You are twelve months away from landing your first UX design role — and the clock starts today. Right now you are a customer support agent who spends evenings watching design tutorials, which tells me something important: the motivation is already there. What is missing is a structured bridge from where you are to where you want to be. The first three months are about proof of concept. Complete one free Google UX Design Certificate module per week, and alongside it begin a personal project: redesign the app you complain about most. You do not need permission to start designing things. By month three you should have two case studies documented in a free Figma portfolio. Months four through eight shift into community and feedback. Join one UX community on LinkedIn or a Slack group, share your work weekly, and ask for critique. The loneliness of self-teaching is your stated obstacle — surrounding your work with people who take it seriously dissolves that faster than any motivational video. Apply to three junior UX roles or internships per month during this phase even if you feel unready; the application process itself sharpens your narrative. The final four months are about refinement and confidence. Polish your top two case studies based on all feedback received. Prepare a 90-second "design story" that explains your career change as a strength — your empathy for frustrated users is a professional asset, not a gap. Schedule at least two informational interviews per month with working UX designers. Your single most important next step today: open Figma, pick that app you hate, and screenshot its most confusing screen. That screenshot is the beginning of your portfolio.