BrainStation

In the Fall of 2022, I enrolled in the UX Design Bootcamp, and while the course provided a base foundation in UX principles, there are several aspects that prospective students should be aware of, especially if you are self-financing this program.


Workload and Post-Course Reality: Be prepared for an intense three-month commitment with a heavy workload. I underestimated how little time I had outside of class. I had no life. However, the biggest challenge is after completion, as the job market in UX design has become highly competitive. Unlike the earlier years (2019-2021), when boot camp graduates found it easier to secure jobs, the current environment demands real work experience. Project and Portfolio Expectations: My main reason for choosing Braindstation was the promise of a "real job" project that could bolster my resume. Unfortunately, this culminated in just a 24-hour hackathon, far from the comprehensive portfolio-building experience I anticipated. For those expecting a robust portfolio upon completion, this program may not meet your expectations. Only one page of my website was developed with their review, and even this was rushed.  Instructor and Course Organization: Our main instructor often appeared unprepared and disorganized, significantly impacting our learning experience. Time is precious in such an intensive course, and this lack of organization was a major setback for me. I expected to have a lot more Figma training, but it was underwhelming. I often spent time relearning on YouTube because our teacher could not properly teach us UI techniques or because we ran out of time in class.  We had a guest teacher come in to assist with UI principles because of this. Cost vs. Value: The course fee was $15,000, a significant investment, especially considering the limited direct assistance in building a substantial portfolio. I had higher expectations of paying this much for a three-month intensive course with no refund opportunities.
Employment Outcomes: Despite the high success rates advertised, in my class of around 30, I know fewer than eight students who secured UX design jobs. This reality highlights the gap between expectations set by the program and the actual job market scenario. The career coaches were very helpful in building your resume and learning interview tips even months after the program, but getting into this market is a grueling process.   Final Thoughts: If you're considering this boot camp, particularly if financial investment concerns you, I would recommend exploring programs that offer a money-back guarantee if employment is not secured. While the program offers a good foundational understanding of UX design, the lack of substantial portfolio development, combined with the disorganized instruction and challenging job market, leads me to caution potential students. The risk of burnout is real, and the return on investment may not align with your career aspirations. Read less

Maemi and Emma are incredibly knowledgeable. It was both educational and fun to hear stories about what's going on in the digital marketing career. 

I would not recommend this class if you're looking for in-depth tutorials: it's designed like a broad overview of the key areas of digital marketing. That said, I gained a lot from using the language and ideas to do deep dives on my own and asking my peers and teachers for opinions. 

It was also interesting to meet my peers from so many different walks of life! Read less

It’s ironic these people teach user experience design, really. A little context: I just finished my master’s in visual communication at the Royal College of Art. As I’m doing this bootcamp I’m also working (to pay for rent) and interviewing for jobs for after the course; all choices I should be able to make as a mature adult.In my Brainstation class there are people coming from finance, music, gaming, or simply dropped out of university. That’s all fine, but if there’s one thing an educational institution should know (especially one that teaches UX design) is that standardization is bad. You can’t measure both a fish and a monkey by their ability to climb a tree. In our course, it seems like everyone is measured by the same standards. We are all being treated like 12-year-old kids who have to get high enough grades to pass. The teachers don’t care if you’re interviewing for jobs, they want you to spend your 8 hours a day strictly following the curriculum regardless of why you started the course, and what you want to learn from it. In my case, having a master’s in visual communication means I’m not here to learn graphic design. I know graphic design, so I’m here to learn interaction design. I am therefore not going to design pretty presentations for projects that aren’t even going to go on my portfolio, because I don’t have to prove my graphic design skills to anyone. The reason I came to the course was to get a job in UX design, so it’s laughable that they say they want to help you, but they expect me to prioritize pretty presentations over a job interview! If you start the course, at the beginning they’ll ask you “What do you want to take home from this learning experience?”. Whatever you answer, forget it. Whether you’re 35 and looking to transfer from another sector, or you just dropped out of uni and you’re looking to upskill, it doesn’t matter. You will all get measured with the same criteria, you will all get treated the same way, and be expected to do the same things. They assume you don’t have enough of a brain to know that you get what you give, you learn what you put in. The irony is the fact it’s called Brainstation.I put a lot of money into this course, so I should be the arbiter of what I want to spend my time on. Apparently not. My experience here has quickly gone downhill. And to think they teach user experience!A learning environment should not suffocate your objectives. I do NOT recommend! Read less

The instructors are experienced in the product management field, which is helpful to get insight into their personal experiences and anecdotes. While they stick to the class content, there's a lot of opportunity for questions and they're willing to provide examples and constructive feedback on projects/group work. Read less

The BrainStation digital marketing course was a very helpful introduction and and detailed overview of digital marketing strategies, tactics, and tools. The course content was well delivered and interactive, making it engaging. I would definitely recommend this to someone looking for additional digital marketing knowledge.  Read less

$400 for each session, 8 sessions in total, two nice instructors that were nice as person but no idea how to teach. Absolute scam. This program finds cheapest instructor and scam you with the high price. Never ever get close to them. You can get much more with all free online courses than Brainstation data science course. BE CAREFUL!!!! Read less

Being here was a helpful experience in transitioning into UX Design by learning a variety of skills ranging from research into UI design and even properly presenting with sharing our thought process to demonstrate our understanding and effective storytelling. The deadlines were very tight given that the bootcamp is 3 months and so much that was taught. Having classmates was very helpful with having a sense of community and an ongoing channel of support beyond the classroom which would be needed for challenging points throughout the courses. 

