So I absolutely love being a UX Designer. No, I didn't go to school for it, although I do have a related degree. Like many people, I fell into it and I couldn't be happier.
However, lately, I have been speaking with other UX Designers, Managers, etc. lately and they talk about what they want to do after UX Design. I hear things like life coach, yoga instructor, and other job titles not related to UX.
Well you know what? I want to do UX Design until the day I die. Like, I literally want to drop dead while solving a problem.
I've been thinking a lot about what it means to be a UX Designer lately and what people call Service Design versus UX Design. To me, they are the same. UX Design is the encompassing experience of a moment in time or while going through a process.
When you love what you do, it colors all aspects of your life. For example, I was recently in a hotel room and you know what I noticed? How many towel hooks were in the bathroom and how close they were to places where the water came out and you would need them. One hotel room had 2 towel hooks. One was by the shower, which was good. The other was by the closet. Not good. Have you ever been in a hotel room and there is no where to hang the wet wash cloth or used hand towel? Or there are no hooks by the shower to hang your towel for when you get out of the shower? This is part of the experience that UX Design encompasses.
In the tech world, we like to separate UX Design, Service Design, and Product Design. But honestly, they are all different words for the same thing - the experience of the user. You can get granular if you want: Product Design = digital products, Service Design = physical spaces and organizational processes, UX Design = digital products and the processes around using those products.
Whatever you call yourself, and whatever you do in your life, make sure you are passionate about it and love it more than anything. You can always change your mind later.