What to consider when deciding on a UX education
By: Amanda Conlon
Tags: Design Education, User Experience, UX Design, Ux Design Bootcamp, Changing Careers

What to consider when deciding on a UX education

How to find a course that works best for your priorities.

Photo by Yannis Papanastasopoulos on Unsplash

A few years ago when I discovered I wanted to work in user experience design, I spent months scouring bootcamp descriptions, online courses and masters programs. I had phone calls with recruiters, did all the free bootcamp tutorials and talked to lots of current UX designers and hiring managers. It was not a decision I took lightly and I didn’t have the money to take a risk since I was already struggling to find a career with a liveable income. Already ten years out of my undergrad, I needed to have the skills necessary to actually get a job and make enough to live on. I met successful designers who studied at bootcamps, masters programs and taught themselves and received mixed messages about everything. The consistent theme about courses was “it is what you make of it” and “you will have to do projects outside of what is assigned”. So with a racing heart, I committed my time and money to a masters degree. I knew I had to make it work.

Before I began my masters program I wrote my first Medium article describing my journey to this career change and since then I’ve had lots of aspiring user experience designers reach out to ask my advice. The most common question was how to decide between a masters program and a bootcamp so I wanted to share my thoughts on what you should consider before deciding on a user experience education.

Consider your priorities

Deciding on a program of learning or changing careers is a very personal choice and every individual’s situation will be different. Before you decide how you will study, consider your priorities. Often it is not just about learning a new skill, some people want a masters degree on their resume while some people want to start working in the field as quickly as possible, others want to make sure they feel confident before applying for roles (you probably won’t anyway), some people study so they can live in a particular location while others are happy learning from their couch. Here are a few factors you might want to consider.

Location

Where do you want to study? Where do you want to live after you study? Is this a place you can start building a network now? What are the job prospects in the area after you graduate?

2. Format

Will you find time to commit to a self motivated online course? Do you prefer intense learning or need time to take things in? Do you want a practical approach so you are ready for a job or a more academic approach that could lead to a PhD or further study?

3. Title

Do you want a recognized certification for your studies? Do you want the title of a masters degree? Do you just want to learn and get a job as quickly as possible?

4. Time

Are you starting as a complete beginner with no other design or technology experience? Or do you have a little experience that you can draw from already? Do you have other obligations in your future like a wedding or moving?

5. Cost

How much money can you commit to your education? Could you use the time spent on school learning on the job instead? (Sure, you never know if you can get a job until you have a portfolio and start looking.) How long will it take you to pay for the course once you get a UX job?

6. Career support

How much career support do you need? Do you already have a portfolio and resume or will you need to start from scratch?

So many factors affect the decision to go to school so if you are clear about your personal motivation it can help you get through difficult classes and times of ambiguity until you reach your goal. For me, having a really good course was important but I also wanted to live abroad, cost and time were a factor so one year was the longest I wanted to commit to.