I just graduated from the UX design bootcamp at Burlington Code Academy, and it’s incredible to think how much I’ve learned over the course of this program. I came into this with an English degree, some administrative experience, and virtually no knowledge of UX, and now I feel confident as I begin my job search as a UX designer. Rick Machanic, the teacher of the program, is amazing. As someone who has been in the field of UX for over 20 years and started his own successful design agency, he brought invaluable insight into the mind of a hiring manager and a vast knowledge of the UX process. He always went above and beyond for us, whether that meant offering mock interviews or giving detailed feedback on our work. We also had Collin Hadley, our incredible TA, who constantly pushed us and inspired us. He hosted evening workshops to teach us more about Figma, the design software that we used, and other UX topics. The best part of this program was the 9-week capstone project, which allowed us to work on a real project with a real client. We worked in teams of 4 to redesign our clients’ websites, culminating in a capstone presentation of the full process. This experience was invaluable because it forced us to figure things out as we went along (with helpful guidance from Rick and Collin, of course!). It gave us experience in every step of the design process, from research to mockups, and exponentially increased our skills in Figma. It also provided great practice for soft skills like teamwork, presenting, and working together remotely; while I was a bit nervous about the remote aspect at first, I ended up really enjoying it, and it was a great way to explore different online collaborative tools like Invision. On top of the capstone project, we also had daily lessons, worked on our personal websites, and redesigned an app. Every Thursday, we had a Lunch and Learn speaker who talked to us about their experiences in the field and answered our questions. We also gained access to a network of BCA alumni. We were only the second cohort of this program, so there’s still some room for improvement in terms of the structure of the course, but BCA constantly asked for our feedback so that each new cohort will be even better than the one before it. I learned so much in such a short amount of time and I’m so, so grateful to BCA for giving me this opportunity to enter this exciting and growing field. Before this, I felt so stuck in my career path, but now I have so many more opportunities and I can’t wait to start applying. | 