Before enrolling in UX Academy, Vicky Nguyen worked part-time as a Marketing and Communications Assistant at UC San Diego Health while pursuing her undergraduate degree in Cognitive Science with a specialization in Human-Computer Interaction.
After graduation, she decided to take a gap year and move to Los Angeles to focus on some other interests. However, once COVID happened and the lockdown hit, it gave her the time to reflect on what she really wanted to do as a career. She looked back on her time in marketing and communications, and wondered if that was a path she really wanted to walk down. With time (something many of us had ample of during lockdown) Vicky realized that she felt more fulfilled with other types of creative outlets.
“I was so interested in learning about the way people behave and think, and found the art of designing and building user interfaces to be so cool. I had dabbled in some UX courses in college and believed that if I really wanted to, I could break into the industry with a lot of hard work and diligence,” says Vicky.
So, she decided to make the leap to a career in UX design.
Choosing UX Academy For Her UX Design Education
Vicky made sure to really do her research on all the different UX design bootcamps available before choosing UX Academy.
“I read blogs and community threads written by other people, got in touch with different bootcamp alumni, and compared prices and curriculum between bootcamps. After bringing my options down to three bootcamps, I ultimately chose Designlab because of its fair pricing and curriculum. I also heard that the Designlab’s community and mentorship were pretty valuable, and those were things that I was looking for and that suited my learning style,” Vicky says.
Noblesse: UX Academy Project
She had heard from other people before that “For bootcamps, it’s really ‘You get out what you put in,” and she took that to heart.
“I really wanted to make it worthwhile, and because I worked hard, UX Academy ended up being so worth it! Prior to UX Academy, I had tried to self-teach in the hope of saving money. But I soon realized that what I really needed was a curriculum to help me learn in the best possible way. UX Academy gave me a good foundation for breaking into the design world,” says Vicky.
“The course was well structured, but what I really valued was Designlab’s community and mentorship. Everybody is always helping one another and the weekly design critiques that students had to participate in were so valuable in learning from each other and gaining experience talking through designs. My mentors throughout UX Academy were so incredibly knowledgeable and helpful and I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.”
Data Visualization for Spotify: UX Academy Project