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Reviewer Name Review Body
Anonymous Overall Experience: 5 stars Instructors: 5 stars Flatiron Student Services: 1 star Projects: 5 stars Facilities: 5 stars Post-Graduation Support: 2 stars Summary: Designation (now Flatiron) was a great experience and I’m so glad that I did the program. I was in a completely different field prior to the bootcamp, and with Designation I have a new career and a new skill set. I also have more confidence about myself and excitement for what the future holds in UX/UI design. While some may think that 80+ hours a week for three month would be a terrible and overwhelming experience, I loved it and I didn’t mind staying on campus from 9 am to 10 pm. The client projects were challenging but a lot of fun, and I improved so much in the short amount of time I was a part of this program. I really liked my instructors and the DIRs (TAs), and I loved the other students in my cohort (my class) who are now lifelong friends. Do you seriously want to do a career switch and pursue UX/UI design? Designation is definitely the best option out there for a UX/UI bootcamp and gives you a solid foundation for a career change. While it may be longer than some other bootcamps out there and maybe a little more expensive, it’s worth it. Program Phases: Designation has 5 phases (mini semesters) in the 6 month program. Half of it is virtual and helps prepare you for the in-person part of the program. 1. Design Essentials: A part time phase where you learn the basics of UX and UI and do a practice project. I did this section while working a full time job, and it was a LOT more work than I was expecting. 2. Virtual Phase: A full time phase where you focus on either UX or UI and do a more in-depth project. You meet with the class virtually to discuss the topics and present your work. The virtual classes and meetings weren’t always enjoyable, but the reality of today’s design world is that you’ll be having a lot of conference calls and meetings, so it’s good practice! You should not be working a full time job while doing this phase. I wasn’t working at this point and I felt overwhelmed at times by the workload. 3. Immersion Phase: When you’re in Chicago you’ll have two real client projects. In the immersion phase you and your team will get a lot more support from the instructors and DIRs to help you out with your client project. You’ll be presenting your work once a week, which is great practice but a lot of stress. 4. Client Phase: Immersion and Client Phase are almost identical, but your team will have more independence in the Client Phase and less time to finish the project. I do wish we had received more supervision in the client phase, since we were still learning. 5. Career Phase: In the last few weeks in Chicago you’ll wrap up the program by getting ready for the job hunt! You’ll make your portfolio, write your case studies, update your resume, take some studio tours, and learn about applying for UX/UI design jobs. The instructor was very hands off at this point, and we worked on our own (and submitted our work for feedback on occasion). I would have liked more instructor support and involvement with this phase, which is potentially the most important part of the program. I really felt like we were on our own at times, which is a stressful feeling when you’re about to graduate and look for a job. We also spent SO much time working on ONE case study for our portfolio, and we were told to write a lot of detailed information. I practically wrote a novel, but when I showed it to people after Designation the consensus was the same: it was way too much information! Nobody is going to read your full case study, and they will want to see a lot of visuals. Designation should really focus on having students write two or three condensed case studies and not one really long, detailed case study. I honestly don’t know how General Assembly can get away with such a short program. When I look back at my work in the final months compared to the first couple of months I see a HUGE difference in abilities and knowledge. I’m glad I did a 6-month program and that I was able to learn so much and grow a lot, and I’m so glad we had real client projects. Workload: They say this a lot and it’s true: you get out of it what you put into it. I worked so hard in this program, and I have seen the positive rewards as a result. The workload is a lot, but it’s up to you how much you do and when you do it. You can put 90 hours into this program, or you can put 60 hours into it. I rarely took weekends off, and I was usually on campus from 9 am to 9/10 pm on weekdays. I worked 80 hours a week or so. As a result, I did a LOT of work and I also managed my time well. Time management is key and paramount to getting by. I didn’t break down crying or pull all nighters like some of the other folks in my cohort, who didn’t work as hard throughout the week or had poor time management skills. The Cons: -Post-Graduation Support: I’m going to be honest I was expecting a lot more support from this program after graduating and I’m disappointed by what we received. That being said, what you get from Designation for job support is more than a lot of other bootcamps out there. I felt like I graduated and then I was completely on my own. There were no post-graduation check ins, and they didn’t even send out a feedback survey so I couldn’t voice my opinions of the program. We were paired with career coaches who have never worked with UX/UI designers, and a number of people in my cohort were unhappy with the help we received from them (I honestly just gave up working with mine when I realized she wasn’t going to offer any real help or advice). -Flatiron Student Services: The Flatiron Students Services office is useless if you need help or questions answered, so any issue I had would be ignored or would go unresolved. I understand that Designation is going through a big transition with the Flatiron merger, but the students shouldn’t have to suffer or be neglected as a result. -Chicago-Focused: I think the biggest issue with Designation is that non-Chicago students have a serious disadvantage when looking for jobs in cities outside of Chicago. Designation’s connections and partners are predominantly Chicago-based, and most of the job opportunities and events that are discussed on Slack are in the Chicago area. I do wish Designation worked harder with the Flatiron Schools in other cities to make sure that its graduates can utilize the connections and resources of those schools.