If you want to learn UX/UI design and change careers, two options are a certificate program and a college degree. A certificate program can give you the skills you need to change careers and become a UX/UI Designer in less than a year and it is considerably less expensive than four years of college.
If you are already enrolled in college or have a degree, you can use that time to gain the skills you will need to work as a UX/UI Designer by taking art and design classes, but a college degree is not necessary in order to get a job in many tech fields like UX/UI design. A concentrated and intensive certificate course can teach you everything you need to know.
What Is UX/UI Design?
UX stands for user experience and UI stands for user interface and together they make up UX/UI design. This is one of many rapidly growing tech fields that offer exciting, creative, and lucrative jobs in today’s market. UX Designers advocate for users throughout the design process, conduct interviews, analyze the data, and identify pain points along the users’ journey. They run workshops to come up with design ideas, create user flows, personas, wireframes, and prototypes, then conduct usability tests. UI design focuses on the visual aspects of product design such as typography, color, balance, and consistency. You can learn to be a UX/UI Designer from going to college or from a certificate program through a specialized school.
The College Path
UX design is an interdisciplinary field and very few colleges and universities offer a program in it, but you can land a job with several different courses of study. According to a study done by the Nielsen Norman Group, 82 percent of UX/UI Designers have a college degree in some field. Some of the most popular degrees among UX/UI Designers are as follows:
- Art
- Graphic Design
- Psychology
- Information Technology
- Industrial Design
- Computer Science
- Anthropology
A bachelor’s degree in college usually takes four years to complete when attending full-time, and it will take longer if you go part-time. Some schools offer online classes that you can schedule around work, childcare, and other responsibilities, but many schools require you to attend classes during the day. College can be very expensive. The average cost for tuition and fees for a year at a four-year public college is about $10,000, and private schools are even more expensive.
Certificate Programs
In a UX/UI design certificate program from a school like Noble Desktop, you will learn all of the skills you will need to find a job in the user-centered design field. You will learn how to conduct user research, create scenarios and personas, and build journey maps. You’ll learn to create prototypes using digital design tools like Adobe XD, Sketch, and Figma. You’ll conduct usability testing, then present your findings to the class. You will create a case study documenting your process, and this will go into your portfolio to help you get your first design job. This course will teach you the basic foundations and practices in user experience design.
The assignments in certificate programs are designed to create a portfolio that you can show to prospective employers and clients. You will also get a mentor, an experienced UX/UI Designer, whom you can talk to for career advice and help with your job search as part of the certificate course. This includes a critique and help with putting together your portfolio. Another advantage to taking a UX/UI design certificate course is that the instructors are professionals currently employed in the design industry. They are working with the latest technology and know about current trends. College professors are employed by the university and often are not as familiar with the rapidly changing tech world.
How Long Does it Take to Complete a Certificate?
It takes around 78 hours of instruction to complete a UX/UI design certificate. You can choose between full or part-time classes, and whether you want classes that meet during the day, evening, or on weekends, so you can work around your current job schedule. When you successfully complete a certificate course, you will receive a digital certificate that you can post on LinkedIn or your website. Noble Desktop issues a verified digital certificate of completion recognized by the New York State Department of Education. This type of certificate, along with a high-quality portfolio of work, can help you get a job as a UX/UI Designer.
How much does a Certificate Course cost?
Noble Desktop’s UX/UI design certificate course costs around $3,000 for the two-four month program. Financing is available through an installment program or student loans. Some employers also reimburse for tuition. Another advantage to the Noble Desktop program is the ability to repeat a class for free during the subsequent year.
What if There Aren’t Any Certificate Courses Near Me?
If you would like to learn more about UX/UI design and possibly switch to a new career, one of the best ways to do that is to sign up for classes. Some people prefer to attend brick-and-mortar sessions when learning new information, but that isn’t always available. Live online classes have a similar set-up with a real-time, remote instructor who can answer questions and take control of your monitor—with permission—to show you how to do things. Training is part or full-time and available weekdays, weeknights, or weekends. You can choose classes that meet in-person or online to learn design software and other applications.
Conclusion
It’s easy to learn UX design and start a new career with a certificate course through Noble Desktop. Check out the UX design classes or visual design classes offered. Choose between in-person sessions in NYC at Noble’s location or sign up for live online UX/UI design courses and attend from anywhere. Use Noble Desktop’s Classes Near Me to find other UX/UI design bootcamps in your area.