BrainStation

I had a wonderful UX Design course experience with BrainStation, from which I have graduated recently. I took the 10 weeks online course option. This online option worked well for me, especially that I work full time and took some vacations during this... Read More last summer. So I had my usual activities during the day and was joining my class later in the evening. I have particularly appreciated how the teachers are engaged in the course. I always got fast responses when I asked for help to complete my project deliverable and the lead instructor shared her personal calendar where we could book a meeting with her to ask our questions if we wanted. During the class we had a lot of exercices that we were doing on the spot to practice the new concepts that we were learning, so the course wasn't focusing on the theoretical aspect only and that's something amazing as I am someone who learns faster when I practice the theory. We had a lot of real life experience and tips from the instructors, which I found really helpful to know.

Starting off I’d like to say that the instructors are working in the their field and have the knowledge to answer the questions that come up. Pair that with the clean layout of the BrainStation website and it is user friendly.

Having said that I have... Read More found the Digital Marketing 5-week course underwhelming compared to the $3000+ price point. Having completed both a undergraduate and graduate degree online as well as several certification courses, I am disappointed with the class setup. It heavily follows a basic PowerPoint (instructors do elaborate with their own experiences) and rather then using the spare time to give live examples of the information in practice, they give final project time for the students to work. Then after 45min - hour you resume and the class is asked if anyone wants to share without them being encouraged to show their screen.

Based on my overall experience so far, I wouldn’t suggest this to anyone having to pay out of pocket. For $300 LinkedIn Learning will provide detail hands-on examples while they cover each topic. The only difference is you will not have a live session to ask questions.

Enrolling in the User Experience Course at BrainStation was one of the best decisions I made in 2019. I was thinking about studying UX for ages and, like many folks, I did extensive research and slowly compiled a list of schools. What sold me on BrainStation... Read More was the personal attention I received the moment I walked into the information session. It started then and never stopped!

As a graphic designer and art director, I was already doing some UX, but it was intuitive. I took the class hoping it would formalize my instincts into a structured design process. I also thought it could help me be more effective in my current role as an art director, and help get some side projects off the ground. It did!

The lead instructor, Jenna Brucoli, was superb. We covered tons of material in 10 weeks, and she led us through this marathon with enthusiasm, encouragement, and great humor. Not only did she give us 110% percent during every class, she also met with many of us individually. Her advice and guidance were invaluable. This is a BrainStation strength—your instructors are industry professionals who are committed teachers willing to share their experiences.

I also learned so much from my fellow students. What a fascinating mix of backgrounds and ages! Even after switching from an in-person format to online (because of the COVID-19 pandemic), the collegiality and camaraderie continued. For me, it confirmed that the digital skills taught at BrainStation are the new universal skills every professional should have in their toolset.

I can't wait to continue my learning journey with them!

The education team is great and very helpful. BrainStation really knows what they're doing and how to deliver such an intense program.

At some points in the program, there are moments of doubt and questionable thoughts:
-Should I quit, should I drop out?... Read More Is this really for me? I don't want to fail out of the program.
-What is going on? Do they know how to teach and layout the material? Why didn't they just teach us this from the beginning?

In the end, after going through the entire program, everything worked out and the pace and style of how the program is structured is great.

A fully online program has its challenges but so does everything else.

I actually wish I started studying in their Part-Time intro the Web Dev course-program because I was looking at programs for a very long time. It probably would have made the full-time program a little bit easier on me too since I come from a background with very little coding experience.

My advice to anyone that enrols in the full-time program:
-Trust the program and listen to the education team.
-Ask questions.
-Help fellow classmates.
-Use an Apple computer.
-Plan and prepare that you will do nothing else for the entire length of the program.
-Put in the time, effort, and work.

And lastly, if you are taking a long time, thinking and considering, about whether or not to take a full-time program then at least take the part-time Intro to Web Development.

The course was set to provide the perfect balance of content learning and practice. I was able to practice what I learnt in class with assignments/homework with more advanced questions available for those who want to push themselves. My instructor was... Read More patient and welcoming as he ensured that each student participated in class discussions and understanding concepts. All questions were answered in class and our instructor made himself available for extra help outside of class hours. Our practice with the applications and software was enough to allow us to get started and perform the many tasks you would get as a Data Analyst. As a class, we tried out each application with plenty of practice examples.

