3. UX Academy (Full-time)

I had a great Designlab experience, and would recommend for anyone who is looking to transition into UX Design as a career, or just wanting to learn more about UX in general. My mentors were fantastic and really shaped my experience and made me a better designer. The mentorship is my favorite part of the program by far. I love that it is self-paced, and that the information is presented in a way that makes sense and allows you to practice your skills throughout the curriculum. I came out with projects and a portfolio that helped me land my first design job. You have group critique sessions, which really help you learn how to receive design feedback. I also love that they offer scholarships (Diversify Design); without these, I could not afford the program. 

The course was very challenging and my mentor was extremely helpful. Some of the course material was a little outdated (e.g. Figma screen recordings were from an old version) so you have to watch more recent tutorials on YouTube to keep up with the new versions. My mentor made me question all my design decisions and forced me to base them on research and not intuition, which turned out to be extremely important when I went through job interviews. Since UX/UI is quite popular right now, it will not be easy to land your first job in your new career. You definitely have to put in extra work in addition to the projects you do in the bootcamp to stand out from the competition. I did the full-time course with some extra work on the side, and I got extremely tired halfway through the bootcamp. I had to take 1-week breaks between projects to clear my head and avoid burnout, so beware.The Career Services was OK. My mentor kept me motivated while I was looking for a job but wasn't able to identify the weak points in my portfolio or interview skills. 

I had a bachelor's degree in psychology but was unsure of what direction I wanted to go with my career. As I researched more and more about UX design, I thought it could be what I was looking for all along; it combined my love of design and problem solving, and would also enable me to apply my psychology background. While researching the different UX bootcamps, UX Academy stood out to me the most. The option to do it full or part-time, the mentorship program, group critiques, rigorous course content and projects, and that it was so much more affordable than other bootcamps and grad programs, are a few reasons why I chose UX Academy. I truly enjoyed the bootcamp, but know that you only get out of it what you put into it. My mentor (Emily) and career coach (Anthony) were both great and provided amazing support through their wealth of knowledge and experience! The support team was also incredibly helpful and responsive. If you aren't happy with something, reach out and they will provide the assistance you need. It's crazy to think that a year ago I didn't have a clue what career path I should take, and just a couple months after graduating UX Academy I landed my first full-time UX position! 

I career changed from business entrepreneurship to UX through Designlab's UX Academy. I did the part-time track on top of UX Academy Foundations so my whole course was about 36 weeks long. The curriculum and resources they provide are well-curated and definitely provide a solid foundation for early-stage designers to work off of. The amount of external resources and extra assignments they provide is generous. On a part-time track, the amount of work is manageable while I had a 30-hour/week job on the side as well.However, the only complaint I have about UX Academy is that the experience highly depends on the mentor you get paired up with (although you can switch whenever you want). The mentor is the one who's in charge of "grading" your assignments and some mentors are more strict than others (reasonably or unreasonably so). They're the ones that will actually teach you and guide you along the right path so your entire perspective in the course is shaped around them for better or for worse. Ultimately, I switched mentors a couple of times until I landed on one that was in sync with me. Lastly, if you think you'll get a job just by doing the bare minimum with Designlab - you won't. Designlab is here to merely provide a foundation but it is up to you to put in all the extra work after learning. Designlab provides plenty of resources for you to work off of and many ways to connect with others to expand that network. Overall, I would recommend Designlab to others as the price you pay is worth what you can potentially get from it.

I started with DesignLab’s foundation course, which primarily went into UI and design principles. I loved it so much I applied for the UX academy and got in. I learned so much from the course, my mentor, and the designlab community… not to mention the excellent projects that gave me a bunch of hands on experience which is the best way I learn. This course is definitely not for the faint of heart. It takes a lot of work and for the past 10 months, my free time was primarily doing the coursework, but it was 100% worth it! I got a job as a UX Designer two months after finishing my portfolio. Thanks DesignLab!!

