How to choose a UX Master’s Program (part 2)

This is the second part of “How to choose a UX Master’s Program” in which I shared my journey and considerations of starting out a UX career.

Since the first article was published, many people reached out to me for more specific advice. I thought I can do a better job organizing my responses and make them available to folks who might have similar questions:

For a list of UX programs, please check out the site I made: www.topuxschool.com. You can sort the schools/programs by length, location, tuition fee, requirements, etc.

Q: I don’t have any design background/experience. Do you have tips on preparing a design portfolio for school applications?

For my first Master application, I put together a portfolio consisting of some side projects I did in college (a website, a paper prototype, some graphic designs and photography work). Those weren’t polished work at all comparing with other ones from design-majored students, but it showed my genuine interest and commitment that are enough for the admission committee to assess my potential.

If you have literally nothing to show, maybe you are not ready yet. Consider teaching yourself the basics and utilizing those skills to solve problems around you. It can just be a simple poster design for your community activity or a logo for your imaginary brand. It’ll be easier once you start.

One alternative might be to apply for schools where the portfolio is optional. However, you will be put at a disadvantage because you’ll still be competing with applicants with portfolios.

Q: What would be considered a competitive portfolio?

For school applications, the requirement is usually more lenient than job applications. Yet overall, I think a good UX portfolio should include the following pieces:

• First of all, I’d like to see the designer’s ambition to treat their portfolio as a personal branding project, putting thought into the logo, colors, typography, information architecture and motions.

• On top of that, I’d expect the content to go beyond pretty pixels, showing at least two solid portfolio pieces covering the whole spectrum of the design process. It usually includes concise and to-the-point descriptions about the problem, the user, the approach (separate assumptions from the research data), the design requirements and the evaluation of the proposed solutions.

• If you want to stand out, consider hand-coding your site or including a regularly maintained blog. The goal is to distinguish yourself from the cookie cutter “templates” and demonstrate your personality.

• Examples for reference: my portfolio, Wanting Huang, Lyle Klyne, Sara Al Mughairy

Q: I’m choosing between schools in Europe and in the U.S.. Which one should I pick?

I can only speak to my own experience. In my case, I find U.S. a more attractive place to pursue a UX career because of the overall opportunities — more UX-related jobs/events, more robust community, no language barrier for me, much higher compensation, etc.

With that said, everyone has different circumstance. There is no absolute answer here. I’d suggest going back to the criteria list, and think through what you want to get out of the Master experience.

Q: I’m choosing between school A & B. Which one should I pick?

If you are in the application stage, I’d suggest you apply every school you are interested in because you might not get admissions to all schools you are currently thinking about. It’s always good to have a backup plan.

If you are deciding between schools you’ve been admitted to, I’d suggest reaching out to alumni from the specific school to gather more information (teaching quality, study environment, career outcome, etc.) that you can weight against the criteria list. You can ask me about a particular school, but I couldn’t provide much insight if I’ve never attended.

I’d also add that in the long term, it probably doesn’t matter which school you end up at. UX is such a gigantic field that you might gravitate toward a specific area (research, design, prototyping, strategy, development…etc) as you explore. You can always correct your course by taking electives, attending relevant events or working for specific companies, etc. By the end of the day, your portfolio will speak louder than your degree.

Q: I want to go back to school but the tuition fee is over my budget. Do you recommend attending UX bootcamps or other alternatives?

Similar to the previous answer, it’s really hard for me to evaluate a UX bootcamp because I’ve never attended one. I can only provide some personal observations:

• I’ve never met any designer at Google who came out from a UX bootcamp. The majority of them hold a UX-related Bachelor’s or Master’s degree.

• The UX job market is gradually reaching maturity with higher supply than demand in the U.S.. Even with a design/HCI degree, junior designers may still struggle to find satisfying jobs.

• In-person bootcamps are not cheap (In the U.S., the tuition is around $10k to $20k excluding living cost in the area).

If the goal is to build up a portfolio, there are many more free or cheaper resources to help achieving this goal.

Another alternative is to attend a program that’s tailored for working professionals, such as Master of Science in Human Centered Design & Engineering at University of Washington. This program and the like will allow you to study part-time while having a day job.

Q: Do you think a Master’s degree really worth the time and money?

To me, this is more of a philosophical question. In general, I think one can never compare life decisions because you would never know the result of the alternative path you didn’t take. Perhaps a healthier attitude is to always believe that you make the best decision given the existing variables (timing, opportunity cost, etc). If the result doesn’t turn out to be better, at least you have no regret, which in itself might already be worth it.

Back to my particular case, my first Master at TU Delft helped me switch my career from business to design. My second Master at UW granted me the ticket (work visa) to the most thriving tech industry in the world. I may gain similar experiences without those degrees, but they unquestionably made my transition smoother. In hindsight, I believe it’s worth it.

Q: What resources do you recommend to get started in UX design?

Please take a look at my other article — How to teach yourself UX design.

Q: How did you land a job at Google after graduating from UW?

I wish I have a more interesting story to tell, but the reality was that I just applied online with my resume and portfolio (no referral). The recruiter discovered my application 2 months after the application and the interview process took another 2 months.

It’s worth calling out that there are so many variables in play to land a job at Google (so does any other job). Generally speaking, you’ll need a valid work visa (if you are a foreigner), an impressive portfolio, sufficient work experience and excellent communication skill. Additionally, the company must have an opening role for you at the time you apply and the (randomly-assigned) interviewers must happen to like you, etc.

Q: What’s it like to be an Interaction Designer at Google?

At Google, Interaction Designer (a.k.a. UX Designer or Product Designer) functions as a UX lead for a given project, overseeing the whole UX process in the product development cycle.

In earlier stage, I might work with researchers and PMs to define user needs and draft product strategies. At middle stage, I produce wireframes, mock-ups, prototypes and slide decks. Iterating based on research/testing insights. Presenting ideas to stakeholders to get buy-ins. Working with UX writers to refine the language. At later stage, I make sure the final design is production-ready, exporting assets, tracking bugs and creating red lines for engineers.

Note that Google is a large company and designers’ experience may differ a lot depending on which team you are in. Currently, I’m leading 3 projects that are at different stages respectively. Therefore, my day-to-day can vary from a whole-day workshop to meetings with stakeholders to heads-down reading/designing time.

If you are curious about my hours, so far I’ve been having a pretty normal 9–5 and never have to work overtime.

Q: What’s Google designers’ compensation and benefits?

I find Glassdoor a useful tool to answer this type of questions. Be aware that:

• Google’s (and many other tech companies’) compensation consists of the base salary, cash bonus, and stock bonus. The exact amount of the last two will tie to your performance for the given period of time.

• Compensation tends to vary drastically by locations and experiences. Make sure you have the relevant filter turned on.

More questions?

If you have more questions, feel free ask in the Forum in www.topuxschool.com. Also, check out the following articles that might have answered your questions already:

• This article: How to choose a UX Master’s Program (part 2)

• How to choose a UX Master’s Program (part 1)

• How to teach yourself UX design

• Netherlands, thank you and goodbye

Lastly, one tip about asking questions — Instead of sending me an email asking “Can I ask you a question?”, simply list your questions in the email. Because “Can I ask you a question?” is a question itself, and 99% of the time my answer to this question will be a “yes”. 🙂

(This article was also published on Medium)