Are UX bootcamps a waste of time?
On LinkedIn, many established designers are trashing UX design bootcamps. Being both a working designer and a bootcamp graduate, I thought I’d throw in a few of my thoughts.
For those who are unfamiliar, a UX design bootcamp is (generally) a full-time course taking place over a couple of months. It’s intense, expensive and sometimes there’s even a job guarantee at the end.
In the world of bootcamp haters, they believe these courses are overpriced, degrading to the profession, and don’t reflect the realities of being a designer. At the end of these bootcamps, people claim that graduates all just churn out the same boring Square Space portfolios, and just spend all their time complaining on LinkedIn about being unemployed.
To unpack this, I wanted to address each point:
“Bootcamps are overpriced” — This is subjective. If doubling your salary after taking a 3-month course (like I did in my first design role) is not considered getting value for your money, I don’t know what is. Obviously it depends what you were doing before, and on what course you decide to take. Also, it depends on your financial situation. If you need the accountability of others and a sense of community, and you have the financial means — why not? Do what you need to do to make the positive change in your life.
“Degrading to the profession” — Loads of engineers are self-taught, why not designers? If you can show up to an interview with a case study that’s just as good as someone with a 3-year degree, then perhaps our university system needs an overhaul? At the end of the day, the world of tech wants people who ship great work on time — why does the method of gaining this knowledge trigger people so much if the output is considered sufficient by the employer?
“Bootcamps don’t reflect the realities of being a designer” — In reality, you don’t know what a job is like until you do it — whether you’re self-taught, bootcamp-taught or degree-taught. I think people forget that bootcamp graduates are applying for junior positions. When you learn in a bootcamp, it is common for teachers (who are working professionals) to give real-world examples in class, and to explain how things have played out for them at work. In contrast, university professors (who are not full-time designers) often do not provide this insight.
“Bootcamp graduate portfolios are all the same” — Most people’s portfolios are not great, especially at the JUNIOR LEVEL! If your portfolio is bad, it is not entirely the fault of the course — people need to take some ownership here. The reason many juniors don’t have projects ‘based in reality’ is because they don’t have professional experience. Additionally, many of these bootcamp graduates enter hackathons and start independent projects on their own initiative. Many of these bootcamp graduates seek additional feedback on their portfolio, and fine tune it as they interview. People with degrees also do this — it’s very normal.
“Complaining about false promises” — No one is entitled to a job. You need to put in the time to make good work, and show how you have added value in your prior workplaces (whether you were a designer before or not). For some people, they can do this more quickly straight out of a bootcamp than others — it depends on whether or not the field comes to you naturally. Ultimately, however, no bootcamp school can submit your CV for you — these places do their best to help, but they are giving you a skill that increases your odds. Similar to my earlier point, your own drive and initiative is ultimately what makes your work better, and what gets your foot in the door.
On the whole, I think we need to be more open-minded and empathetic in our approach to how we look at UX education. We all come from different backgrounds, and some people just might prefer doing a degree — that’s totally fine. For others, maybe a bootcamp is more suitable based on their financial situation.
The beautiful thing about technology is that its an ever-changing space. We are all continually learning and staying fresh — whether we did a degree in the field or not. The key? Talk to people who have done both, and see what makes the most sense for you.
Let’s continue the conversation on LinkedIn 👋.