I decided to transition from marketing into design in late 2021. I did a lot of research, like spreadsheet comparisons and all. I finally decided on DL's UX Foundations and Academy program because it has everything I was looking for: asynchronous curriculum with live mentor sessions and group sessions to keep progress in check; a fair price; multiple projects covering all aspects of design.First of all, Foundations course really helped me who has zero design background to get familiar with basic concepts and tools. It also got me familiar with the course format and established a connection/relationship with other students. The Slack community (later moved to Discord) surprised me in all the good ways. I formed genuine and lasting relationships with fellow students, I felt supported, and I was able to both receive help and give help. The actual Academy is much more intense than Foundations, but I felt that I was learning and making progress the whole time. My mentor was absolutely amazing. I was also able to take breaks when needed so I don't sacrifice my learning quality due to life stress. Another thing worth pointing out is the group critique sessions. They are extremely helpful when it comes to keeping your progress in check, sharing the good and the bad of your projects without feeling any judgment, and receiving feedback from a group of people. I honestly miss the group sessions.The program is rigorous and does not allow you to slack, but the result is a portfolio with projects that you are proud of. I was able to land a job as a product designer after 2 months. I transitioned my career path successfully and I am truly grateful for Designlab (and my mentor).

I had a great experience with Designlab. I already had some experience in UX going into this course but came into it wanting to hone my visual design skills and dedicate time to putting together a portfolio. Designlab's biggest strength is its network of mentors; I loved all 3 mentors (Phase 1, Phase 2, Career Services) I worked with throughout the course, and they really opened my eyes to the various shapes a UX career can take. Group critiques also help you to network with new people, hear from a variety of perspectives, and learn about the most relevant industry standards/resources in real time.The one drawback of a remote, asynchronous course is the fact that it can sometimes feel isolating. I would highly recommend this program to self-starters who feel comfortable structuring their own time and motivating themselves. I can tell that DL is working on creating more avenues for connection with your peers, and I really appreciate how much they iterate on feedback to improve the student experience.I find it hard to believe there is a better value UX program out there. Quitting my job and jumping in full-time was definitely a financial risk, but in just a few months, I've already been able to pay back the money I spent on the program and raised my baseline pay significantly. Designlab is one of the wisest investments I've made in myself. If you put in the work, you will see results!

I honestly cannot recommend Designlab enough! Under the wings of my mentor and group critique facilitator, as well as my career services mentor and their career coach, I successfully transitioned from marketing to UX. I learned so much from all of them while gaining a sense of confidence in my design ability. Thanks to the guidance provided by my mentor Alan Hurt Jr. I learned fundamentals of UX, how to properly articulate my design decisions, and overall was prepared for an entry-level position in the field. What I didn't anticipate to gain from the program, however, was lifelong friends with members of my cohort and a network of supportive alumni. Every person I've met through Designlab are super kind and willing to help one another out. As a fully online bootcamp, this ended up being invaluable to my overall experience and ended up being the reason I landed my first UX role.Overall, I highly recommend this bootcamp... Even though I admittedly already have multiple times...! It's great for people who have the strong desire to switch careers but also would like the support of others along the way.

I chose this course for the mentorship and networking opportunities and I wasn't disappointed. I couldn't have asked for a better mentor for UX Academy - he had a wealth of industry knowledge and experience, was encouraging and supportive but also pushed me to produce the best work possible. The opportunities for networking are really valuable and Designlab has a large and very active community. Making the most of this by really engaging with your fellow course mates and Designlab Alumni will ensure a far richer leaning experience and also provide much needed support.I was under no impression that just completing this course would guarantee me a job at the end - it's an intense way of learning and this format won't work for everyone. You need to be self motivated, take ownership of your learning experience and also understand from the start that transitioning your career is not going to be easy. What the course teaches is a solid starting point; it's important to develop your own interests within UX/UI, engage with the wider design community and compliment it with your own learning.In my opinion the career services content needs improving (this may already be happening as the content for the whole program is regularly being updated and added to); however I found a lot of value in the support provided by my career services mentor who answered all my questions, boosted my confidence and helped me prepare for interviews. As I was lucky enough to find a job within the industry pretty quickly (I come from a background in Industrial design) my career services mentor has been able to continue to provide support as I navigate my first few weeks as a Junior Product Designer.

