April 4, 2025
Sid Handa, Consultant & Designer | Peritos Solutions
When Sid Handa looks back at his journey into tech, he sees a path shaped by creativity, resilience, and a strong desire to do meaningful work. A natural creative from a young age, Sid thrived in high school subjects like animation and motion graphics, and even studied animation at university before pivoting into business and digital marketing.
But something was missing.
“I realised I didn’t enjoy marketing itself—it was the creative outlet that drew me in,” he recalls. That’s when he discovered Mission Ready. Encouraged by a friend and his father—who’d heard of Mission Ready’s growing reputation—Sid joined our UX Design programme. “It felt like the perfect fusion. Creative, human-centred, and problem-solving focused.”
Sid thrived in the programme and especially valued the mentored work experience, which saw him embedded in Datacom’s Foundry team. One of the standout projects? Researching and designing AI-powered tools—an experience that not only sparked his curiosity but also prepared him for the fast-paced world he was about to enter.
Today, Sid works in a hybrid role that combines tech sales, cloud consulting, and UI/UX design at a global software consultancy. It wasn’t a traditional UX role, but he made it his own. “In this market, sometimes you’ve got to create your own job description,” he laughs. “I used my marketing and sales background to get my foot in the door, and then showed them what I could do with design.”
He’s living proof that adaptability and a strong network can make all the difference—and his experience has given him a unique perspective on the evolving role of UX in the age of AI.
Thoughts on Our New AI-Powered UX Engineer Programme
Sid recently reviewed Mission Ready’s new AI-powered Technical UX Designer Diploma—and he’s all in.
“I would 100% do this if I had the chance to go back,” he says. “Even if you’re not passionate about development, knowing how things are built makes you a better designer. It gives you control, makes your work more rewarding, and you stand out in the job market.”
Sid sees the rise of the “Unicorn”—a designer who can also develop—as not just desirable, but necessary. And with the growing demand for AI-powered solutions, he believes designers with both technical fluency and empathy-driven UX skills are uniquely positioned to lead transformation.
“Every client I work with now wants to integrate AI. From automating four-hour tasks to five-minute workflows, we’re expected to build solutions that are both powerful and user-friendly. A programme like this gives you the mindset to do both.”
He also shared some favourite tools—like Fireflies.ai for meeting transcriptions and action points, and of course, ChatGPT and CoPilot for ideation and communication. While AI still has a way to go in certain areas of design, he’s excited about new innovations like Figma AI and UIzard, and is eager to see where these tools go next.
Advice for Future Candidates
Sid’s advice is simple but powerful: “Just get your foot in the door. You might not land your dream UX job right away, but if you show initiative and bring all of yourself to the table, you can shape the role into something meaningful.”
His story is a testament to Mission Ready’s philosophy—start with what you’ve got, say yes to growth, and design your future.