Weston D.
From psychology to consumer insights: How Udemy helped Weston find his path
After studying psychology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Weston knew he loved understanding people. What he didn’t yet know was how to turn that interest into a career. Rather than waiting for the right path to become clear, Weston started exploring new skills and possibilities for himself.
Today, he’s pursuing a Master of Marketing Research at the University of Georgia, with his sights set on a career in consumer insights. Looking back, he describes his career journey as anything but straightforward – but says every detour helped lead him where he needed to be.
Exploring new possibilities
As Weston approached the end of his psychology degree, he could see the value in understanding human behaviour, but struggled to see how he could apply it in a way that felt meaningful professionally.
“I loved understanding people, but I didn’t have a clear direction,” he explains. “And that uncertainty pushed me to start exploring on my own.”
That exploration led him to UX and UI design and data analysis. Without formal training in either area, Weston began looking for ways to build the skills he was missing – and that’s when he discovered Udemy. He was drawn to the practical nature of the courses and the opportunity to learn from people working in the fields he was interested in.
“What made Udemy work better for me than other options was that it was taught by real professionals in the field and people actually doing the work that they do every day.”
For Weston, learning from practitioners was important because he wasn’t looking for theory alone. He wanted to understand how the skills were actually used in the workplace.
“I wasn’t learning theory for a test. I was learning how people actually do this work, and that made the skills transferable in a way that a lot of traditional coursework doesn’t.”
Learning on his own terms
Flexibility was just as important. Weston was working full-time between undergraduate and graduate school, so he couldn’t commit to a rigid learning schedule. Instead, he fitted courses around his existing commitments – before work, after a shift or whenever he had an hour to spare.
“I treated Udemy like real school,” he says. “I took notes, I did the exercises. I didn’t just watch and move on.”
Turning learning into real-world skills
The impact of that learning became clear when Weston landed his first internship and began using the skills he’d developed through his Udemy courses directly on the job.
“It started to feel real when I landed my first internship and realized the skills that I had built on Udemy were things I was actually using on the job.”
Some of the most valuable areas he explored were UX design and data analytics. Together, they gave him new ways to understand user behaviour and use data to tell a story – skills that continue to influence his work today.
When he began his internship, he already had a foundation to build on.
“I already knew the tools. I already understood the concepts, so I wasn’t starting from zero. It gave me a head start for sure.”
Finding a direction that felt right
As Weston explored UX, UI and data analytics, he began to recognise that his deeper interest wasn’t simply in design or data. It was in the research behind them: understanding why people behave the way they do and using those insights to make better decisions.
That realisation led him towards marketing research and ultimately towards graduate school. For Weston, Udemy became a way to explore different possibilities before deciding where he wanted to take his career next.
“Udemy was almost like a sandbox. I got to try new things, develop real capability, and figure out where I actually wanted to invest my energy long term.”
When Weston applied to the Master of Marketing Research programme, he identified skill gaps he wanted to close before starting. He used Udemy courses to build that foundation – helping him feel more prepared when he began the programme.
“I felt significantly more confident going into my program because of it and walking in already familiar with these concepts.”
Don’t wait until everything is figured out
Looking back, Weston says one of the biggest lessons from his journey is that you don’t need to have your entire career mapped out before you start learning. His advice is simple: find something you’re curious about, start learning and see where it takes you.
“Don’t wait until everything is figured out. It never is. Pick something you’re curious about and take the course, and just see where it lands.”
And for Weston, that first step led to new skills, greater confidence and a clearer sense of where he wanted to take his career.
“Udemy doesn’t just teach me skills, it showed me what I was capable of becoming.”
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