I did Designlab's UX Foundations course and UX Academy. I started out with minimal visual design experience, and I found that the Foundations course really helped me to get a good baseline understanding of visual design. I definitely saw an improvement in my design work by the end of that course and it made it pretty easy to get into UX Academy.UX Academy focuses more on getting you a foundation in UX research & design with the expectation you have some visual design knowledge already. You end up designing 4 capstone projects in total that become the case studies for your portfolio. They give you suggested project briefs, but you can adjust them a bit and find client work that fits the brief instead.The best part about the experience is the mentorship and the group critiques. My mentors have been so valuable in helping me understand what steps I should be taking in my career as well as giving me constructive feedback on my projects. It's really nice actually having someone who is working in UX to bounce ideas off of. The group critiques are great because you actually have to defend your design choices, which is great practice for interviews and the actual job. The main con of Designlab is that you aren't working on real client projects. Not sure if this has changed. They do encourage  students to find client work for capstones, but that can be hard to manage depending on the track you are on. I think if they had  a network of client opportunities for students to chose from who understand student schedules, that would make UX Academy even better! In terms of career services, I managed to get a UX Designer position about 3 months after graduating UX Academy. A lot of that success comes from the mentorship I received from my career services mentors. They prepped me for interviews, helped me to tailor my resume, and were just great about keeping me positive and on track. Overall, I'd highly recommend Designlab's UX Academy! 

I was very hesitant to pay for a bootcamp but I'm glad I did. DesignLab incorporates a lot of interactive learning features that made it worth it for me -- especially the 1:1 mentor sessions and the weekly group crits. I feel like I really lucked out with a great mentor who cared a lot about my development and success (I did have to request a mentor switch because my first mentor and I were not a great match) and there are so many group crit facilitators who have a wealth of knowledge and resources that they'll enthusiastically share with you. However, I will say that your success mostly depends on how much work you put into it, regardless of which course you choose to enroll, so I would stop wasting time reading the reviews and just pick one lol.

I had a fantastic experience with Designlab's UX Academy. When I enrolled, I was already an experienced designer, but I had been at the same small company for a very long time. I was ready to move on, but despite job hunting for almost 3 years I wasn't getting any interest at all from the senior positions I wanted. I enrolled in Designlab to make my portfolio attractive for senior-level roles, learn what had changed in the industry since my last job hunt, and get inspiration and mentorship to pull me out of my rut. I was able to accomplish exactly that. I have a portfolio I'm proud of, and in my post-UXA job hunt, I got almost a 50% response rate to my applications and landed a senior position within 5 weeks. I realize this is a different experience from most brand new and career transitioning students, but I highly recommend the course for more experienced designers as well. 

I just want to start by saying this was my personal experience and yours may differ. Overall I had a good experience with DesignLab and if it wasn't for their program I wouldn't have had transitioned my career as quickly as I have today. The overall curriculum is well done, and the structure of their course is great! At the beginning of my journey in DesignLab, the staff was great! They were very communicative with any questions I had pertaining to the course, finances, etc. I enrolled as a full-time student and the work was heavy, but enjoyable! Lots of great content although some of the modules had broken links throughout the course which was a bit frustrating, but not a big deal. My mentor during the course was amazing and helped me so much with questions, feedback, etc. This was probably the best of my journey in DesignLab. I graduated with a high score on my portfolio review and was excited to begin the real journey of landing a position in UX/UI.Unfortunately, this is where DesignLab stopped providing the support I needed. They did provide some good articles and assignments to help you establish a cover letter, resume, and tips for applying to work. However, the information was no different than Googling "How to land a job in UX design." My main focus and hope during career services was working with a career coach who would help me land a role. I was paired with my first career services coach and although she was knowledgeable in the field, I struggled to communicate with her. She did not speak English well, I had a difficult time understanding her and she didn't seem to understand my questions most of the time. I was not getting detailed feedback on my portfolio, resume, and progress so eventually after a few meetings, I decided to request a new mentor. I filled out the questionnaire to request a new mentor, but my request was ignored. I had to reach back out to request it again, and they made me re-fill out the questionnaire. I was paired with a new career coach and my experience was the same. During each call, they were unprepared and did not have much value to provide to me. They struggled to answer questions about my job search journey, and I felt that our meetings were a waste of time. I stopped scheduling meetings and looked for support elsewhere, where I was able to connect with a career coach who was able to give much more valuable tips on landing a job.I attempted to contact DesignLab regarding my experience and to request a new mentor, but my emails were ignored again. Not sure why I haven't had contact with them, but it seems like after you graduate from the course, they stop providing the support you would receive during the beginning of the course.The experience was good, but if you are looking for career support specifically, you may want to check out some other Bootcamp Courses. 

Enjoyed DesignLab’s UX Academy. It’s a course that goes over every part of the UX design process and comes with a hugely supportive community and group of mentors. Each week there were plenty of opportunities to not only learn, but to practice UX and get feedback on projects. Great experience!

