Do not index
Do not index
I’m trying to land my first role as a UX Designer. I don’t have real work experience. How do you think I should go about this?
To land your first UX design job you’ll need:
- Updated Resume
- Updated LinkedIn
- Update anything recruiters or hiring company will find online
- Decent portfolio with at least 3 case studies showing your process
- Prepare for UX job interviews by doing thorough research on the company
- Apply to UX jobs that you think you have a real shot at (internships, junior roles, voluntary roles, etc.)
To gain UX work experience FAST, try:
- Offer your UX services for cheap or FREE
- Get testimonials after your design work is complete
- Alternatively, start side projects and treat it as a real product
- Experiment with the UX process as much as possible and repeat
- Reaching out to your network (friends, family, LinkedIn network, etc.)
I wrote a comprehensive 6-step guide on “how to become a UX designer”
Do you think a bootcamp would help? If so which one?
Personally, I'm not a huge fan of bootcamp. However, your UX education should be deeply personal.
Whether it’s reading, listening, watching, or doing. Tailor your education to your preferences from the start.
User Experience Design is a vocation not a profession.A vocation is generally a job that requires a particular set of skills acquired through experience or through training but not necessarily dependent on a college degree. Profession refers to the career that one opts for, getting extensive training and acquiring special skills to become eligible for a job in it.
Free UX courses
Free courses are a great way to try (before you buy) and validate if UX design is for you. If you’re a disciplined self-learner, you may never have to pay for a UX education (like me).
If you’re unsure about going all-in, below are my recommended free courses:
Paid UX courses
Paid course are immersive. Great for someone who’s made the decision to become a UX designer and needs a more structured learning approach.
Paid UX courses are not cheap and require a lot of commitment.
- Ask yourself how much time can you dedicate each week to learning UX
- How much flexibility do you need in terms of scheduling?
- What’s your budget realistically?
Bootcamps, paid courses, and certificate are NOT essential.
Courses sometime offers UX certificates — this is also NOT important and WON’T get you hired. Applying what you learned and showing evidence WILL.
Be careful of job guarantees, it’s most likely wrapped in lengthy terms and conditions.
A good paid UX course offers these 5 things:
- Project-based learning — a course that requires you to get hands-on to master the right practical skills, not just theory.
- A tangible portfolio piece — a course that leads to at least one portfolio project and helps you to refine it, ready for the job market.
- Human support — a course that offers at least one industry expert, be it a mentor, a tutor, or (ideal scenario!) both.
- Career support — a course that offers specialist career support, for example, coaching throughout your job search.
- Expert curriculum — a core syllabus written (and continuously updated) by expert curriculum writers, not third-party curated content writers.
Ultimately, if you’re paying for a UX course, you want the full package.
Here are some of my favourites:
I wrote an analysis of 8 paid UX courses below 👇
Design degrees
Design degrees are getting more common, however, it’s NOT necessary to attend university to become a UX designer.
What’s more important is your experience and the work your show on your portfolio. Nevertheless, there are tremendous schools that offer Human Computer Interaction (HCI) degrees.
These are:
For more on design degrees, check out Top UX School for rankings.
Don’t know where to start with your portfolio?
Get step-by-step guides on how to build your UX portfolio, revamp your LinkedIn, and a teardown of the UX hiring process. Build your stand out portfolio.