UX and UI Bootcamp challenges

Hi, I’m new here, but I’ve been looking into UX and UI design for a while now. I find the field fascinating and I’m seriously considering one of the online bootcamps. However, it seems that anyone who can afford it can just sign up for them, so I’m wondering, is UX or UI design something anyone can learn and be good at? How difficult are these courses to complete? Any thoughts or comments on the bootcamps or challenges people have faced would be really appreciated.

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I just make an article about my experience in doing the UX design bootcamp with Careerfoundry. Check it out here https://rebrand.ly/1mbs0fouxm

Thanks for this, it’s a very informative and useful read. Can I ask if you found any aspects of the course especially challenging or if it was generally easy for you? Thanks

I am glad you found helpful to read my article! My main challenge was due to having to stay home a lot in doing the course, as in my hometown I did not have a proper library or coffee shop to go. So by doing it from home it make me a bit bored and I found difficult to find the right concentration at home sometimes.

Other than that I did not find any particular task to be too complicated, however sometimes it still happened that I felt stuck and I had to wait to get the support from my tutor or mentor.

Remember the famous phrase of Chef Gusteau in Ratatouille, “Anyone can cook?”

Anton Ego, the food critic antagonist of the story, spends most of the movie thumbing his nose at this notion.

At the end of the movie, after Ego has met the “Little Chef” and understands his meager beginnings, he writes

“The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations. The new needs friends…In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau’s famous motto: ‘Anyone can cook.’ But I realize, only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.”

It’s the same with UX and design.

In the same way that anyone can sign up for a cooking course to try and become a chef, anyone can sign up for a UX course and try to become a UXer. In the end, the talent, skill, and predisposition to some of the knowledge has to be there to be successful, but a great UX professional can come from anywhere.

I know of doctors, pilots, housewives, baristas, journalists, and high school dropouts that have all made a superb name for themselves and living in the UX world. At the same point in time, I know college-educated design professionals that I’d never hire to be on the same team as me.

In the end, UX isn’t for everyone - but a great UXer could come from anywhere.

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Hey Myopic, I have done a bootcamp with Academy Xi and a CX course with RMIT.

One of the things I found most difficult about them was that the assignments required you to leverage an issue in your current organisation to review the UX. This meant that to do proper research you would need to review people within the business. I am currently freelancing, so without access to a ‘company’ to review and research on I found I had to work a lot harder/be more creative to gather this info.

I would say its absolutely something anyone can learn, but being good at it will require an element of passion. Anyone can learn to drive a car, but not everyone is going to be a race car driver :smiley: Good luck!

Thank you all for your replies, they’re all very helpful.

Hi Sionen, did you like the Academy Xi course? I’m considering the immersive study but saw it doesn’t provide a official certificate in the end, do you know if certifications really matter for UX? Though I saw the part time ux/ui course does provide a cert in the end.

Thanks, Jane

Hey Jane! I’m just a beginner/transitioning from graphic design but in my experience and the people I’ve spoken with in the industry your portfolio of work is way more important that where you studied or what qualification you have.

Regarding Xi - I did enjoy it. I’ve just finished the fundamentals and found it quite theory heavy and in some parts a little out of date - some of the software they suggested has already been super-seeded. But overall a good overview of the methodologies. I am about to start the intensive UX/UI program which is a bit more one-on-one. So I’ll report back when I’m more into that.

The biggest factor for me in choosing a provider was depth of content and convenience to my lifestyle. I found that General Assembly didn’t give me the online capacity and flexible hours I needed. So thats something to consider too :slight_smile:

Thank you very much for the insight, yes I was stuck on whether to do the 3 months intensive but I’ll be tight on finances or do the UX/UI intensive though it’ll take 6 months to complete but I believe most of it is study in own time and only 2 hours of tutor interaction per week. (i’m just so stuck on which one to do!)

Well if you choose the 6m course I might see you there! :raised_hands:

Also something to think about is even though It 6m. It’s really 4m training and 2m of prep for getting a job. Then a further 6m with careering coaching. With the impact of covid on the market at the moment it will be interesting to see how this pans out!

Much cheaper and super awesome is this course https://www.uxforfreelancers.com. Her info is fantastic and very practical and real world. Could be a good taste and then study more if you feel you need it.

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Yes! was just thinking the same thing! :slight_smile:

Thanks again for the info, greatly appreciate it!

@myopic Have you heard of UX Academy?

I have, im considering taking the course, have you taken it?

Thank you for sharing your article about your experience with Careerfoundry’s UX design bootcamp. I found it to be a great read and very informative. It’s always interesting to hear about personal experiences and how they can help others who are considering similar paths.

I particularly appreciated your insights into the program and how it prepared you for your career in UX design. It’s evident that the program was rigorous, but it seems like it was well worth it in the end.

I’d love to hear from others who have gone through similar bootcamps and how they compare. Have any of you taken a UX design bootcamp, and if so, how was your experience? And for those who haven’t, what questions do you have about the program or the field in general?