UX Pathways – Episode 8 : Debbie Levitt

Discover the unique user experience path that Debbie Levitt, Founder and Principal – DeltaCX, followed in this eighth episode.

This episode of UX Pathways features Debbie, a seasoned professional with over 25 years of experience in Customer Experience (CX) and User Experience (UX). She currently runs her own CX/UX consultancy, Delta CX, and is exploring leadership roles in other companies to apply her strategies and models more broadly. Debbie shares her unconventional journey into the UX field, her insights on education, and advice for newcomers.

Key Points from Debbie’s Journey

Early Interest in Technology: Debbie was an early computer enthusiast in an era when technology exposure was rare, especially for women.
Academic Background: Initially a double major in pre-med and music at Tufts University, she eventually graduated with a degree in music. Later, psychology classes influenced her UX perspective.
Entry into Web Design and UX: In 1995, Debbie self-taught HTML and started a web design and strategy business. UX was not formally recognized then, but she applied psychological principles and a user-centered mindset to her work.
Non-Traditional Path: Debbie emphasizes that her route into UX is uncommon and unlikely to be replicated today. She encourages flexibility in how one enters the field but stresses the importance of quality learning and mentorship.

Advice on UX Education and Career Development

Education Is Necessary but Variable: Formal university degrees are not mandatory, but strong knowledge and skill acquisition are essential.
Critical Thinking and Skepticism: Learners must critically evaluate educational sources and instructors. Many boot camps and online courses are of low quality.
Evaluate Instructors: Check if instructors have recent, relevant UX experience. Avoid learning UX from professionals who do not actively practice UX research and design.
Phases of Proficiency Model: Debbie distinguishes between basic tools (like Figma or Sketch) and strategic UX work. Many newcomers get stuck at the “building blocks” level, merely filling templates without true understanding.
Authentic Skill Development: Real UX work involves deep research, analysis, and iterative problem solving, not just completing assignments or superficially applying templates.
Mentorship Importance: Good mentors often guide you away from unsuitable paths, which is valuable advice for career direction.

Challenges in the UX Field

Misleading Perceptions: Social media and some online content portray UX jobs as glamorous with perks like free food and ping pong, ignoring the frequent conflicts and challenges practitioners face.
Balancing Stakeholder Needs: UX professionals must navigate business goals, technical constraints, and user needs, often leading to disagreements, such as a detailed example Debbie gave regarding shoe size ordering on an e-commerce site.
Lack of Quality Education: Debbie is frustrated by the scarcity of comprehensive UX education that teaches not just outputs but the processes behind them. She is developing her own educational content to address this gap.

Important Insights

UX Requires High-Level Critical Thinking: The profession demands constant problem finding, logical reasoning, and skepticism.
Not Everyone Is Suited for UX: If critical thinking and skepticism are difficult to maintain, UX might not be the right career path.
Research Your Educators: Always vet who you learn from and seek experts with proven, ongoing UX experience.
UX Is More Than Tools and Templates: It involves psychology, user behavior understanding, research rigor, and strategic application.

Key Takeaways for UX Beginners

UX is not just about learning tools; it requires understanding human psychology and behavior.
Seek high-quality education and verify the credentials and current experience of instructors.
Be prepared for complex stakeholder conflicts and balance competing demands.
Develop strong critical thinking and avoid superficial learning or reliance on templates.
Mentorship and honest self-assessment are vital to finding the right career fit within or outside UX.

Transcript

[Music]

Marc: Welcome to another episode of UX Pathways. I’m honored to be joined today by Debbie. Debbie, how’s it going?

Debbie: Hi! Look at that confetti! Hi everybody. I’m well—how are you? I hope everyone is safe and healthy.

Marc: Me too. I’m so happy to have you on the podcast. You’ve had a fascinating journey in CX and UX. But before we get into that, let’s start with your current role. What are you doing now?

Debbie’s Current Work

Debbie: As of today—because who knows what tomorrow brings—I run my own CX and UX agency and consultancy, called Delta CX (like just about everything I do).

I’ve been doing this for over 25 years. We provide strategy and end-to-end CX and UX projects for clients. Since I run the company, I can give myself any title I want—but I usually go with CXO (Chief Experience Officer).

When I freelance or take on contract roles for other companies, I typically serve as Lead UX Architect or Lead UX Researcher.

I’ve also been interviewing for leadership roles at other companies. I want to bring my models and approaches into organizations beyond my own. So depending on when people listen to this, I might be doing both—running Delta CX and leading UX somewhere else.

Marc: That’s amazing. Best of luck on that journey! And speaking of journeys… here comes my cheesy segue—how did you stumble into CX and UX?

How Debbie Got Into UX

Debbie: Stumble is the right word.

Growing up, I was always a computer geek—which wasn’t common for girls in the 70s and early 80s. I was born in 1972, first used a computer in 1979, and got my first one in 1985. Today that sounds normal, but back then everyone else my age was playing with dolls or pretending to be nurses and teachers. I was writing pretend business plans on my computer.

