How to choose the best UI/UX Design Course or Bootcamp in 2024?
A mentor’s recommendations for online UI/UX design education and career change
Shall I get into UX design? Can I get a job in UX without a degree or any previous experience? How to create a UX portfolio from scratch? Shall I join a course or Bootcamp?There are so many available online courses and Bootcamps, how can I choose the one is right for me?
Being a UX beginner, you might be a bit overwhelmed. But don’t worry! I will give you a lot of tips and recommendations as a senior UX designer and mentor and the founder of Flowhack, so that you can kickstart your UX learning journey.
Should I get into UX design?
- If you are interested in creativity, technology, psychology, problem-solving and working with people, then UX design is perfect for you!
- UX Designer ranks 38th in the top 50 jobs for 2020 by Glassdoor. UX design is one of the highest-paid professions everywhere in the world. Entry-level UX designers earn an average salary of $50k in Germany, $80k in Switzerland, $75k in the US and $30k in China.
- There is a high and growing demand for UX designers in many exciting fields. Many recruiters will reach out to you through emails and LinkedIn messages.
- A lot of the time UX designers get flexible working hours and also chances to work remotely as long as they can be present for meetings and ensure the quality of work.
Can I get a job in UX without a degree or any previous experience?
Most hiring managers don’t expect a college degree from a UX designer but they do expect to see a great portfolio as well as strong technical and teamwork skills.
The students I’ve mentored all had no degree or previous experience in UX and were doing all kinds of other jobs before. Despite that, they have successfully landed their first jobs in UX or UI, so the answer is YES! I’ve also collected some of the best portfolios from my students which are all completed within a few months and they are now UI/UX designers.
In my other article, you will find a step by step guide to getting your first job in UX design: How to become a UX designer from scratch?
How to create a UX portfolio from scratch?
For career-changers with little to zero professional UX experience, a strong portfolio holds the key to stepping into this new career. Therefore I’ve provided a detailed guide in my other article: How to create a UX design portfolio with no work experience?
A good UX portfolio is about showing the process, not only the end result.
Shall I join a course or Bootcamp?
Yes! Structured training and hands-on exercises give you a more systematic understanding of all aspects of UX design and the process of real projects, so I highly recommend it.
Do online courses provide you with enough knowledge to get into UX design?
Online courses are a great start to learning UX design. They are mostly self-paced and quite affordable so you could study besides your current job. I have taught myself UX through online courses, however, my university degree is in industrial design so I already had a design portfolio.
If you are coming from a non-design background, then I recommend you to first complete an online course and get some basic knowledge, then find a mentor or join a Bootcamp so that you can work on projects and get professional feedback to improve your work.
Some high-quality online courses that I’ve taken with certifications that you could add to your LinkedIn profile:
Interaction Design Foundation courses (I’m an Education partner of IDF and you get 3 months free with this 25% discount link)
Coursera — Google UX Design Certificate
Bootcamps cost a lot more, is it worth the investment?
Bootcamps are designed to help you build a portfolio and get a job in UX. By the end of the program, you will achieve an amazing portfolio with 1 on 1 mentor support and job preparation.
If you have the budget and time, it’s worth to invest in a Bootcamp to fast track your transition into a UX designer.
Here are the Bootcamps that I mentor at and can recommend:
*DesignLab UX foundation & UX academy*
Duration: 5 or 9 months total for full-time or for part-time, starts every month; Cost: $7,350
Format: 4 case studies + weekly mentor video calls + group critiques + tasks reviews + career coach support + job guarantee + certification
Review: Designlab offers short & important UX foundation for beginners and then proceeding or going directly to UX academy bootcamp. If you aren’t sure about quitting your current job and transitioning into UX design, the short course is perfect for you. You will be working on a case study with hands-on support from a mentor so that you can get a good idea about the design process. Their UX academy offers group critiques as well as weekly mentor calls which can be very nice to get feedback from both sides and their coursework submission platform enables you to get detailed written feedback from the mentor. This Bootcamp has relatively good value and success rate.
( $100 off tuition discount link)
*Flowhack UI/UX design Bootcamp*
Duration: 3 or 6 months, starts 2 times a month; Cost: €390 per month
Format: 14 modules + 3 case studies + weekly mentor video calls + tasks reviews + career coach support+ mock-up interviews + slack peer group
Review: Most of the Bootcamps aren’t so affordable and some students still don’t manage to find a job after graduation. Flowhack UI/UX Bootcamps are personalized to students’ levels and goals and help them build a portfolio that stands out and get a job in UI/UX. The 6 months track is perfect for beginners or self-learners who want to land a job and 3 months tracks are for those who already have a portfolio and need job search support or want to get a remote job or freelance work. Flowhack graduates' job success rate is relatively high because of its small size and high-quality mentorship.
(5% off tuition discount link, code: Flow22)
Most importantly
- To start with, set your goal, budget, availability, evaluate your current experience level and if you need a job guarantee, talk to those who are or have enrolled in the courses or Bootcamps, then you can decide which ones suit you the most.
- If you are looking for your first UX design job, your portfolio, technical and interview skills are the key to a successful career transition. What the companies look for is a fast learner and a great team player who can apply a user-centred design process.
- Last but not least, this would be a rewarding journey and you’ve made a great decision to transition to a UX designer! Wish you lots of success!
Let’s connect! I’d love to hear your feedback or questions.
I’m Elina Zhang, the founder of Flowhack Academy and a former UX design mentor at Designlab, Springboard, Careerfoundry and IDF. I’m passionate about sharing my knowledge and helping people get into UI/UX design and remote work!
