 Hey! Hey you! Do you want to start studying UX design and you wonder whether you should go for a full-blown design degree or opt for a bootcamp? Of course you are! I know because we get hundreds of messages on our YouTube channel and our Facebook groups and on our Instagram DMs. And today we decided to answer this question once and for all and dive deep into the pros and cons of each option. We get it! It's hard to make this call because there is a lot of information available out on the internet and it's hard to make the call because you ultimately cannot be sure which option is going to make you more employable. But today is your lucky day because we're going to take you by the hand and lead you through the forests of the UX options and show you what the right path is for you. As you watch this video let us know in the comments below are you team bootcamp or team university? So what is UX bootcamp? It's a short intense immersive study program that takes you from a complete newbie in UX design to job ready in anything between three months to a year. The price tags range anywhere between $3,000 to $13,000 so you really have a lot of options there. And most of the bootcamps are online although if you do prefer in-person learning you can find in-person bootcamps as well. So let's dive into the pros and what makes bootcamps stand out and why they're on the rise of their popularity right now. So the biggest pro for choosing a bootcamp is that their main focus is on getting you that first UX design job. A lot of them even offer the employability guarantee, depending on where you reside. A lot of bootcamps in Germany do. So especially if you're changing from a different career path into UX and that jumps, fills a bit scary and intimidating, that extra little bit of help with networking and career planning can really help you feel more secure. Another very big pro for choosing a bootcamp is that it offers you way more flexibility than a full-time degree. For once you can learn from the comfort of your own home or while traveling or actually while still doing your full-time job. Granted it will be quite intense but that just provides you that extra bit of security that you don't have to give up your entire life to switch into the UX career and you can actually just take it step by step. Next pro is bootcamp's practical focus and up-to-date information. Bootcamp coaches and trainers are very often true practitioners in the field so all of the skills that they will teach you are the exact skills you'll need on the job. No fluff, no outdated information and all of the latest trends and skills actually integrated in your studies. Also for most bootcamps you'll be building up a portfolio parallel to your studies and that's one of the main requirements for later finding your first UX job. So that's a massive advantage and depending on which bootcamp you choose you might actually be working on real-life projects which is invaluable working experience. Another great thing about bootcamps is that they will get your job ready in record time so you come to the bootcamp as a newbie and just a few short months you're actually ready to take on your first UX role. Well that's definitely a pro if you want to start your career as soon as possible you also have to keep in mind that you will probably speed through all of the theory and you might not have the same level of in-depth understanding as a university would provide. On that note let's transition to the cons and things you have to be aware of when you choose bootcamps. It's intense so again it's not really full con if that's how you enjoy learning and if you don't have a lot of extra responsibilities on your plate but especially if you still have a full-time job get ready for long nights and weekends you'll need stamina to get through the bootcamp in time. Next really big con is imposter syndrome it's a real thing so if you leave the bootcamp feeling like you didn't learn enough or that you're not a real designer no amount of career help or career tips and networking events is going to help you feel secure enough in your job and that's essentially the current job market. Another point to consider is that if you opt for an online bootcamp a lot of times it will just be you and your laptop and you will study all by yourself. Now if you're an avid self-learner that's not really an issue not really a con but if you prefer learning in a group setting that might be a struggle for you and our final con for bootcamps is that a lot of times they lack theory and it's normal because in bootcamp you get this very intense experience and you just don't have the time to go as in-depth as in a degree program but this is a massive disadvantage because later down the line in your career you'll potentially have difficulties communicating your design decisions and this is an essential skill that all of the UX designers should have. So if you do opt out for the bootcamp we'd highly suggest you take the time and make an effort to educate yourself on the extra vocabulary on learning all of the theories and exploring adjacent fields that might be useful in your career. So if for you the pros of doing a bootcamp outweigh the cons then we have last word of advice for you always always always do your research research the tutors that are going to be teaching you what are their credentials where have they worked what qualifications do they have connect to alumni ask them if they'd be willing to share their bootcamp experiences most of them will be and just really ask them if they felt like the bootcamp was worth the time and money if they got everything they hoped for out of it ask to see their portfolio to see what kind of projects you'd be working on if it's actually something that you'd be interested in read the syllabus do not skip this part really get to the new degree of what you're going to be learning day by day compare the syllabus of your desired bootcamp to a competitors one compare to a design degree syllabus and really try to spot the differences are you going to be learning what you ultimately want to specialize