Can I Get A UX Design Job Without A College Degree?

If you’re here, you’re probably wondering if you need a college degree to get a job in UX design. Nowadays, there has been a debate on whether going to college is necessary, especially with the rise in tuition in most states. College degrees provide levels of invaluable skills, and each one has its special perk. But is it indispensable to get a degree in UX design? 

Long story short- you don’t need a college degree to land a job in UX design! Considering how job prospects in UX design have grown, it may seem hard to believe, but it’s not necessary to go to college for this field. 

How can I get a Job in UX Design? 

With that being said, almost 82% of UX designers surveyed by the Nielsen Norman Group have at least a Bachelor’s degree, but don’t worry! There are more unconventional ways to break into different fields. One of the most common ways to land into UX design is to go through a boot camp course. If you want a flexible schedule and a quick turnaround, this might be your option! Unlike many boot camps, Avocademy has a lower price than average. 

What Do I Do If I Want a Change? 

If you’re looking into pivoting careers, it’s helpful to ask yourself what it is you’re looking for. Pivoting careers is no easy task, and it’s essential to ensure that you know what you’re looking for before you make the jump. 

To get started with UX design, follow these steps:

1. Identify Your Why
Take some time to think carefully about your future career. Take a moment to consider your motives before starting a UX mentorship program. In your mind, are you more concerned with designing attractive interfaces, or do you care more about understanding users through research? Would you like to be a UX specialist or just make a career change?

2. Set a Timeline & Budget
For those wanting to become UX designers, they don't have to spend an additional eight years in college. To join the field, UX Bootcamps vary widely, with many taking between six months and two years. Costs also vary widely, from free online learning to $10,000+. You can achieve your goals without wasting money if you set realistic expectations!

3. Start a UX Learning Program
When you've aligned your goals, timeline, and budget, it's time to learn UX design! Here's how:

• Start a UX bootcamp
• Learn UX online through free or low-cost coursework 

The hardest part of changing careers to UX design is choosing a program. Be sure to research various options and think about your learning style. To learn more about UX bootcamps, check out our comparison articles for a breakdown of the most popular programs in terms of timeline, features, and cost.

5. Apply to Jobs & Start Your UX Career!
Since you have chosen a path, gained UX skills, and built a portfolio, you can start looking for your UX dream job!

Be patient while you search for a job. At Avocademy, we find that students usually need between 3-6 months and 150 or more applications to land an entry-level UX position. 

It’s always best to look for new experiences and opportunities through research. Luckily for you, we’ve already taken care of most of the steps. Since our founding date in 2020, Avocademy has been helping teachers, therapists, sales experts, and others transfer into UX design. 

The main reason for Avocademy’s success is the center of our students. We have amazing mentors who will help you every step of the way, including looking for work post-graduation! In fact, 51% of our students are undergraduates, so plenty of students use our resources for a transition!

There are, however, specific skills required to have before looking into User Experience. 

What Skills Do I Need to Have?

In order to be a good UX designer, you have to be detail-oriented and ready to solve problems. Without these skills, it’s more challenging to enjoy the field and be successful in it overall. Anyone can learn these skills, however. Avocademy gives a hands-on learning approach to learning about prototypes and the software that designers use.

 User Research

This is a critical step when designing a product. You want to understand your audience and what their needs are. Therefore, this step is best conducted through interviews, surveys, and other feedback forms to best encapsulate what the intended audience is looking for. You’ll want to become knowledgeable about interview tactics and work on your communication skills to get your answers. 

Wireframing

It’s essential to organize your ideas in a cohesive structure. Wireframing accomplishes this by acting as a ‘skeleton’ for your future app/product’s interface. It doesn’t include the advanced code needed to operate the app; it’s merely a structure that best lays out your ideas. 

Prototyping

Before launching a product, you want things to be as perfect as possible. A prototype is a sample of what the product will look like, how it will operate, etc. Prototyping works differently from wireframing by providing a more detailed visual of the app/product’s interface. 

Design tools

UX designers utilize software to help draw out and map out their ideas. A couple of design tools include Figma and Adobe photoshop. Figma is relatively simple to use. However, it takes practice to navigate the interface. Avocademy uses Figma as a collaborative tool to make learning UX design easier! 

Information Architecture 

Understanding the concept of information architecture will be a fundamental piece of your journey in getting into UX design. Information architecture boils down to organizing digital information in an online layout. This is what will ultimately lead your users to the product. You want to make it easy for the user to find what they are looking for, not difficult. Thus, it’s imperative for User-centered design to learn how to layout a site. 

Carlotta’s story

If you’re still unsure if you’re a good fit for UX design and the other challenges that come with finding a job without a degree, Carlotta is a current UX designer and an Avocademy graduate who was able to land a UX design job with no college degree. If you don’t have a degree, but a keen interest in problem-solving and learning more about how to make something better, don’t let it stop you! Read about Carlotta’s story here. 

We hope that this helped you see another method to landing a job in UX design. While college degrees each have their perks and rewards for graduation, it’s not always the most convenient way to get a UX design job. As the rise of technology ensues, so will the field of UX design. 

Schedule a Free UX Mentorship Session

Want to break into the industry? Schedule a UX/UI mentorship call today. We’ll help you get started on a portfolio and a career you love.