Avocademy

I took Avocademy's UX/UI Design Foundations Course earlier this year and wrote a review on that. I signed up for the Avocademy Career Jumpstart right after. I have to repeat this again - Avocademy is the BEST EVER UX/UI institute.

I accepted an offer as a UX Researcher at Morgan Stanley at the end of September (Only one month after I started applying) and I am starting my new career journey at the end of this month. I am beyond thrilled because before this, I had been in education and had no real experience with UX/UI Design at all. 

I would love to share with everybody what I know and learned at Avocademy and how they helped me to get my first ever job in UX/UI Design. Through the Career Jumpstart Program, I have got

1. Many opportunities to work with other teammates on real-life projects;
2. Very thorough help with my resume;
3. Amazingly holistic review of all my case studies in my portfolio;
4. Countless live mentor sessions on job search and prepping job interviews;
5. Super helpful recorded lessons on job search;
6. Daily job-search support sessions/check-ins;
7. Weekly (in fact, twice a week for most weeks) Avocademy alumni live experience/story-sharing sessions;
8. Shockingly effective job-tracking system that made me organized through the job application journey;
9. A lot of vacant job information daily;
10. Mock interviews. 

I feel extremely lucky to have signed up for Avocademy. I would never have done this without the help that I got from them!! 

The Avocademy UX/UI Foundations course was so great. I'd been wanting to learn UX for a while and this was a perfect option for me.  The course work can all be done on your own time, but mentors are available via chat or scheduled video call and will review your work before you move on to the next module.  Every mentor was friendly, encouraging and helpful.  I came out of the class with a great portfolio project and landed a job a couple months later.  The course is advertised as 6-8 weeks, but it took me about 10 weeks to complete the whole thing - which is fine as you let them know what's going on.  

I loved my experience in Avocademy and subsequent experience in Career Jumpstart. Before transitioning into UX through Avocademy, I was an educator with no experience whatsoever in tech. Thanks to Avocademy + CJ, I was able to build a portfolio of real client projects and land a job within a month of job searching (after completing the course and my portfolio). Additionally, everyone who works at Avocademy is so kind :,) They really care about your career growth and want you to succeed!! Avocademy seriously changed my life 

I found Avocademy in August and because it was so much cheaper than any other bootcamps out there I decided to try it. Even though the Foundation course lasts for only about 8 weeks, it was a great learning experience for me. I was already acquainted with the field of UX/UI design but I needed more details about the process itself and I got a lot of it.
Advantages:
- Self-pace studying. It is always a great thing when you have a job or other responsibilities.
- Good mentorship. You have a different mentor during different  parts of your project but for me it was a good thing because it's always nice to hear different opinions. The mentors I had worked with were super helpful and fast responding. You can also tell that mentors are genuinely trying to help your project look better, I had lots and lots of comments on my high-fidelity prototype but that was great. There was only one small  hiccup with one of the mentors: she didn't see my message in the thread because there were lots of others and I had to wait a week for her respond x) So my advice to students: ALWAYS DM your mentor, it is easier for them to see how many messages they haven't got through yet.
- Resources. The school has lots of different articles about every single step of a design process. Of course, you need to find extra time to study them but it is worth it. It helped me understand lots of things I had problems with. Also different articles provide you different insights into design process and you could get something that would work particularly for you. Of course, you can easily find articles on anything yourself but you never know who wrote them and because you don't have that much experience you might fall into the trap of a completely unprofessional 'writer' who has no idea what they are talking about. Having resources the school provides you are worth reading.
- Mentor sessions. One more cool thing is that you can schedule a 30 min call with a mentor if you have any questions and you want to discuss them verbally, without any messages (there are times when it is really easier to just call and talk about your problem rather than send texts back and forth).
- Webinars with professionals and graduated students. I might be wrong here, but for me it always seemed like every single week there would be at least one webinar with either a professional designer or a former student talking about their experience either at work or during their studies. You can listen to them, ask your questions and re-watch the session later because all the videos are always recorded and uploaded on the school's website. I remember al least one session of a graduated student who successfully found a job and her talk about how to get used to your new responsibilities, how to overcome imposter syndrome, etc. That was a great topic for me and the video was really helpful.
Disadvantages:
- Made-up project. For your project you would come up with some area you are interested in and you would come up with a problem in that area which your product will solve. For me it was a little bit hard to be 2 people in 1: being a client as well as being a designer. Felt a little bit like the main character in 'Split' movie xD
- Only one project. After finishing the foundation course you have only one project done (and portfolio asks for at least 3). So you either look for projects yourself or enroll Avocademy's Career Jumpstart course. As for me, I chose the second variant and now I am a student of Career Jumpstart and I love it as well.