I did a lot of research before signing up for a UX bootcamp and DesignLab won me over for the simple fact that they provide students with real mentors to help with the curriculum. I felt the exercises were meaningful, the curriculum schedule and workload was reasonable, and the staff was very prompt in their responses if an issue ever arose. The Slack community connecting you to other students was also a great resource. Career Services proved to be a very valuable additional resource even for someone who has been a profession for almost 10 years. I knock one star off when rating the curriculum only because sometimes links were broken and some information seemed a little out of date. And while the mentorship is what really did it for me, I noticed depending on who your mentor is, your experience with this bootcamp will vary drastically. I feel fortunate that my mentor was an expert in the field and helped give me additional materials and resources. Overall, DesignLab did exactly what they promised me and provided me with a good foundation and portfolio to enter into UX, which in return helped me land a full-time job 2 months later. 

Designlab is an amazing UX/UI course for anyone looking to either switch careers or enhance their design knowledge. I found their 1:1 mentorship, group critique sessions, and comprehensive curriculum extremely useful. My mentors were very supportive and their Slack community is extremely warm and resourceful. I would highly recommend this course! :)

A great UX/UI course at an affordable price. The one-on-one mentorship and group crit facilitators give the program a personal touch even while remote. I switched careers from marketing and wound up getting my dream job one month after graduation, so with that being said, I'd highly recommend :) 

UX Academy is a 3 month UX boot camp that personally helped me with my career change to becoming a UX Designer. I had a great mentor who helped encourage and build my skills. By the end of the program, I was able to complete over 480 hours of UX design coursework and projects. I ended up completing over 100 hands-on exercises, and built a portfolio with 4 projects. After the academy ended, I was connected with my career coach who helped me prepare for my career search and interviews, and ultimately, I was able to land a full time job within just 2 months. I'm still super thankful I was able to get this kind of networking and knowledge for the amount of cost and time I spent at UX Academy.

I registered for this school and had a very bad experience. The mentor allocated to me was not interested in teaching and was talking about cultural fit and communication skills in getting the design job rather than focusing on encouraging me and help me with my design skills. I requested a change of mentor and I guess because of some bureaucracy inside the school the new mentor did not gave me any written feedback. I hope this helps. If you are ready to kiss the butt of your mentors, then go ahead and join this school. Honesty, straightforwardness and skills have no place in this school. This school is going down the road and I feel they are only interested in minting money.

Do not get fooled by the job guarantee program. Read the clauses carefully...you could never keep up to them... run away as fast as you can ... find some good state school to do UX course.

Pros: 

- Friendly mentors

- Global and remote

- Slack community where students can network with each other

- Work at your own time, 20 hrs/week or 40 hrs/week

- Group crits with other students where you get to do show and tell once every week through Google Hangout

- Assignment submissions online where mentor can give feedback (although it's also public to other students)

- 3 portfolio pieces to complete under the guidance of a mentor

- Can change mentor if doesn't work out

- Design perks which include discounts for selected design tools like Sketch, Flinto, etc.

- 6 months guaranteed a job or a refund (only applicable under certain conditions)

Cons: 

- No real clients to work with on portfolio pieces

- Slides, videos, and articles based on linked sources for most lessons (some lengthy reading)

- Lack of job assistance because they will still require students to look for jobs on their own after graduation

I have no working background in design or tech, nor have connections who can offer my a role in the Bay Area. I was in the process of transitioning into the tech field after quitting my last office job. As a rookie who doesn't have exposure working with a team, I think it's difficult to land a role in the Bay Area unless I have extensive experience in graphic design, research, marketing, etc. In the end I've went through about 7 months until I was contacted through Angel List for an internship. What elevated my chances was pushing myself to improve my portfolio over the months.

If anything, I think the bootcamp would be much better if they can pair students up with real clients to work on projects. That way, students who struggle with networking or does not have relevant work experience can at least list these real client projects on their resume.

TL;DR

In the end, I think this bootcamp is great for those who want a certificate or have some exposure in design. Although it's not something students should totally rely on to get a job. If you're unmotivated or needed guidance because you have no idea on how to start, then bootcamp might be good for you.

In all honesty, it really depends on how much much effort you're willing to put into this. As long as you're motivated to succeed, you can find all the sources you need FREE online. Build your portfolio, ask some friends or coworkers to look it over for you, and go to meetups to network.