Andy,

Great post (and long time no talk! Would love to catch up again sometime.)

I love that your post popped up for me just on the heels of an experimental attempt to reunite with my pre-burnout love of UX (circa 2012.)

Maybe it was just the particular place I was working? Perhaps it's more reflective of what the broader culture of UX has become? Perhaps it was just the distance between that "agency" type of work and what I'm used to doing these days? I'm not sure, but during my brief re-emergence in 2022, I found the "UX" being sold to agency customers to be straight-up overcomplicated, if not disheartening.

All this is to say, a good deal of your post struck a chord with this recent experience. It'll be interesting to see what unfolds in another 2-10 years.

–Jaimee