General Assembly

I had such a great week building up my UX Design skills. The content was all industry based which means that I can apply it all to real life work and situations. It was great to have a class size of only 13 people which I think is optimal for being able to create a good classroom dynamic, and the avaliability of two instructors (who created a wonderful working environment and enhanced the ability to share ideas) was also really helpful. Feedback was always taken on board, and students were able to contribute to the direction of the class. 

I loved it.

For me, it was worth the investment for 3 main reasons: 1) I got to cut my teeth on heaps of new skills and techniques in a great learning environment. 2) I gained 600 hours of experience honing a UX arsenal and got a taste of what living and breathing design is like in the real world. 3) I bought into an amazing network in Melbourne. And not only my classmates and fellow GA alumni, but the 50+ industry people I met throughout the course, many of whom I now work with. 

That being said, you will get out of this course what you put in. My 600 hours came from 20 hours outside class per week. And through it all, I was able to ask questions, make mistakes, share ideas, and learn exponentially about the world of UX design.

It took me 48 days to get a full-time job offer after the Meet & Greet networking event following the course, and I had support from GA the whole time. I even had several spontaneous meetings with potential employers just from working on campus after the course. 

I've cut pages out of this review, because I could go on and on about my great experience in UXDI6.

 

I went back to university and took a couple of coding subjects after deciding I wanted a career change. I really liked the content of my course but wanted to learn in a more intensive setting. A friend recommended GA and I saw the WDI course lined up well with the summer holidays, so I decided to give it a go. The WDI is the best thing I have ever done for myself. My classmates and I coded 5 days a week for 12 weeks and learned the fundamentals of full-stack web developement. We worked on individual and group projects, and built a portfolio to help with our job searches. Since finishing I have been coding as a freelancer and recently secured a permanent position as a junior developer. I really can't recommend GA highly enough!

To give you a glimpse into my journey, I was years removed from college, working service industry jobs with only a small amount of graphic design internships under my belt. I was seriously lacking in the skills and needed a major turn-around. I began to turn my attention to user experience design in an attempt to carve a different path, while also recognizing that it would be an appropriate move that supported my current skills.

The instructors and the other students (if that's the appropriate term) in my cohort were top class. It was a great way to get hands-on and very collaborative. A truly immersive experience. They provided us with the means to get the experience we needed. The way that I look at is this: General Assembly only benefits me if I get a job. Luckily, I got a job. So, yes, it worked. I have so much thanks to Nicole (outcomes career coach) and Katy (partnerships lead) because they were the ones that referred me to my current job. Who knows where I'll be in the long run, but GA was the stepping stone that gave me the boost I needed--and we all know that first big step is the hardest one to take.

The course was very intensive (as promised) and you did find yourself running on a treadmill at 21 speed level, hanging on for dear life, but that was only the first few lessons for the 1 week accelerated course. It was amazing how by the third session everything just...fell into place and the clouds parted - it all just, made sense. 

The instructors were experienced and well knowledged. The mix of students and experience just topped off all the learnings

Staff were super helpful , friendly and the venue was bright and welcoming. 

So glad I did the course and valudated my work experience with it. Signing up for more courses soon. 

Thanks guys

I was a classic case of finishing a Uni degree and still had no idea what to do. I love technology and fast pace learning, so GA was perfect for me. A few weeks after graduation I started the WDI immersive course.

Because I chose to do it over the summer, I really lucked out, with a small class that I had a great time with, 2 great instructors, and a personal connection with all the staff that seemed to really care about your outcome. 

The course taught me a lot about coding and development, but in a way that taught me to enjoy and learn about the industry, which is the most important skill in the fast paced tech world these days. When I finished, I was so confident that I could accomplish something and my career tradjectory, for the first time in my life, actually existed.

I now have a great job that I love, but what is more important is that I have a career that I love and am very excited about where it can take me. Everything about it excites me, and GA help me get there. 

TL;DR - it was truly a transformative experience and I am very glad I took the WDI course at General Assembly. 

For those of you wanting details...

After working in the tech industry in non-technical positions, I finally decided to take the leap and began codeschool at General Assembly. 

Though in the industry, I myself lacked any real technical knowledge outside of some CSS selectors and some regex. So, like the naive caterpillar I was, I entered the GA cocoon and 12 weeks later, emerged a beautiful technical butterfly. 

Don't get me wrong, those 12 weeks of class are intense and stressful, long long long days and a touch of being overwhelmed. But once you land that job and start a new career that you enjoy, the pain fades quickly and you're left with a badass new skillset and a FANTASTIC community. The folks at GA are simply A+ humans and I'm happy that they're in my life. 

I think the biggest thing to understand is that you'll get out of this experience what you put into it. If you want to be a developer, you're going to not only have to bust your ass in class, but you'll also need to be working on developing those skills outside of class. You have to learn to teach yourself and learn to stretch and grow constantly. You're not going to learn everything you need to know in 12 short weeks, but you'll establish a really solid foundation to continue learning with. 

I think the other thing worth noting is that you don't have to be a developer if you take this class. In my current role, I am a basically a technical consultant for clients implementing our product. I don't write a lot of code, but I read code and debug code and solve complicated issues every day, and I love it. There are a lot of different paths that you can take after finishing GA's WDI course. The career counselor there (shout out to Nicole in Austin... she's amazing) will help you figure out what jobs are out there and what speaks to you.

I graduated from the User Experience Design Immersive course at General Assembly in April 2016. The immersive course is challenging but definitely worth its weight in gold.

Throughout the course I was given the opportunity to practice the UX craft in a supportive environment with guidance from experienced instructors. As the title suggests, you are fully immersed in the course every single day for 10 weeks and I abosolutely loved it. I learnt so much during those 10 weeks and met some of the greatest people. 

One of the great things about GA is the collaborative environment which helped me to build my UX network, meet mentors, connect with industry contacts, potential employers and lifelong friends. 

I was able to gain so much more out of the course than one would initially think & still reaping the benefits now. It was amazing to see my own evolution during the course and I can safely say that this course was a pivotal moment for myself & some of my peers. 

I worked a number of contract jobs after I graduated through contacts that I made through General Assembly & currently working as a UX Designer agency side. 

All in all, I would definitely do it all over again. 

 

I always thought about programming as an 'unnecessary evil' until the very first day of the course, when my instructor DT had showed us how much fun it actually is and what amazing things you can build with just a few lines of code.

I was learning  for almost 20 years (since primary school up to Master's of Engineering) and studying at GA was one of the best educational experiences with one of the best teachers I had.

The course itself is very intensive, it's important to complete, understand and remember all the materials from the prework and  if possible do some extra on your own (eg Code Academy).
It really takes 40 hours per week with afterhours for homework and going through the notes. 

Great atmosphere, support, resources, materials and many occasions to socialise and meet other programmers. 

Teachers are very passionate, helpful, experienced, patient and encourageing to try and do new things.

Classes are intensive, but run and explained in a very funny and easy way :)

Before, I also thought that you can't really change careers in 12 weeks, but trust me yes you can (if you put enough effort and commitment). 
Fantastic career support with all the strategies of how to find the right job (not just an any job).

Good luck! 👍🏻

I went into this course as the least experienced and youngest student of my class, but at the end I felt like I could stand next to my peers and look at them as equals, rather than view myself as less capable. The course was designed to get you a job as an ux designer as fast as possible while equipping you with all the skills and knowledge you'll need for your first job. Although all coursework was very realistic and practical, with the last project having an actual client, the learning environment is amazing. As a current university student I can say that although the course wasn't designed for me, I got so much from it and I think if you want to learn anything about anything related to UX this is course is for you!