CareerFoundry

I divide my experience with CF in 2 parts.

1) The UX course.

I appreciate to have an organised step by step theoretic explanation of the UX design process. I can say I learnt UX design during the course. I would advise everyone who want to take the course to be sure to have enough time for it. I did the course while working and it turned into a frustrating experience at times because I was doing something I love but I didn't have enough time to do it properly and produce the quality work I wanted.

My tutor and mentor were both very helpful. I had to request more in depth reviews of my work but after it went pretty smooth.

The course was never mentioned by the companies I applied to, so I don't really know if it helped me find a job.

I haven't come back to the theory yet, not sure if I'll do in the future.

2) The find a job course

Surprising enough, I had better memories of this optional course. You have to go through exercises that help you get to know yourself better, something very helpful when applying for jobs and life in general. I had assigned a career adviser, Mike, he is very supporting and has lot of experience in the field. If you keep a proactive attitude and set training interviews with him, you will feel ready for the interviews. It was actually what happened to me. When I landed in the interview, I knew the answer (a good one, following Mike's advice) to almost every question they could ask me.

I joined CareerFoundry not because I wanted to get a job as a web developer (I’ve been a web developer for three years), but because I like learning. Over my career, this is the fourth “coding boot camp” I’ve attended and completed, and I can say that it’s by far the most well-written and well-thought-out of all. CareerFoundry’s writing is very easy to read and understand. The curriculum is also well-thought-out as it covers the full stack from front to back. It even touches on some extras toward the end that will show potential employers that you’ve gone above and beyond the fundamentals.

All in all, I’d say this is a great course for beginners, but, like all coding boot camps, you’ll need at least some basic computer skills. If you’re brand new to coding and you’re not a fast learner, you may need to do some extra research on your own time in order to catch up with the lesson. If you have the time, I’d recommend going through a free front end course or two (HTML/CSS/JavaScript) before signing up here as you’ll be able to hit the ground running and you’ll be able to absorb more material overall as you progress.

Fantastic course!

I am currently in my last module of (iOS dev course) and I am pretty satisfied with my decision, why!!! let me tell you why

• I got some interesting offers before the completion of the course.
• The support I get from my student advisor, tutor and mentor is phenomenol. Specially student advisor (Korina, and Cicely too).
• The course is well structured, up to date and it covers every step in the life cycle of the app.
• Slack community is also very active and supportive, specially the designing students.

As in the start I mentioned that I havent completed the course yet, because of which I havent interacted with the career change team but because the other CF team is so supportive and good in their jobs its safe to assume that they are good too ( but surely I will keep u updated 😉 )

Before I finish my review let me tell you one very important thing, the whole journey is not walk in the park, if you seriously want to achieve your goal (what ever that is, career change or improving your skills etc) you have to work really hard for yourself, from time to time you will face problems whose solutions are not straight forward and make you pull your hairs out, but the effort which you will do in solving them is the fruit of the whole journey. Dont expect to get everthing you dreamt of by just enrolling in here, that is not going to work. But I know you are not that stupid, so good bye 👋 and happy learning 📚.

I was very skeptical at first upon looking for options to further my career via additional education. I know that these things can really be a scam, and did not want to commit to paying thousands without being sure I would get as much as possible out of my course. I found a job even before I graduated, the mentors could not have been more supportive, and the school really helps you every step of the way. I really think that those who have not had good experiences with CareerFoundry perhaps did not do their part. Sure, you need to be assertive, disciplined enough to work from home, and willing to reach out to your mentor whenever necessary, but if you do all those things, you will succeed. CareerFoundry has really changed my overall career trajectory for the better and it's been a completely enjoyable experience overall.

I am very happy I found this course on my life path. It changed my career plans 180 degrees around and it was worth it! The course was well prepared, written in a very understandable language (important for a person like me, who's not a native english speaker). It covered everything that was needed to make first projects on my own and start applying for junior jobs. I've got a lot of support from my mentor and from other students. I am still in touch with them 3 years after finishing the course and can still count on some nice review! Lifetime access to notes and lessons is a huge advantage when doing first steps on your own. My overall experience was fantastic - very helpful people, good learning materials, great support from experienced programmers and useful experience exchange with other students. 

I came from an unrelated field so I did not have much experience in the UX field. But chose Career Foundry as the course "guaranteed a job or my money back". I spent around £2500 and to be honest I feel I could have used that money in a better way in trying to change careers.

The course itself seemed well structured and my mentor was helpful. At the end of the 6 months I had one project to show for my work which I could use when applying for jobs. There is a smaller short course that focuses on 'career change' and I was only able to complete 9/10 modules due to other restrictions on my time.

After I completed the course I spent 6 months applying for jobs but found the process extremely difficult. I did not even receive one interview after the coaching and help from careerfoundry. I think most people who find success come from a related field like design or programming. I made a request for a refund but the conditions for a refund are extremely stringent, I later found out and the request was denied.

Pros:

• Well structured syllabus which moved at a decent pace.
• Mentors are helpful (Well my mentor was).

Cons:

• There is no special job board, I received one link to a job but it was completely inappropriate.
• After graduation you will only have one complete project – so the course places an emphasis on self-learning and creating your own projects. This made me think I could've self-learnt the whole course and created my own projects.
• There is a lot of emphasis on linkedin and networking to find a job. This made me question why I did the course if this was the best way to get a job.

My advice

If I could do this again, I would learn UX design from Udemy or Lynda, then learn how to network to get a job. You'll save a lot more money.

I've started with the Certified UX Designer course october last year, and am now working as a (junior) UX Designer at a design agency in Berlin - even before I finished my course!