The educators gave us a lot to learn to have a solid foundation of UX Design and we were able to practice those skills in different facets of UX Design.

I wish that the structure of the course was done better in a way where certain subjects we were meant to didn't get cut out due to having to prioritize students having more time to finish their work. Although, I understand that sentiment and I agree with it, I wish there was some way where what we need to learn that was on the schedule was able to take place. 

Also wished that we could have learned more about AI. We b had a lecture but no workshop or projects or exercises at least. Granted, maybe it was meant to just be that, but considering that AI is growing as much as it is in tech, it would make sense for it to have an element be more hands on, especially for UX students who might be out in a situation where they're dealing AI once they graduate. 

Overall, I had a memorable time. Read less

I joined BrainStation as a UX design student, and I genuinely recommend the program for the mentorship, constant feedback, and content. The content being taught are all necessary information that we will inevitably be exposed to later on, but the bootcamp format lends itself nicely to a faster format and track.  Read less

• Having finished the course I feel confident in my abilities to create functional websites having started with only a little knowledge of web development 
• It was really great that the curriculum taught relevant technologies such as React and MySQL which are commonly used in the industry 
• The educators and TAs were very helpful in further enriching the experience by providing extra help even at late times of the night while we worked on our projects
• It was great getting to work as part of a team as part of an agile work environment and getting to experience hackathons as a group
• Would have loved for the bootcamp to be longer so that we could go more into databases and devOps

Read less

After 12 weeks in this bootcamp i can say it was definitely worth the time and the money I invested into it. Very nice teachers, they will help you even after hours at anytime. The program itself was challenging for me because of zero experience prior to the program but on week 12 I’ve done stuff I thought I could never do. Today is my last day at the bootcamp and i feel very proud and happy of the stuff I learned and am definitely excited to get a job.  Read less

This course was both challenging and rewarding. The instructors and TAs were fantastic, providing excellent support and guidance throughout the program. The curriculum covered all the essential skills needed to become a confident UX designer, starting with the fundamentals of research and progressing through UI design. The pace was admittedly fast, but it kept things moving and ensured we covered a lot of material.
My only suggestion for improvement would be to allow students to download the slide decks. This would be incredibly helpful for taking notes during lectures and reviewing the material later on.
Overall, I highly recommend this course to anyone interested in pursuing a career in UX design. It is a rigorous program, but the knowledge and skills you gain will be invaluable. Read less

I really enjoyed my experience during this 12-week bootcamp. I cannot express how grateful I am to the educational team. Their passion for teaching and commitment to students' success were evident throughout the program. They provided clear explanations, practical insights, and were always willing to offer additional support when needed. The bootcamp was really immersive including hackathons, whiteboarding practice sessions, and the final industry project, which was huge highlight of the program for me. Read less

Was a very nice bootcamp and a quick pace, which allows a solid understanding upon completion. it teaches html, sass/css and javascript. the educators are very helpful and empathetic. It has allowed me to learn a set of skills which i have had no prior experience for.  Read less

The whole bootcamp is very well designed. The slides and lectures are very easy to follow and there are lots of assignments to practice the skills learnt in the class. Additionally, the course materials are constantly updated to reflect the latest trends and technologies in the field, ensuring that learners are always at the cutting edge. The instructors are knowledgeable and approachable, providing personalized feedback and support to help students overcome any challenges they encounter. Read less

The bootcamp was challenging, but I truly learned a lot. The course curriculum is very relevant to the current state of the industry, and the instructors are very clear in terms of their teaching style. The TAs provided assistance whenever I needed to ask for help, even on the weekends. I learned a lot from the assignments and labs, and I now feel far more confident in my coding ability.  Read less

I had a great experience at Brainstation New York’s Data Science bootcamp. The course was impressive turn the breadth and depth of content covered as well as how up to date it is with industry best practices and tools used. The instructing team led by Paul Smith and including Steven Savchick, Laura Cornejo Paulino, and Sam Hartman were excellent and enriched  the learning experience by sharing their real-world experience using many of the techniques covered in class. 

One thing I want to note is that the first 2 weeks are conducted remotely, often grouped with Brainstation students in the same course in another city. I felt this was not made very clear during my onboarding process and this sentiment was shared by other students. 

Overall a great education experience that I would recommend for those interested in an in-person DS bootcamp.  Read less