The answer as to whether the GA UXDI Bootcamp is worth it, like most things, is that it depends. For me, I enrolled and started classes during the circuit breaker in 2020- so we transitioned from completely remote classes to the 3 days remote and 2 days on campus arrangement (which is the current arrangement pre June lockdown in 2021 when this article was published).
3 Key Considerations
One thing that is really important is to manage expectations going in. 3 key things that you need to consider in making your decision:
- It's an immersive Bootcamp - As the name implies, it will be fast paced - you will be in class 8 hours a day and then be expected put in extra hours in order to complete course projects to pass the course. As a parent, I made sure that I had adequate support and measures put in place in order to make sure I could commit and take the course seriously.
- It states no technical background necessary which is true but what I think should have been clearer during the course is that students need is to take a long hard look at your existing skill set and compare that to minimum requirements of your desired UX career - and hustle hard to bridge that gap- at the end of the day it is still just a 3 month course - once you have an idea of what area of UX you want get into at the end of the day - further up-skilling may be required. Bear in mind that a generalist ux designer would still need a baseline level of design skills, while this may not be expected with a specialist UX research role.
- Financial considerations- Boot-camps are expensive and General Assembly is no exception. There are certainly plenty more affordable options out there if you were just wanted to learn more about User Experience Design and were comfortable with studying online. See below for a cost comparison:
- GA Immersive Bootcamp - Full tuition fee - $14,500 SGD (TIPP subsidy - if Sg citizen/ PR -$5,500 SGD with higher subsidies available for Sg citizens and PR ages 40 and older)
- Career Foundry Bootcamp - USD 6900, over 10 months
- UX Designer Bootcamp by Springboard - USD 7794, 6 months
- UX Academy by DesignLab - USD 7149, full time for 5 months
However, once the TIPP subsidies are factored in, it does become a more attractive option.
Will it help me land a job?
One thing you might be thinking about is how much will doing the Bootcamp help you land a job? GA makes no job guarantees and doing a bootcamp is certainly no magic wand to getting a job- don't expect for a job to be handed to you - experience is obviously going to count - as a job seeker I had to continuously balance the act of up-skilling myself, gaining relevant experience and then learning to package and present said skills and experience - the job hunting journey warrants a post in itself!
What I liked and would recommend the course for
However, now that I've had some time to reflect on the course there are certainly things that I would recommend it for:
- An extensive network - Personally, this was the biggest benefit of doing the GA course. You will get to be part of a diverse cohort of self selected students across different ages and backgrounds as well as get access to guest speakers and networking events. One of these networking events actually led to a job interview for me. Not being from a design background myself, I was able to meet and befriend talented designers who were kind enough to critique my work to allow me to improve. This process of showing up to class, showing your work and getting feedback from other humans was invaluable to my learning and growth as a designer. Furthermore, given how large the GA alumni network is, I have met and continue to meet other alumni at professional and personal events and bond over our shared GA experience.
- Instructor /Instructional team- As with with any insturctor led course - you are going to be spending a lot of time with an instructor who will undoubtedly influence your course experience - do your research on who your instructor is and read reviews to see if their teaching style aligns to how you learn. Full disclosure, I enjoyed having Wei as an instructor so much that I applied to be part of the instructional team after. I know those who felt that her direct approach to feedback are not for the faint hearted - but I loved it and personally benefited from it.
- Course structure/materials - As you would expect from any reputable course provider, the syllabus was well designed - projects were assigned in such a way that allowed us to immediately apply what we had learnt in class and built on previous course work. Course materials were also well designed, something that I took for granted until I recently went to a free workshop by another education provider whose slides consisted solely of bullet point text.
- Learning hub - With a slew of classes/talks/workshops held every other week - with plenty being free - there's always something to delve into and who doesn't love a good freebie? I've lost count of the number of free workshops that I've attended with GA. As someone that was new to the tech industry and keen to explore what careers and opportunities were available, being on campus and having this access to workshops and events were a definite plus point for me.
- Covid setup and commute - The set up I had was 2 days on campus and 3 days logging in via Zoom from home - worked out perfect for me. Although commuting is as easy as it gets in Singapore, I appreciated how it allowed me to be strategic with planning all your questions and team discussions for campus days then focusing on 'quiet project time' for days we were based at home.
What could have been done better
As always, there were a few things that I felt could have been better:
- Career support/outcomes- While I really appreciated that there was an outcomes module and a portfolio project (both of which are are geared to helping you find employment post course), I feel more could have been done in this area. I wish there had been a skills matrix that showed key skills across different UX careers as well as what career progression in the field would look like. Furthermore, think it would have been very helpful to have a 'opt in' support group for those job seeking following graduation - something like a weekly catch up where we share our experiences and motivate each other - just the way we did during the course. This can be run by students but think it would have been nice for this to be kicked off by the career coaches. That said, the two career coaches that I have been in touch with have always been incredibly supportive and responsive - even a year out from graduating I'm still welcome to check in on HR related queries that I may have.
- Timely Feedback - The feedback and assessments provided during the course was very detailed and incredibly helpful, but sometimes there was a lag of a few weeks in receiving the feedback. This may not sound so bad (and I know that obviously the instructional team have a lot on their plates) - but with such a fast paced course it potentially means you could be receiving feedback from Project 1 halfway through Project 3 (assuming you were one of the students who was being assessed later on). Ultimately, not a deal breaker but definitely a sticking point for me.