I had some doubts before booking this course, as it's quite an investment and I did not have any experience with online schools. I didn't think they could offer real value but thank god - I was wrong!

Studying at Careerfoundry is the best decision I've made so far - the things you learn are really hands-on, you're working on portfolio pieces and you don't have to reads dozens of books or study for exams. My tutor Allison was great in guiding my throughout the course: she gave extensive, helpful and motivation feedback within hours after sending in exercises and would always go an extra mile if I needed more support. The same goes for my mentor Pia, who supported me with finding a UX job and helped me prepare for the job interview (with success!) The support of your tutor and mentor is what makes Careerfoundry so special - you have professionals guiding you.
 

The curriculum is pretty straight forward: you're designing an app following the Design Thinking Process. The course exists of 6 Achievements with around 25-30 exercises per Achievement. Some exercises are more theoretical and teach you about the basics of psychology, other exercises are more technical and show you how to work with all relevant tools in the field. 

At times, the course can be pretty demanding - especially when you're working fulltime. Expect to spend at least 10-15 hours a week on the course - yet in the end it will all be worth it!

When I took the course I already had many years of experience in Graphic/Web design so some contents weren't new for me. I took it because I wanted to gain more knowledge on UX design and also have the academic trainee and the official certification. The first part of the course was the most interesting, it's focused on UX thinking, business goals, competitor analysis, usability, prototypes, etc... 

Then we started with wireframes, user flows, visual design and google analytics. This second part was something I already knew so I didn't took much advantage of it. But if you are a beginner, it will be useful. 

It took me almost 3 months to finish the course and I spent around 3-4 hours per day (every day you have a different subject so you have to go through the content and then complete the assignment). You will have a mentor and you can ask him/her everything you need, that’s pretty cool. 

The course worth the money. In 3 months you will have an good overview, create a connection with your mentor and you will create a project for your portfolio that will help you to get your first job in UX. 

I have decided to switch from social pedagogy to a completely new topic, UX Design, and it was one of the best decisions that I´ve made in the past few years. I took the course in January 2017 and have finished it in June. It was a great experience that has opened the whole new way in my career.

Career Foundry has fulfilled all my hopes and wishes related to (1) professional support on my learning path, (2) learning topics that a UX designer needs to know, (3) taking a good course that would support me on all the way from learning to getting a job. 

(1) The support from my tutor and mentor during the course was great. Their feedback to my work was relevant and helpful.

(2) I really liked the way in which the content was presented. It was interesting and easy to consume. So, I really had a fun time learning new stuff.

(3) Unfortunately, I didn´t have time to finish the Job Preparation Course, as I already started working on my own startup with some friends. But in the end, I still got a job in a digital agency and can say that the Career Foundry gave me a solid background on which I can now build even more skills and knowledge from real work experience.

I started the UX Immersion programme with specialisation in UI in October, and finished last month. My experience with CF has been very, very good! 

I decided to switch careers, with a background in Business Management and Marketing. I found the course itself to be challenging enough without being overwhelming, and having access to support of my tutor (Allison), mentor (Pia), and the awesome people in the Slack group. That sort of support is really necessary when you're doing an online course, that too about a field that you don't have much previous knowledge about. 

The exercises and tasks themselves were very clearly explained, with just enough focus on theory and more on the practical aspect of things. Each lecture provides and extensive list of additional reading materials if you want to learn more about a topic you like. The tutors and mentors challenged me to produce my best work, which did get frustrating at times, but in a good way! The portfolio review at the end of each "achievement" really helps in putting all the work that you've done into perspective from a portfolio-point-of-view. They encourage and train you to not only work like a designer, but to think like a designer, which goes a long way! Now they've updated the curriculum with video tutorials and quizzes, which adds to the 'gamification' of the entire course, and will make it more dynamic and fun! 

The career counsellors are, as with the tutors and mentors, readily available to help prepare for CV/cover letter building, portfolio feedback, job interviews, or any other job-related queries you might have. I've been working with Mike, and he's been a great help! I would highly, highly recommend this course to anyone thinking of going into this field and willing to put in the effort. 

Challenging:

• My mentor was frequently traveling/in a different time zone, so it was sometimes hard to reach him, and I didn't always get timely feedback.
• Some instructions weren't written very clearly, but CareerFoundry has been making improvements both to the course content and assignments based on student feedback.
• No location-based job assistance

Satisfying:

• My tutor was top-notch--quick to answer questions and review work.
• The course does a good job presenting the material for a career-changer--I learned a lot!
• The Career Advisors are knowledgable and helpful.
• Very supportive community on Slack

I was a little sad after finishing the course because I enjoyed my time as a student.  The course format is great when working full-time.  I could work ahead on the assignments or spend more time on others (there were no assignment deadlines).  And I was able to move on the next section without having to wait for my tutor/mentor's evaluation.  Overall, it was a worthwhile experience!

This cource provided a great jumping point for learning web development. As compared to free programs that are out there, this provided a much more "start-to-finish" view of development. The price was affordable, and if you aren't looking for something that will land you six figures straight out the gates, this is a great program. I was looking to add to existing skills vs learning a whole new career, and the course provided what I needed. 

Pros: Price tag, great overview "start-to-finish," 

Cons: Course materials were mostly written, some lessons basically tell you what to do vs finding a way to make you think and find a solution, tutor/mentor feedback was often the same, telling me what to do vs giving me a tiny hint and allowing me to find the answers, difficult time connecting with other students (this is likely inherent of ANY online program, not specific to CF).