Avocademy

I completed Avocademy's UX/UI Design Foundations program and it was an incredible experience. Students get unlimited mentor support (1-on-1, without having to pay extra!). The mentors are very knowledgeable and helpful. The unlimited mentor support is such a bonus. Everyone is very involved and so helpful, including the owner herself.

 The content within the course is consistently being updated with the latest and most relevant info for aspiring UX/UI designers. The content is also in such a way where you're learning from a variety of resources, therefore really honing in on everything and learning/viewing it all from a variety of different perspectives. In other words, it's taking the entire process of learning UX/UI and teaching it in a way that's understandable, can be integrated well, beginner-friendly, and clearly user-centric (always an important factor for a UX course lol). 

Amongst all these pros the only cons that I have are:
-  when doing iterations, one mentor might say one thing and another mentor might say another. BUT that's also a great opportunity to exercise your communication muscles (as that's something that will be needed as a UX Designer anyway lol) AND in the long-run I can see why one said one thing and another said something different - because my designs had been too much on one extreme and then by trying to fix it I went into the other extreme. So, honestly, even the con is pretty much a pro. Iterations can be frustrating a times but they really are necessary and the best way to learn how to best respond is by going through the course.
- because it is self-paced, it can be easy to lose track of time, delay timelines. The course is structured and made in such a way for them to really help you out with that, staying on top of your lessons and everything but ultimately it comes down to the student to actually uphold themselves to the timeline. Again, another opportunity.
So really, both cons are pretty much pros as well.

Honestly, I found it to be an incredible course (I honestly didn't expect it to be SO good given that they're just a fraction of the other UX bootcamps I was looking into). I loved it so much that I've taken their Career Jumpstart program *and* their Design Masterclasses. Seriously. If you're looking to get started as a UX Designer, I whole-heartedly recommend Avocademy (I'm actually doing so for my friends and family looking for a career change lol). 

I can’t say enough about career jumpstart. Upon starting, I was immediately met with warm welcomed from everyone in the program. Modules are clearly laid out and you get to jump right into real client work! On top of gaining real world experience working on products, you get the experience of working with other designers , PM’s, etc. Whenever I needed a second pair of eyes or ears , someone was readily available. They helped me with interview prep,portfolio prep/feedback, and mentorship. They helped me gain the confidence to land my first full time role in UX and I couldn’t be anymore grateful. 

After completing the Avocademy bootcamp, I signed up for Career Jumpstart which is really a must have when switching careers to UX Design. I signed up in January 2022, completed two projects, then started job hunting (I also completed another project a month later while job hunting). It took me a little over 6 months to find a job. They certainly have tons of mentor support for interviewing and recently increased the mentors availability which was great, but it's still a tough market. While I felt like they set you up for success with a great portfolio and resume, job hunting was tough for me personally. Some students got jobs within a month or two, so it's certainly possible, but not sure what the average job search length is. I struggled with applying to 160 jobs a month for 6 months straight, and that's what you'll have to do to get the job guarantee. Otherwise you will be pay 7% of your salary with no new job (assuming it's over $40,000), which almost happened to me (even if that did happen they were still going to support me). I would make sure this is something you really want to do and make sure you're in it for the long haul because it's a tough industry to break into right now. If you loved the bootcamp, you should go for it! As a side note, Maca, the co-founder of Avocademy and Career Jumpstart is awesome! She has such great insights and really wants you to succeed. She's constantly involved in mentoring students during the Daily Calls and is great about responding to messages. I think it's really rare to see a founder so involved with her students.

Long story short, they deliver what they promise and more! This program changed my life, and I recommend it to anyone trying to transition to UX/UI, especially graphic designers –which was my case. Avocademy Carrer Jumpstart gives you every tool you need to succeed and access to knowledgeable mentors that guide you every step of the way, from how the heck to start to what to do once you land your job. 

The course is structured clearly, intuitively, and easy to follow. Like everything in life, the results also depend on your effort. They set you up for success, but you need to work hard to make it work. However, if you follow the plan and keep improving yourself every step of the way, this will be one of the best investments of your life. 

I joined the Avocademy UX/UI Design Bootcamp. As an educator seeking to change careers, I really thought I would be able to build a portfolio by the end of the course, receive mentorship, and get a job. They are relatively new BootCamp. I had to take breaks due to current work stress and did not complete the program in the timeline. Once I finally got back on track, the curriculum shifted and changed. A different struggle is that you are not placed with a consistent mentor. Mentors are placed with certain activities or units. I struggled with one mentor approving a document, and the following one saying it wasn't good enough and I needed to redo it. I completed the portfolio and realized the intro bootcamp wasn't enough. I would need to take 2-3 more Bootcamp style "courses" ranging from $3,000-5,000. Even though there were regular posts of students finding jobs, many students after 6 months were still looking for work. (UX/UI field is not open for newcomers). You have to show at least 2 years of experience to be considered for a UX position, and the bootcamps only provide you with 1 portfolio (not enough for an employer). I wish had chosen a bootcamp with a job guarantee, and not a course that requires 2-3 separate bootcamps to get a job. 

I had a great experience learning with the Career Jumpstart program. The course material was very well oriented and the mentorship was helpful. This program is great for giving real life design experience with clients, which is not like many other courses. I came from a graphic design background, so having this course really helped me to understand more about user experience so that I can make my designs more intentional for users. I would recommend this course for anyone that wants to get into the world of tech as a creative mind.

After finishing my portfolio, I was able to get a job within 2 weeks of applying. I couldn't have done this without Career Jumpstart team's help.

I finished UX foundations and for the price of the boot camp I think it’s well worth it. The mentors are very hands on, you can talk to them through zoom or even in a regular DM. I had one mentor help me through DM around 9pm which I didn’t expect! It just shows that they actually care and actually want to help you. I would say that the course is very heavy with reading, a lot of it is articles so it could be a little more challenging for students with other learning styles but there are also videos showing you different things as well and the actual hands on assignments have alot or instructions and mentors to help for each module. The program after foundations (career jumpstart) has been just as good. They help you with resumes, tracking jobs, you get to do projects with real life companies to add to your resume and again there’s an assigned design mentor added to your projects. With career jumpstart I think the moneys worth it and a lot cheaper than other bootcamps i’ve seen. There’s also a job guarantee so if you don’t get a job you literally get your money back and they still help you even after you got the refund for your money. 

Would you like to learn UX/UI Foundations in less than 2 months? Do you prefer learning at you own pace? Then this program is for you. Avocademy's program is well structured, has unlimited mentorship and a community that you can only dream of. Additionally, the support at this bootcamp is unmatched. The staff at Avocademy truly cares about the students and genuinely root for you and want you to succeed. And the best part of it all, is that it's an affordable program compared to the others!