I would recommend the course and BrainStation overall. I learnt a lot and feel ready to take on more challenges.

I took the User Experience Design course at the BrainStation Toronto location. If I had to summarize my experience in a few words, I would say: modern, inspiring, relevant. I've taken numerous courses from many different schools, but none were as engaging... Read More as this one was. It starts with the Learning Experience team who are always available to help you be prepared for each class, whether its addressing technical issues or sharing suggested resources that get you in the right mindset for class participation. In class, it became obvious very quickly that the instructors are highly passionate about their craft and that they are genuinely interested in helping students learn not only new skills, but more importantly, how to think critically and how to develop their careers. I highly recommend BrainStation for anyone looking for insight into a particular career path or for anyone looking for what specific knowledge is critical for career success.

I signed up for the online version of the SEM course with some wariness - full days online? How could that possibly work? (This was last summer, pre-pandemic....little did I know.....)

The entire experience was fantastic. My class was small - only 6 people... Read More in that session - and the instructor was able to answer all our questions and be a real resource for anyone having difficulties. It managed to feel personal even though we never "met".

The course was really well paced and covered a LOT of material. I took pages of notes (apparently, I'm "old school") and using our real-world companies as the subject for our individual projects meant that I had actionable learnings to implement right away.

I'm self-employed and investing in learning for myself while my company is still growing is a difficult choice to make. I was grateful for BrainStation's scholarship program that allowed me to take this course.

Being a passionate UI designer, what motivated me to enhance my digital skills was to build the base it needed in terms of experience and knowledge. I wanted to fine-tune the knowledge I had, and at the same time also learn the basics of UX principles.... Read More One of the most important aspects of UX I learnt from this course is to understand the business goals and the user needs before you start thinking about solutions. The lead instructor, Frauke Seewald demonstrated valuable knowledge and insights from her real-life experiences in the industry while explaining the UX theories and principles. Her guidance and feedback helped me elevate the level of my work from the beginning until the end and even after the completion of the course.

Learnings
To conclude, the course will help you establish the foundation you needed and motivate to do your best.

I thought the program was very good. It was very useful in utilizing live lectures (with an option of going on campus as well) where there is always the live interaction component, the engagement of asking questions, and specially getting quick answers... Read More is much more efficient than looking up questions online, which saves a lot of time. The Brainstation team including the Lecturers and Teaching assistants, are very well knowledgeable, and are very involved in their fields, which gives a great opportunity to explore the industrial side of the field. Overall, it is a different experience than a Bootcamp or a MOOC (These are great for building up the basic skills). Brainstation program gave me the opportunity to apply my skills, get evaluated on the spot, and communicate closely with more experienced members of the field, which provided me with a great boost of confidence to know what to expect going forward in the career. The most important stage in the Data Science methodology is Understanding, Pre-processing, and Transforming data. I have been heavily involved in topics that include utilizing Python for cleaning, and exploration of Data (formatting types, identifying outliers, dealing with missing data etc.), and other topics that focuses on Statistics, Probability and Hypothesis testing (A/B testing), and how they can all be brought together using Python Libraries and algorithms, to be later fed into a Machine Learning model Creating my Machine Learning models including different Regressions, and Classifications (Naiive Bayes/Decision Trees/Random Forests) and using Neural Nets, was very rewarding, and was accompanied with Statistical Evaluations including Hypothesis Testing (T tests, P values etc.). My favorite part was to bring the entirety of the model, and shine its significance with delivering Data Stories and Insights, through interpretation of different variables, and comparing various measures (R2, MAE, MSE etc.). In conclusion I highly recommend the program, but definitely it is recommended to have basics of Python and Statistics to dive into the course smoothly (They also provide some pre-requisites preparation course that come free with the course) Good-luck and Happy Learning!

I knew I would learn the technical skills involved in web development but I got so much more out of the experience than I ever would have expected. BrainStation has made me a more confident person and has helped me find what I really want to do with my... Read More career path. The culture in the classroom is unlike the culture I've experienced in traditional schooling - everyone is a lot more supportive of one another and not only focused on their own progression. I learned how to learn quickly and apply quickly - a lasting skill that will definitely be beneficial in the web dev industry in the long run.