7 Things I Wish I Knew Before Taking a UX Bootcamp
I decided at the end of 2015 that I wanted to switch careers from being a professional tutor and become a UX Designer. I was incredibly excited about the idea. It seemed to have all the hallmarks for the career that I wanted to have — positive impact on the daily lives of people, critical thinking, creativity, and a livable wage. I did a lot of research beforehand to see if it was necessary to get a degree in Human-Computer Interaction or if I could do a bootcamp. It seemed like the path to UX Design was possible through independent education, so I decided to go for a bootcamp. I researched all the ones available in the SF Bay Area (where I live) and I decided to go with Bloc, Inc. It allowed me to study remotely and part-time while I continued to work. It seemed like the perfect solution.
I started studying UX/UI Design through their apprenticeship and I chose the 6 month track. As I went through the program, I learned about a variety of programs and design concepts that I would need in the industry. I met online with a mentor once a week to discuss my progress through the assignments and UX/UI design principles. I graduated my program and started applying to jobs with my portfolio from the program.
Though I was applying to a lot of jobs, I was getting zero response. One person wouldn’t even let me hear more details about the position because they could see I didn’t have the experience they were looking for. I knew there was something missing that I hadn’t gotten from my program. I got a mentor who works as a Senior UX Designer and she started me down a 4 month rabbit hole of rude awakenings and self-education.
Here’s what I learned:
1. People expect you to have a certain level of graphic design knowledge before they will hire you.
Though a little bit of graphic design theory was mentioned in the course, they did not stress it as much as I feel was necessary. Employers want to see you have the ability to produce something professional looking — that requires a knowledge of typography, color theory, information architecture, and modern design trends. Simply trying things until you feel they “look good” is not enough for employers. You need to know how to make designs with intention. Part of the reason my portfolio was getting zero response because it didn’t look professional enough. So I had to start all over again. I ended up redesigning it from scratch 5 times before I landed on my final design because I was teaching myself design principles along the way.
2. Depending on what location you plan on working in, a knowledge of HTML/CSS is expected.
In the course, we completed one prototype using HTML/CSS by following the exact instructions that were given to us in the course. I had no idea what I was doing and was literally copying and pasting code in. My mentor in the program was from another country and she said all of her work was done in Photoshop or Sketch, so I wasn’t worried about it at the time. I was in for a rude awakening when I met my new mentor, who told me most places expect you to know at least HTML/CSS, if not also Javascript. I spent the next 4 months teaching myself HTML and CSS to rebuild my portfolio. Though I started with a Bootstrap framework, I ended up with code that was almost completely my own after 3 massive overhauls of the code.
3. Coding your responsive portfolio will be painful if you do not start with a mobile first design. MOBILE FIRST ALWAYS.
I started out with a portfolio that only worked on desktop and I was immediately met with comments about how awful my portfolio looked on mobile. Don’t diminish the importance of cross-platform viewing. People look for it. It was PAINFUL to go back and make my website responsive. Months and months of debugging and agony because I didn’t start out making sure it was accessible on a mobile device. Also, there are quirks with each mobile device so make sure to check it on a variety of devices. I could write a whole book on all of the things I wish I had known about coding for responsiveness, but that’s for another time. Just take my word for it and design for mobile first.
4. You will not get enough knowledge of best practices for UX Design from your bootcamp.
The more I learned about UX design, the more I learned that there is SO MUCH to learn about UX design. I honestly feel like I didn’t learn anything compared to what I learned after my bootcamp when I realized I wasn’t ready to be a UX designer. There is so much theory behind UX that is not given to you in your bootcamp, at least not at the one I went to. I have absorbed information from so many blogs, books, videos, and people. I honestly think there is no way to learn it all except from experience and exposure to people in the industry… And hours and hours of research.
5. Job support from your bootcamp is incredibly important.
Finding a job is WAY HARDER than you could ever imagine. I feel an immense regret that I didn’t care as much if the program I chose had job support or job metrics. Bloc does not have job support for the UX/UI Apprenticeship. When I asked them about how many graduates went on to get jobs, they said they didn’t have any metrics. Some of their students were not looking for jobs, so they didn’t want to skew the percentages. I figured that was reasonable at the time. Do not make the same mistake I did. You need job support. If you are going to spend $10,000 or more on a program to get that dream job, it is worth it to choose one that will support you after you graduate. When I was done with the program at Bloc, I was completely on my own. No connections, no recommendations for my area, no nothing. I just had to figure it out. Not having any lifeline when you are a bright-eyed newbie is not just difficult, it is impossible. Which leads me to my next point…
6. No one will hire an entry-level person who needs mentorship.
This was the biggest thing I wish I knew beforehand. Junior level UX designers are actually people who have 3+ years of solid work experience. Internships are for students in a Master’s program for Human-Computer Interaction. So how do you get experience if you graduated from a bootcamp with no experience? You hustle. You search anywhere you can get freelance work and you try to find some meaningful work for little to no pay so that you can put it on your portfolio. You will spend months working at less than $5 per hour on Fiverr or Upwork to get that experience, and it sucks. You just need to grind your teeth and do it. I’m still doing it. I just hope with enough teeth grinding that I will eventually have enough experience to have the honor of being a true UX designer.
7. Your journey starts when you finish your bootcamp.
When I finished at Bloc, I was so excited to get started with my career. I thought I was ready and that I was going to land my dream job because I had put in the work at my bootcamp to be the best I could be. What I found out is that a bootcamp is not your answer, but your start. You will learn many of the necessary skills at your bootcamp and then you will spend the rest of your career learning what it really means to be a UX designer. This field is still growing and learning to understand itself, and you will feel that when you jump into it. The best you can do is to never stop moving; keep learning, pushing your boundaries, and getting back up after you’ve been pushed down.
If you’re struggling to push into this field, you’re not alone. This issue of having no one out there willing to take in new talent is abundant, but don’t give up. This is how new generations of UX designers are born — with grit, hustle, and an unrelenting desire to make the world better. The world needs UX design now more than ever as technology grows and morphs into new frontiers, and we will be the ones to help make it better for all users.