All in all, my experience with this school has been amazing and if I had to choose which bootcamp to enroll again, I would definitely go with Avocademy.

Originally, I was unsure how promising this Bootcamp would be. I questioned, "How could an affordable Bootcamp that provides 6-8 week training and assistance help me learn the fundamentals of UX Design in such a short time? Aren't there other Bootcamps that exist that teach the same thing?" I decided to join, hoping to gain mentorship and guidance with this uncertain feeling. After 8 weeks, I can finally say that I was wrong for doubting this Bootcamp. And I'm glad I was wrong.

Note: My review is referring to the Foundation course. Not the Career Jumpstart course.

Pros: 1) Activities - You have 6 modules to complete the foundation course. In these modules, you have articles to read before doing the activity. Your first activity is coming up with a topic that will be your first case study project. I like this process a lot because I get to see how well I understand each topic. Some activities may take longer than others, such as module 4 activities. However, the mentors want you to do well in these activities rather than rushing them for completion.
2) Mentorship - The reviews all mentioned how amazing the mentors are, and they are not lying about this. I truly believe Avocademy shines the best is through its mentorship system. They give a lot of feedback because they can tell the potential of your work. They know that your work can be 10x better if you make these changes. They know what they are talking about. 
An example I can provide is when I went to a design workshop online. A UX Designer who used to work at Facebook was giving feedback on those who submitted their portfolios. These students who submitted their portfolios came from other well-known Bootcamps and self-taught. Through these portfolios, she noticed how a lot of them do not put their final UI designs on the top of the screen. Now, if you look at the student's portfolios on the Avocademy website, you will find that all of their portfolios show the final UI designs at the start of the page. It is up to you how you would interpret this information, but when I found out about this, my trust towards Avocademy grew. 
3) Students - Everyone in the Bootcamp is so kindhearted! You can connect and get to know each other better. Avocademy recently made a LinkedIn group where you can see other students who are enrolled in the Bootcamp. Nobody judges you for your gender, ethnicity, religion, etc. You will feel part of the UX design community the moment you enroll in this Bootcamp. 
Cons:1) There is none. You won't waste your money when you join this Bootcamp. You will feel you learned so much within these 6-8 weeks. Keep in mind, you need to put in the effort. You cannot expect to get a lot of help while not putting as much effort into your case study. Because the amount of effort you put into the work is the amount of feedback you will receive from the mentors. 
While the Foundation course does not focus on job assistance, I can confidently say I have met Avocademy graduates who have done both the Foundation course and the Career Jumpstart course. Within a few months of applying, they are getting a lot of interviews and job offers. Avocademy knows the current job market and will change its focus as the job market change. They update each module based on the issues they are noticing from students to improve the student's experience. They give honest expectations on how long you will get the job and how much work you need to put instead of giving false promises like other Bootcamps. 
As long as you put in the hard work, have faith in knowing they already notice your efforts. They will help guide you on the right path to success. 

Before I found Avocademy, I had already been learning UX on my own for almost a year. I wasn't a complete newbie when I started with Avocademy, but I felt that I still didn't know a lot even after a year of learning.

Avocademy is perfect for so many reasons,

1. All the mentors are so attentive. They answered all my questions very promptly over Slack; all the video sessions over Zoom were greatly beneficial. Avocademy mentors really make you feel that they're always there for you, and they truly do want you to succeed - I love and am impressed with how the founder Maca was able to create and implement this kind of company culture across the board. When I studied with other platforms/schools, I felt that a lot of their mentors just wanted to get their job done, but they really didn't care about you;

2. All the lessons are so clearly structured, making it super easy for me to follow along. No "beating around the bush," absolutely straightforward and to the point;

3. It is SUPER affordable!!! 

Overall, I have learned so so much with Avocademy. By the end of the course, I was a lot more confident and knew exactly what I needed to do being a UX designer and what else to work on from there on out. I am very grateful for Avocademy and all the lovely mentors. And now, I am more ready than ever to take on my new career as a UX designer. 

