Avocademy

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! 

The quick answer is do it! Enroll in the program, is totally worth it! Now the context: I have been a graphic for the past 10 years and ventured intro web design 4 years ago. I recently moved to the US and decided it was time to transition from freelancer to employee. When searching for jobs I had to know code to apply for web design roles. While searching for jobs I noticed there were so many opportunities for UX/UI. I thought I could apply for one of those jobs, since I had a lot of experience with web development, but reading the job description I noticed I had no idea about a lot of things. Internet helped me found Avocademy and I did a long research and decided they were the best alternative to break through this new field. I learned soooooooooooo much in just two months! It’s almost like the Matrix. Obviously I had to work a lot and it was far from easy, especially when working and studying at the same time but it was worth it. Now I feel much more prepared but the best, is that I’m not alone in this quest to break into tech. I have felt the support of Avocademy all along. For me is very valuable since I had few connections here and now I feel like I have the support of a lot of people, which is crucial when searching for jobs. One of the best investments and decisions I’ve made.

I genuinely do not regret my decision joining Avocademy to learn UX/UI design. If you want to learn about UX/UI design as well as gain experience in what it is like working in this field, I'd seriously recommend this program. Just to give a little background, I had literally no experience in UX/UI design and became interested in it after a friend of mine recommended me to look into this program. Best decision ever! This program gives you the resources needed to do well in this field. Not to mention they have mentors that help you every step of the way. I learned so much in this program and was able to grow as a UX designer. 10/10 experience.

Avocademy Foundations:
I have a background in psychology and employment coaching, not design, so I wasn't sure an 8 week program would be able to give me everything I needed to gain hands on knowledge in UX/UI Design. The Foundations program ended up being a fantastic investment in my career! I loved that the program provided a variety of learning methods such as videos and articles, then had each student create a unique project during which we gained hands on experience for each module. Foundations also introduced me to UX Research and UX Writing - two fields I wasn't familiar with. I ended up finishing Foundations after 10 weeks because I needed a little more time while I did a part time job. No big deal - there was no charge for taking longer to complete the bootcamp. 
Positives: 

• One-on-one mentor sessions to go over anything you're stuck on. 
• Real feedback, not just a pat on the back to keep you going through the modules. Sometimes I had to correct and resubmit assignments if they weren't quite meeting modern design standards. This was a good thing as it made me a better designer. 
• Connection to other students. The program primarily uses Slack for communication and using that, I was able to make some great connections with other students going into the same field to build a support network. 

Negative: 

• Every assignment needed to be reviewed by a mentor which could take a day or two. Then if you had to make changes and resubmit for approval, that would add another day or two to finishing that module and moving on. Sometime you can go on and start reading and learning in the next module, but you're not supposed to start working on the next assignment until the previous one is approved. Can be a little frustrating to wait for approval and feel like you're falling behind in the program. Then again, getting real mentor feedback on my assignments is what helped me become a better designer. 

Career Jumpstart:
After finishing Foundations, I wasn't sure it would be worth it for me to go on to complete the Career Jumpstart program, especially since that would mean paying $5k for it. I've been a career counselor for the past 10 years so didn't feel I needed the career assistance and I have some contacts with local business owners who would have allowed me to work on their websites/apps as client projects.  --- I'm SO GLAD I decided to complete the Career Jumpstart program. While I know how to create a great resume and LinkedIn profile, the type of resume of Design is totally different than what I use for other employment. I also would have gotten totally stuck trying to build a streamlined portfolio. Mainly, the thing I would have missed out on the most would have been collaborating with other designers and leading a team project where I got to communicate with the clients and my team. I also really appreciated the daily calls where students can talk about what's going on in our job search process and learn how to get more traction. 
After finishing my project and getting my resume and portfolio reviewed by mentors, I started job searching and landed a UX Writer role for over $90k within 11 days of starting my job search. 
If you're thinking about doing a bootcamp, definitely talk to students from a variety of bootcamps AND look at their LinkedIn profiles and portfolios. I received accolades from many recruiters for having a "modern" and "sleek" portfolio that showed the actual user experience design process. I wouldn't have been able to create such a great portfolio without the Career Jumpstart Program. I'm so glad I decided to do the program! The $5k was definitely worth it since it I'm now going to make $25k more than I ever have in previous jobs. 

I started career jumpstart at the beginning of March where I got to practice my UX skills with different team members and work on several projects for real clients. The Career Jumpstart program is full of support from peers and mentors who are there for you if you need something or have questions related to UX and entry jobs. I landed a job within 2 months of searching and never felt more confident while interviewing different recruiters and hiring managers. The way the program is structured makes it easy for anyone to succeed and land a job as long as you complete all the tasks and put in your own effort. Overall, loved the program and it truly changed my life. I am super grateful for everyone I met and worked with!