Teacher to UX designer career change CV example (UK)

A complete CV for a fictional career changer (teacher to ux), on A4 in the Sidebar template, with notes on why it works.

Hannah Lewis

UX and learning experience designer

Profile

Former secondary science teacher moving into UX and learning experience design after ten years planning, testing and improving lessons for 11 to 18 year olds. Completed a UX design course and three portfolio projects, including usability research with real learners. Looking for a junior UX or learning designer role in edtech or workplace learning.

Projects

Revision app for GCSE science (redesign), Portfolio project

Jul 2026 – Sep 2026

hannahlewis.example.com/revision-app

Interviewed 8 students and 3 teachers, then mapped 4 points where students abandoned revision sessions
Prototyped a new quiz flow in Figma and tested it with 6 students, raising task completion from 3 of 6 to 6 of 6

Onboarding module for a community food bank, Volunteer project

Aug 2026 – Oct 2026

Articulate Rise, Figma

Designed a 20-minute e-learning module for new volunteers, replacing a 12-page printed handbook
Cut first-shift questions to the coordinator from about 15 to 5, measured over the first 10 volunteers

Accessibility audit of a school parent portal, Course project

Jun 2026 – Jul 2026

Audited 12 screens against WCAG 2.2 AA and prioritised 23 issues by severity and effort

Work experience

UX Design Course (full-time career break), Independent study

Manchester | May 2026 – Aug 2026

Completed a 16-week full-time course in user research, interaction design and prototyping, alongside the projects above

Teacher of Science and Key Stage 4 Coordinator, Irwell Bridge Academy

Salford | Sep 2019 – Apr 2026

Redesigned the Year 10 chemistry scheme of work after surveying 120 students, lifting end-of-unit test averages by 11%
Built a self-marking online homework system in Google Forms for 6 classes, saving each teacher about 2 hours a week
Ran fortnightly lesson trials with 4 colleagues, observing and refining 30 lessons over 2 years
Adapted resources for 25 students with SEND, including dyslexia-friendly layouts and audio versions

Teacher of Science, Moss Lane High School

Stockport | Sep 2016 – Aug 2019

Taught biology, chemistry and physics to 5 classes a year across Key Stages 3 and 4
Wrote 40 practical worksheets with step-by-step visuals that the department still uses

Education

PGCE Secondary Science with QTS, University of the Mersey Basin

Liverpool | 2015 – 2016

BSc (Hons) Biology, University of the Mersey Basin

Liverpool | 2012 – 2015

2:1

The same CV as plain text (what you'd paste into a job portal)

HANNAH LEWIS
UX and learning experience designer
hannah.lewis@example.com | 07700 900905 | Manchester | hannahlewis.example.com | linkedin.com/in/hannahlewis-example

PROFILE
Former secondary science teacher moving into UX and learning experience design after ten years planning, testing and improving lessons for 11 to 18 year olds. Completed a UX design course and three portfolio projects, including usability research with real learners. Looking for a junior UX or learning designer role in edtech or workplace learning.

PROJECTS
Revision app for GCSE science (redesign), Portfolio project
Jul 2026 – Sep 2026
hannahlewis.example.com/revision-app
- Interviewed 8 students and 3 teachers, then mapped 4 points where students abandoned revision sessions
- Prototyped a new quiz flow in Figma and tested it with 6 students, raising task completion from 3 of 6 to 6 of 6

Onboarding module for a community food bank, Volunteer project
Aug 2026 – Oct 2026
Articulate Rise, Figma
- Designed a 20-minute e-learning module for new volunteers, replacing a 12-page printed handbook
- Cut first-shift questions to the coordinator from about 15 to 5, measured over the first 10 volunteers

Accessibility audit of a school parent portal, Course project
Jun 2026 – Jul 2026
- Audited 12 screens against WCAG 2.2 AA and prioritised 23 issues by severity and effort

WORK EXPERIENCE
UX Design Course (full-time career break), Independent study
Manchester | May 2026 – Aug 2026
- Completed a 16-week full-time course in user research, interaction design and prototyping, alongside the projects above

Teacher of Science and Key Stage 4 Coordinator, Irwell Bridge Academy
Salford | Sep 2019 – Apr 2026
- Redesigned the Year 10 chemistry scheme of work after surveying 120 students, lifting end-of-unit test averages by 11%
- Built a self-marking online homework system in Google Forms for 6 classes, saving each teacher about 2 hours a week
- Ran fortnightly lesson trials with 4 colleagues, observing and refining 30 lessons over 2 years
- Adapted resources for 25 students with SEND, including dyslexia-friendly layouts and audio versions

Teacher of Science, Moss Lane High School
Stockport | Sep 2016 – Aug 2019
- Taught biology, chemistry and physics to 5 classes a year across Key Stages 3 and 4
- Wrote 40 practical worksheets with step-by-step visuals that the department still uses

EDUCATION
PGCE Secondary Science with QTS, University of the Mersey Basin
Liverpool | 2015 – 2016

BSc (Hons) Biology, University of the Mersey Basin
Liverpool | 2012 – 2015
2:1

SKILLS
Research: User interviews, usability testing, surveys, affinity mapping
Design: Wireframing, prototyping, information architecture, accessibility (WCAG 2.2)
Tools: Figma, FigJam, Articulate Rise, Miro, Google Workspace
From teaching: Instructional design, presenting, facilitation, writing for different reading levels

CERTIFICATIONS
Google UX Design Professional Certificate, Google (Coursera), 2026

Why this works

A career change CV has to answer “why should we believe you can do this?” before anything else. The profile states the move in one sentence and points straight to the portfolio, and the projects come before the teaching jobs.
The teaching roles are rewritten in the language of the new field: research with users, testing and iterating, designing for different abilities. Each bullet is still true to the classroom, so nothing will unravel at interview.
The four-month gap for the course is named in the timeline with dates and what Hannah built during it. An explained gap reads as a decision; an unexplained one invites a question.
Portfolio projects carry numbers just like jobs do: participants tested, task completion, time on task. Small, honest numbers from a real usability test are more persuasive than none.
The Sidebar template keeps tools, methods and the course in a narrow column so the main column can carry the evidence. If applying through a portal, export plain text so the two columns are read in the right order.

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Software engineer (United States)

Hannah Lewis is a fictional person. Every employer, school, number and contact detail on this CV is invented.