For me, Avocademy was worth the time, sweat, and frustration. You must be willing to put in the time, be willing to sweat through some long hours of designing, and deal with the frustration that problem solving can create. I am not going to try to convince you to choose this bootcamp over the hundreds of other courses out there. Only you know your learning style and if you would thrive in a self-paced environment. 
I needed the self-paced environment. As a firefighter, I work hours that are nothing like a 9-5. I was not able to commit to being in class on certain days and times. I was used to working on my own. My entire graduate school program was self-paced and online (but with deadlines/due dates). 

The experience: 

• Flexible- There are no specific login times. This means you will have to set aside time to get your work done. There are time estimates of how long different activities will take you to complete. Sometimes you will finish quickly and other times you may have to schedule a mentor session and go to bed unable to figure something out (do not worry, you will figure it out in the morning). I found that I usually figured it out once a mentor would get back to me. Remember, there is no micromanaging,  
• Mentorship- Maca is an awesome, knowledgeable, and kind mentor/instructor. You can tell that she has a passion for what she does, and she has the experience to back it up. She runs herself until she is exhausted and does not receive enough gratitude.
  • I will say at times it feels like your creativity is being stifled. You must remember that you are creating for the user, not yourself. 
• Cost
  • The idea of spending $7k-$15k for a bootcamp was not appealing to me. I still have student loans from my undergrad and grad school. Why add more debt? 
  • (2) There are more and more bootcamps popping up that are a similar cost to Avocademy. If you notice these, read about them, and research them. They tend to offer more customizable, more personal, and more budget friendly options. They are often started by experienced designers who are fed up with the high cost of other bootcamps. Do not discount something just because of the cost. Decide between being in a cohort of 30-40 versus 5-15. Do your research. 
• Slack- I was able to connect with some of my classmates and collaborate on projects. It is always good to know that you have someone to give your project a second look before you turn it in, to give you a quick tip, or just to talk to. Also, you were able to view other classmates projects to give you a place to start on your own project. 
• Curriculum- There are a lot of links to articles for you to read. Sometimes there are videos Maca has recorded. I found this part to be the only downside to self-paced vs live in-class. I wish some of the topics could have been better explained to me. On the flip side, it caused me to have to research certain topics to learn. Research skills are crucial. 
• Speakers- There are semi-weekly speakers that come in and talk about their UX/UI experience. These were both helpful and motivating. UX/UI is not a one path journey. These speakers seriously forged their own paths and are willing to answer questions about the process. 
• “Real World” Projects & Clients- Most applications require 2-5 portfolio pieces. Luckily there are opportunities to work on extra projects once the initial bootcamp is over. This gives you the opportunity to lead a project or gain experience working in a group. Take advantage of these when you are able to and especially if the topic interests you. 

 Overall, if you are looking for a high quality, flexible, and affordable UX/UI design course, consider Avocademy. 

I don't regret any bit of time, money and effort that went into the Avocademy bootcamp course. Previous to signing up for Avocademy, I really thought I'd try the self-taught right and that was honestly extremely hard to hold myself accountable and I wasn't sure of where to really start building my knowledge. Avocademy really helped me learn the design process and build my first case study for my portfolio piece by piece and have plenty of other opportunities to further build my portfolio. And also what is key to Avocademy is the mentorship that is available. Having someone by your side to help guide you and answer your questions during dedicated 1:1 sessions is great. I never felt rushed through those sessions. Maca always took the time to make sure I was ready for the next step. And on top of it all, Avocademy is AFFORDABLE. Spending $10k on a full-time immersive bootcamp did not appeal to me. I already have a solid professional background built from being in marketing - I just needed a push and some guidance to pivot into UX/UI and I feel pretty prepared for the next chapter. 

Overall, I am so happy I chose to take this course! I had been wanting to get into design for a while. I had looked into several other options before choosing this one, but they were pretty expensive and some were full time. I loved how flexible this was and having Maca and other mentors really made it even better. From day 1 you really jump right into creating a capstone project for your portfolio.  Avocademy really afforded me the flexibility I needed at a great cost. The mentoring sessions with Maca each week really helped to make sure what I was doing was on the right track and feedback that was provided was helpful and professional. 
Another great thing about this class is the Slack channel that was created, so it is easy to reach out and get help, but to also connect with other people who are going through the program. There were also webinars set up with different industry professionals throughout the course as well which was awesome to get some insight into the different careers and what companies look for when hiring. One last thing that this class does right is there are outside opportunities to continue practicing the skills we learned in the course. They are real world opportunities to help boost our skills and the portfolio. Would Absolutely recommend this class to people looking to get into UI/UX design!