BrainStation

To be honest, I can't say enough good things about Brainstation. Of course I started out with some apprehension, spending a lot of money, but the value you get is definitely worth it. The educators clearly care about helping you reach your full potential. They seem to have found the right balance of an intense program with lots of material to cover with a schedule and curruliculum that makes it all sink in for you and you will be amazed at how far you will come in a short amount of time.


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Joining this bootcamp was a life-changing experience. It goes reeeeeeeally fast and by the end, I was fried. It is worth it, instructors are knowledgeable and empathetic (even though I understand they can change frequently). It's best of you have some idea on coding or feel confident that you will work hard to pick it up. The career services were weaker than the technical-side of the bootcamp, but it was good too. I recommend this bootcamp. Read less

I registered for the part-time UX design bootcamp knowing the class schedule – 2x weeknights, 1x Saturday. Seemed doable! And of course I expected to do lots of work outside those hours. But the first day of class, we learned that there were additional "learning station" hours (think of them as office hours) that were *required*, and they were only offered in a narrow window on another weekday or on Sunday. 

To be very clear, these additional requirements were not shared during the admissions process, and they were not included in the agreement we signed, which outlined the attendance policy. 

Because most of us in the part-time class have jobs, we had planned our work schedules around the class hours we were told, and the additional requirements – which were dropped on us the first day of class, after we'd put money down – created conflicts. Forced to choose between keeping my job and doing this bootcamp, I ended up withdrawing from the class.  

Before I withdrew, I had a call with a program manager to discuss this and while she ultimately ended up insinuating they could be flexible, I couldn't get a straight answer, and they kept digging in about how "the learning station hours are very helpful" without connecting why *requiring* them is beneficial. I asked straightforward questions and got downright shady runaround answers. 

The office hours are helpful, and I have no doubt I'd utilize them many if not most weeks! But *requiring* them is sheer nanny state insanity. This isn't a cult. We're adults who are taking initiative and paying good money to be here. 

And the fact that these aren't shared until the start date, and aren't in our agreement, is disqualifying. Realistically they can't enforce them, but they sure like to scare you with that 90% attendance requirement. (I could not get a straight answer re: whether the 90% included the learning station or just class. Not very reassuring.)

Overall, this seems like a program with a great curriculum that is overshadowed by the administration being sketchy as all getout and instructors. I got bad vibes. Hopefully you all have a better experience. But press them on this learning station requirement when you're being wooed.  Read less

This course was a great overview into digital marketing. To go into detail about each topic in just a 3 hour lesson is difficult however I learned lots of useful information and was able to dive in further with the class resources after class. The instructors were great and they brought in some great examples into the teaching, either from their own professions or from wider research including how AI can play an important role in marketing and how we can leverage it.  Read less

I thoroughly enjoyed the course. The instructors were friendly and approachable and the content was interesting. I also appreciated meeting and working with people in person as opposed to online since I took the in person class. One more for improvement would be increasing more time spent practising using tools like Google Analytics and Google Ads. Overall I think this is a good foundational course for beginners. Read less

Excellent course if you are new to the world of Marketing but also a useful upskill course for marketers. The lecturers and the slidedecks are excellent. Maybe in the future they could split the course for beginners and for existing professionals. I would definitely do another course with this program. Read less

I have learnt a great amount during the course, more than I expected ! Prom principles and prototyping and Figma. I think the teachers were great, helped out a lot and very patient. I enjoyed learning about UX, UI and the softwares. I do think that the course was a bit rushed at points which made it hard to ask questions during class as we had to get on with the content.  Read less

The course was more engaging than I expected from the course. The instructors were nice and explained the topics well. However, the knowledge that was needed the most was taught/explained near the end of the course. The course outline could have been planned better or taught more. I did learn new things such as tableau and some of the insight that is needed for data analyzation. Overall I found the course ok, I felt like I learned things but also at the same time I did not. As an introductory course, it is fine though I feel like a few more things could be learned. Read less

