Google UX Design Certificate

As I mentioned in my post about How I want to get from a11y minded to a11y expert, I've been taking the Google UX Design Certificate for the past few months to deepen my knowledge about accessibility from other point of view.

I wanted to learn about the topic from a different perspective, because accessibility is not just the job of developers, it affects all of us, and it's important to integrate accessibility into the web development process from the beginning.

How I want to get from a11y minded to a11y expert

Julia 👩🏻‍💻 GDE ・ May 14 '22

#a11y #ux #motivation #career

Let me share my experience with it.

Structure of the course

The course is called Google UX Design Professional Certificate, and it is offered by Google through the coursera learning platform.

The description says that...

This is your path to a career in UX design. In this program, you’ll learn in-demand skills that will have you job-ready in less than 6 months. No degree or experience required.

...and having taken this course myself and knowing the experiences of two friends of mine, I can say that this seems to be true.

Coursera suggests a pace of 10 hours/week, which I think is fine if you work full time. If you work part-time or not at all, or have some experience in UX design, you will obviously finish faster.

The course is divided into 7 parts that gradually deepen your knowledge of UX design (it's building on each other), which allows you to get started even if you have no prior knowledge.

1. Foundations of User Experience (UX) Design
2. Start the UX Design Process: Empathize, Define, and Ideate
3. Build Wireframes and Low-Fidelity Prototypes
4. Conduct UX Research and Test Early Concepts
5. Create High-Fidelity Designs and Prototypes in Figma
6. Responsive Web Design in Adobe XD
7. Design a User Experience for Social Good & Prepare for Jobs

How to pass the course

Each week you have to write several short exams (self pace, no fixed date) about what you learned in that week, which can be repeated at any time if you don't pass. During the course, all the topics are repeated over and over again, so you can really stay up to date and easily memorize everything.

After each part (a part lasts about 4-6 weeks) you have to submit an assignment, for example the wireframes or the prototype of your project. How and what to submit is explained in great detail, with full examples of what is expected of you.

As the course progresses, you will gradually create 3 projects for your portfolio, and eventually the portfolio itself, so that when you finish the course, you are really ready to start looking for a job.

In the last phase of the course, there are detailed explanations on how to apply for jobs, where to look for a job, how to create a good resume and portfolio. So you shouldn't rush to just get the certificate quickly, but learn everything that is offered thoroughly and try to understand all the steps a UX designer needs to do and create an excellent portfolio before you go job hunting.

Results

One of my friends had no prior knowledge (she studied Japanese Studies with me). She took the course while working part-time and after about 7 months she finished the course. She immediately found an internship with this certificate.

The other friend is currently taking the course. I will keep you posted if it works out for her as well.

As for me, I only took the course to deepen my knowledge of accessibility from a UX designer's point of view and will not be applying for a UX job. So no further information at this point.
It took me 4 months while I was working full time, but you have to remember that I've been a frontend developer for more than a year and already knew how to use Figma.

So I recommend it to anyone who wants to get into UX design or change careers relatively quickly. From my point of view as a self-taught developer, it also seems easier to get into the technical field with this certificate than, for example, learning to code yourself like I did.

I wish all participants success in obtaining the certificate and in their subsequent job search 🍀.