I entered Tufts University in 1989, double-majoring in pre-med and music (before smartphones, before most people even had home computers). I ultimately graduated with a degree in music—something I’m very proud of, even though people on LinkedIn like to weaponize it when they run out of insults.

After leaving pre-med, I took psychology classes for fun, not realizing how important they would later become.

Fast-forward to 1995: I was working in the music industry in NYC. A friend said, “You’ve got to see this thing called the web. You can make pages for it.” That was all I needed to hear.

I stayed awake for about a week teaching myself HTML. I thought, People will pay for this. So I started an early online strategy and web design company with a partner who handled the visual design. We built websites from 1995 onward.

I didn’t know about UX yet, but instinctively I was building sites using what I had learned in psychology—thinking about how people perceive information, make decisions, and navigate content.

Years later I learned the term “UX,” but back then I was just trying to design things that made sense to humans. You can’t replicate that pathway today; it was the Wild West. But people still come into UX through web design—my boyfriend, for example, transitioned from decades of kitchen/home design and WordPress development into UX.

So to me, how you get into UX matters far less than:

What you learn
How well you learn it
Who you learn it from

And that’s where things get tricky today, because the quality of UX education is… uneven, to put it mildly.

Advice for Getting Into UX

Marc: Exactly. Many people today come from nontraditional backgrounds. But you started to touch on something important: not all education paths are equal. What advice would you give someone exploring UX?

Debbie: You must get an education—but that doesn’t have to mean a university degree. It does mean you need:

Knowledge
Skills
Practice
Feedback from experts

UX is about knowing things, practicing scientific and psychological principles, and applying them correctly. This requires strong, real education—not shortcuts.

1. UX Your Own Journey

Put on your UX hat and research the people you want to learn from.
Look them up on LinkedIn:

Have they done real UX research and design work?
How long have they been doing it?
Are they actual practitioners—or are they teaching things they’ve never done?
Were they UI designers or developers claiming to teach UX research?

If they aren’t experienced in the work you want to learn, don’t learn from them.

2. Beware of Low-Quality Education

I constantly hear from people who say:

“I took this course two years ago. I built my portfolio. The bootcamp said I was great.”

And I look at their portfolio and think: You’re not ready, and your program didn’t prepare you.

Most entry-level work ends up at what I call the Building Blocks level:

Filling in templates
Guessing at personas
Copying competitors
Using Figma without understanding psychology or human behavior

That is not UX.

The next level is Science and Technique—where people actually understand human cognition, apply real research methods, and know when something is valid or flawed.

At the top is Strategy—but nobody belongs there until they have at least five years of proper UX practice.

Most programs teach building blocks, call it “UX,” and then cheerlead students into believing they’re job-ready.

3. Look at How Educators Demonstrate the Work

A real educator shows:

Inputs
Techniques
Decision-making
Outputs
How to get from A → B

Most programs show A and B and say, “You’ll figure it out.”

That’s unacceptable—especially when you’re paying thousands of dollars.

That’s why I started doing live streams on the Delta CX YouTube channel where I literally work live, think aloud, and answer questions. Because nobody else is showing the real process.

4. Critical Thinking Is Mandatory

UX is:

High critical thinking
High deductive reasoning
High logic
High problem-finding
High problem-solving

If your education journey doesn’t require those things—or you don’t naturally lean toward them—UX may not be the right field for you.

And that’s okay. A great mentor will tell you if something isn’t a fit—mine did when I wanted to be a genetic researcher.

The Reality of UX Careers

Marc: You also mentioned workplace dynamics—conflict, disagreement, being unpopular at times. I think people underestimate that part of UX.

Debbie: Absolutely. People see “Day in the Life of a UXer” videos on YouTube—free gym! free food! ping-pong!—and think that’s UX.

No. That’s an office tour.

Real UX involves:

Conflict
Pushback
Constant negotiation
Advocating for users who aren’t in the room
Working with people who aren’t thrilled to see you

I once spent two weeks arguing with someone at a job over how shoe sizes should be sorted:

I said sort them in numerical order.
She said sort them by how much inventory we had.

Her method resulted in absolute chaos—sizes jumping around the screen every time the page loaded. But she believed it would sell more shoes.

That’s UX life.

And yes—you’ll win some battles and lose some. But the whole point is balancing:

Business needs
Technical constraints
User needs

And user needs are often missing or deprioritized.

Final Thoughts

Marc: This is incredible. You’ve offered so much clarity and honesty about what it really takes to enter and thrive in UX. I appreciate your candor and your passion for raising the bar in education.

Debbie: Thank you for having me! If people want more, look for Delta CX anywhere—YouTube, LinkedIn, my site. And reach out with questions.

Marc: Debbie, it was a pleasure. Thanks again for joining the podcast.

Debbie: Thank you, Marc.