in this is very important and if possible try a free course material from your bootcamp provider a lot of them have free introductory courses and by doing them you'll really get the gist of what their teaching style is like and what you can expect from the full program some of the bootcamps and portals also offer free consultation calls and if they do take advantage of that offer and use the time to ask them all of the questions you want to hear answers to one of the most frequently asked question we get about bootcamps is which is the best one and to be fair we don't know the answer because it just really depends on your circumstances it depends on your location it depends on your budget it depends on what you want to learn it depends on how fast you want to learn it some of the providers to get you started in no particular order of preference are career foundry tradecraft blocked at IO general assembly flat iron but just generally go out and google it and find the bootcamp that's right for you hey just a quick note before we move forward if you are enjoying this video we actually have a weekly newsletter focused all around the topics of your wax ui and product design you're gonna love it link is in the description below subscribe now now let's dive right back in now on to the universities what are the pros and cons for opting for traditional full-time design degree well let's start with the pros so the first big pro is that you'll get a thorough theoretical base you'll not only learn how to do stuff you'll also learn the rationale and the design theory behind all of your decisions this is going to be crucial in your career especially as you need to communicate your design decisions or make call on a feature another big pro and actually the one we hear the most from people who opted for a design degree is that you get four years of time to just focus on your personal development you only need to focus on your studies you have all this time to really explore what it is that you want you have the time to think about your future career you also have way more time to build your network and you don't need to rush it and building a network while you're in the university will almost happen naturally as you study side by side with the same people for over four years another big plus for getting an official design degree is that it brings a level of reputation and credibility with it while the wax industry is generally more of a meritocracy and values skills over certificates for some jobs and companies you still need an official degree so if you'd like to work in a governmental structure or want to teach at the university that's still often a requirement now on to the cons it's not all honey and roses you know student debt has got to be the biggest con of opting for a design degree of course it's not true for every country so depending on where you live that might be different but in a lot of countries going to university is still extremely expensive so if you decide to go for an official degree you might be looking at a very big debt at the end of your studies another point to consider of course is a massive time investment it takes a long time to complete a design degree if you decide to put a master's on top of your bachelor's you're looking at it anywhere between five and six years so you really got to be sure that's the path you want to take and you also don't get the same flexibility that the bootcamp offer because some of the universities will let you tweak your curriculum a bit while others just have very rigid schedules that you can't change at all one more point you should consider is that a lot of times the information you'll get taught at universities might be outdated the reason being ux is such a fast changing field it's literally impossible for big university programs to keep up the pace of change and change their curriculum accordingly the last on our list of cons is practicality you will get a deep dive into the theory of design and that will ultimately benefit you later in your career but what that also means is that it's on you to make sure you get enough practical experiences a lot of times ux design university studies are disjointed from actual requirements of a ux design job so that's something you should be mindful of so the big question of the day what should you choose this won't come as a surprise but there's not a single right answer it really depends on you and your circumstances it depends on where you live it depends on how soon you want to start your career it depends on whether you work full time whether you have enough time to invest in a university education or you want to fast track your career so to sum up the university will teach you the high level strategy and design theory while the bootcamp will focus on particular skill sets that you need for the job before you decide make sure to take your time compare the curriculum reach out to the alumni don't rush the decision remember ux design industry is quite modern and it's more of a meritocracy a lot of companies just won't care where you got your education from what they will care is your experience and skill level here at agent smart we have ux designers from all walks of life people who studied in bootcamps people who studied in universities and guess what it doesn't really matter that much regardless of what you opt for it's always going to be a continuous learning process don't expect to become an expert right after graduating a bootcamp a university that's actually where a lot of your learning starts it takes time to become an expert whatever you decide to choose on go for the option that's right for you not what's currently in trend ultimately investment in your education is never in vain so here you have it hope you really enjoyed the video let us know in the comments below what is the path that you would recommend are your team bootcamp or team university if you enjoyed this video make sure to subscribe and hit the bell icon so you never miss a release from us again thank you for tuning in today hope you really enjoyed it see you next time