product design. The opportunity to design products without code, the ability to really be challenged by real world issues, and the fact that whatever you design and put out into the world will have an impact on someone’s everyday life. I loved that there was both a creative and critical thinking aspect to this career. I enrolled into a product design boot camp and from 2020 till 2021, I worked during the day and I studied at night. Throughout this journey, I ended up meeting really inspirational new friends who also had the same passions as me. It reminded me that I wasn’t alone. At the end of this boot camp, I was able to land my first product designer role at Leverege.
When I joined Leverege, I was still finding my footing as a designer. I had just completed a bootcamp, was new to the world of product design, and was eager (but admittedly a little nervous) about stepping into such a fast-moving environment. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but from day one, I was given real responsibility and trust. My very first projects included redesigning the IFA media kit and creating our master deck template—work that would go on to support countless presentations across the company.
It was challenging in the best way. I had to learn quickly, adapt constantly, and problem-solve on my own. That pace helped me grow faster than I ever thought possible. I also dove into tools I’d never used before, like Webflow, and became one of the go-to people on the team for building web experiences. Looking back, those early months were intense, but they laid the foundation for everything that came next.
As I grew more confident in my skills, my responsibilities naturally expanded. I went from tweaking designs to owning entire deliverables, then to building systems that other designers could use. Eventually, I started taking the lead on cross-functional initiatives and guiding others on our team. Today, I manage the design team and play a central role in how design supports the broader business - whether that’s through customer projects, internal tooling, or marketing and sales materials.
Our team is small but mighty. We touch nearly every part of the company and take pride in seeing initiatives through from idea to launch. We’re involved in product ideation, visual design, QA, and everything in between. We’re also constantly refining our design processes to make sure we’re moving fast without sacrificing quality. And because we all have different strengths and opinions, we challenge each other constructively, which pushes us to do better work.
What I love most is that we don’t operate in a silo. We collaborate closely with product, engineering, BD, and operations to find the best solutions. We’re not afraid to ask questions or rethink decisions when needed. That culture of flexibility, humility, and curiosity makes the work better, and more fun.
As Leverege has expanded into AI, computer vision, and more complex IoT solutions, the design challenges have grown more interesting. We’re constantly rethinking what our products should look and feel like, and how even small UI details (like animations, button shapes, or loading interactions) can dramatically impact the user experience. I’m excited by these challenges and energized by how much design contributes to the overall evolution of our offerings.
This kind of work keeps me on my toes in the best way. It also reminds me that good design isn’t just about how something looks, it’s about how it works, how it makes people feel, and how it communicates value. And that’s something I get to explore every day.
I’ve worked in environments where promotions felt out of reach, where recognition was rare, and where burnout was just part of the deal. Leverege is different. Here, growth is personal. You’re encouraged to define what success looks like for you, and you’re supported in getting there. You’re not competing with your teammates, you’re growing alongside them and ultimately just competing with yourself.
The remote-first culture here has also been incredibly meaningful for me. It’s allowed me to structure my work in a way that aligns with how I function best (which, for me, is often late at night). It also gave me the space and flexibility I needed during a period of serious health challenges. Being able to adjust my schedule to get to doctor appointments and still contribute meaningfully without missing a beat, while being fully supported by my team and leadership, is something I don’t take for granted.
I’m now several years into my product designer path. I’ve learned so many valuable skills and I get to work with an amazing and talented team. Thinking back, there are some points I’d like to mention.
Did I regret my decision about dropping my medical program to transition into tech?
No. The fact that I was able to avoid being in debt was a huge plus for me. The time and energy it would’ve taken me to go through a medical program without working sounded horrible. Finding my place in the tech industry allowed me to work on innovative products while learning so many new skills is incomparable.
Did I think I would be doing this after high school?
Absolutely not. The trust I put into myself and what my gut was telling me led me to where I am today. Instead of regret, view all your life decisions as stepping stones. Everything was necessary so that I could get to this point.
I’d like to close out my thoughts to anyone reading this. Don’t be afraid to try something new. Give things that you are interested in a chance. If you don’t like one thing, it’s ok to move around. You are not stuck in one place. Get the job that makes you happy, because life isn’t linear, trust the process and you’ll get there.
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