Twelve months, mapped so the biggest gaps close first.
This is not a list of good ideas. Each month is tied to a specific gap on your evidence page, sequenced so the earliest work makes the later work easier, with the breaks between terms doing real jobs of their own. It works the same whether you are still in classes or already out.
Sample dashboard. Every name and number here is invented so you can see how it works.
The drive to your first job, Sep 2026 to Dec 2027
Still in school
The three blocks below map to your remaining terms, and the breaks are real breaks. Course picks like Research Methods slot into registration as it comes.
Already graduated
Same sequence, no syllabus required. Month one starts the day you decide, an online course or workshop stands in for the class pick, and the breaks become catch-up weeks.
01
Fall term
Sep to Dec 2026Now
Sep 2026
Start Research Methods
Closes the framing gap, your largest. The rest of the year builds on it.
Send the two messages waiting on the network page
Priya first, then the intro ask to Marcus.
Oct 2026
Research Methods, continued.
Stay for the unit on framing studies.
Draft the onboarding case study
Backs a resume claim that has nothing behind it yet.
Nov 2026
Research Methods, continued.
Use the class project to practice owning a call.
Case study, continued.
Full draft, then one round of feedback.
Dec 2026
Research Methods, continued.
The final project doubles as portfolio evidence.
Ship the case study to the portfolio
Coverage moves when the prompt behind it is answered.
Winter break
Rest is allowed. The one thing that carries over: a cleaned-up portfolio link, ready for the January applications.
02
Spring term
Jan to Apr 2027Build
Jan 2027
Apply for the second UX research internship
Internship experience is the single biggest differentiator between two equal candidates.
Pitch a talk for the design showcase
Answers the open presenting prompt.
Feb 2027
Internship search, continued.
Follow-ups and first-round interviews.
Showcase prep, continued.
Practice in front of the critique night crowd.
Mar 2027
Present at the design showcase
Note the audience size; the evidence page will ask for it.
Internship search, continued.
Final rounds, portfolio link in hand.
Apr 2027
Accept the internship offer
The summer plan locks in.
Turn showcase contacts into two coffee chats
Loose ties are the ones that get people hired.
Summer 2027
The second UX research internship, May to Aug. Twelve weeks of real sessions and real users, producing the numbers your senior-year applications lean on.
03
Fall term, senior year
Sep to Dec 2027Recruiting
Sep 2027
Publish case study one from the summer
Turns the portfolio into something you can send cold.
Ask Priya and Marcus for referrals
The warm paths built a year ago pay off here.
Oct 2027
Publish case study two
Two published pieces beat one polished one.
Referrals, continued.
Aim at coverage of 85 out of 100 for this role.
Nov 2027
Send applications with the portfolio attached
Every bullet traces back to an answered prompt.
Referrals, continued.
Work the second-degree path into Verdi Labs.
Dec 2027
Interview, using the answer already drafted
The interview page keeps it current as evidence lands.
Check coverage against the target of 85
Anything still open gets re-sequenced into spring.
Why it re-sequences
The order changes when your evidence does
Answer a prompt and a step can drop off. Change your target career and the whole sequence rebuilds around the new durable core. This is the reason the product is a subscription rather than a report: a plan written once for a junior is wrong by the following autumn.
The published AI-exposure number is built only from O*NET task data, Eloundou et al., and METR. Pay, growth, networking, portfolio, and clean-up are context and never move it. A 0–100 exposure scale.
This dashboard is a sample. Maya Rivera, Northlight University, Northbeam, Lumen, and Verdi Labs are invented, and every figure on this page is sample data, not a real result.