I took Digital Marketing at Brainstation and have all good things to say! Everything about the experience was pleasant, insightful, and enriching from the content (which included AI and other relevant up-to-date resources), instructors real life experience, and the overall atmosphere of the school/Brainstation community. I would definitely recommend - thank you! Read less

Brain Stations Marketing Leadership course was a great course to take for those looking to upskill in their current roles. The instructors are very experienced, friendly and break down the information with real on job examples which I found extremely helpful to apply my learnings to my day to day work. The course material is engaging with a healthy mix of lectures, videos and in-class team assignments which make the duration of the class fly by. Would recommend to any marketing professionals looking to continue learning more about the industry! Read less

This course is great in that it is a good representation of what the industry is currently doing. However, the best content is the homework and in-clase labs... and if you don't have enough time outside of class to put toward this course you will get far less out of it then if you spend sufficient hours each week outside of the class diving deep into the practical examples.  Read less

Overall the digital marketing course through BrainStation was a good fundamental look at Digital Marketing.  From a job readiness perspective it doesn't necessarily fully prepare you for employment. However, it will allow you to understanding what areas of learning you'd want to dive deeper into, whether it be social media, email marketing, SEO, etc..

The format of the course was good (online), however it was a bit difficult to engage with other students and connect.  Overall the instructors were very knowledgeable on the topics and were helpful during the breakout sessions when working through examples.  The main criticism I have is that they (BrainStation) does not record the sessions in the even that you want to go back and review the class.  Something that I think is missing to round out the learning experience.  You do get access to the online content, but, it would be very helpful to go back and review the class through a recording.

Best of luck to all the learners out there... Read less

In the Fall of 2022, I enrolled in the UX Design Bootcamp, and while the course provided a base foundation in UX principles, there are several aspects that prospective students should be aware of, especially if you are self-financing this program.


Workload and Post-Course Reality: Be prepared for an intense three-month commitment with a heavy workload. I underestimated how little time I had outside of class. I had no life. However, the biggest challenge is after completion, as the job market in UX design has become highly competitive. Unlike the earlier years (2019-2021), when boot camp graduates found it easier to secure jobs, the current environment demands real work experience. Project and Portfolio Expectations: My main reason for choosing Braindstation was the promise of a "real job" project that could bolster my resume. Unfortunately, this culminated in just a 24-hour hackathon, far from the comprehensive portfolio-building experience I anticipated. For those expecting a robust portfolio upon completion, this program may not meet your expectations. Only one page of my website was developed with their review, and even this was rushed.  Instructor and Course Organization: Our main instructor often appeared unprepared and disorganized, significantly impacting our learning experience. Time is precious in such an intensive course, and this lack of organization was a major setback for me. I expected to have a lot more Figma training, but it was underwhelming. I often spent time relearning on YouTube because our teacher could not properly teach us UI techniques or because we ran out of time in class.  We had a guest teacher come in to assist with UI principles because of this. Cost vs. Value: The course fee was $15,000, a significant investment, especially considering the limited direct assistance in building a substantial portfolio. I had higher expectations of paying this much for a three-month intensive course with no refund opportunities.
Employment Outcomes: Despite the high success rates advertised, in my class of around 30, I know fewer than eight students who secured UX design jobs. This reality highlights the gap between expectations set by the program and the actual job market scenario. The career coaches were very helpful in building your resume and learning interview tips even months after the program, but getting into this market is a grueling process.   Final Thoughts: If you're considering this boot camp, particularly if financial investment concerns you, I would recommend exploring programs that offer a money-back guarantee if employment is not secured. While the program offers a good foundational understanding of UX design, the lack of substantial portfolio development, combined with the disorganized instruction and challenging job market, leads me to caution potential students. The risk of burnout is real, and the return on investment may not align with your career aspirations. Read less

Maemi and Emma are incredibly knowledgeable. It was both educational and fun to hear stories about what's going on in the digital marketing career. 

I would not recommend this class if you're looking for in-depth tutorials: it's designed like a broad overview of the key areas of digital marketing. That said, I gained a lot from using the language and ideas to do deep dives on my own and asking my peers and teachers for opinions. 

It was also interesting to meet my peers from so many different walks of life! Read less