7 things to consider before doing a UX master’s and grad school

[@Justeen15]

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[@creatoratplay]

This was helpfu; thank you!!

[@Justeen15]

Great to hear! Which part of the video you find the most helpful for you?

[@creatoratplay]

I like your knowledgeable and well-rounded perspective on getting a Master's in UX. I have a grad certificate in UX (half the credits of a Master's degree) and you brought up some interesting benefits of academic options I couldn't clearly articulate. I actually did get my first official UX role through a professor's referral, so can vouch for the networking aspect if you're dedicated/show consistent effort and professionalism. Thank you! @Justeen15

[@pambudiono-7961]

I have been working as a UX designer for 2 years despite graduating in food science. Actually, I am worried whether to deepen my skills in the field of UX or pursue a master's degree to build connections, because the cost of a master's degree is not cheap and also might not guarantee a suitable job upon graduation without adequate skills. but, Thank you for your explanation, it has made me reconsider my plans.

[@Justeen15]

Hi Thank you! Glad that helps! Which part/point do you find the most useful? What's your thought process right now?

[@pambudiono-7961]

​@@Justeen15 The explanation at point 14:33 (My ArtCenter master's degree breakdown) was very helpful to me. For now, my main focus is to work and develop my skills and abilities in the UX field so that they are on par with international talent. However, I will also be searching for scholarships and preparing to pursue a master's degree in parallel, as not all universities accept master's degree students from various background disciplines, and not all universities offer scholarship options.

[@Justeen15]

@@pambudiono-7961 That makes sense! Thank you for the inputs :) Yeah make sure the programs offer what you need. You can always poke around their website for curriculum or even call the department for info. Also worth to talking to existing students, going to their open house, etc.

[@lucygilbertson3746]

What did you do? I am in the exact same boat. Did a bunch of courses and landed a job at an agency and have about 2 years experience. I’m not sure a masters is worth the dept/price tbh. But the field is getting more competitive so I don’t know. Id do it if it was paid for haha.

[@tinasiassi967]

This was really helpful, thank you Justeen :) Wondering if you have any suggestions for building and growing a UX network outside of a school environemnt (especially for those who choose not to do a Masters in UX)!

[@Justeen15]

Hi there. Nice to see your comments again haha. LinkedIn reachouts and local UX meetups will be your best bet. I have actually met a few good designers from a mix of those two methods. You an also ask if people at your company know any designers or other people from elsewhere. E.g. if you want to work at Facebook and someone you know also knows an ENG working at Facebook, you can have them introduce you to that Facebook ENG. Then in your chat with that Facebook ENG, ask them any designer at Facebook you can reach out to or ask them to get you connected. This way, your network will snowball 1 by 1 and will reach some designer at some point. Hope that helps! And sorry for the late response :)

[@tinasiassi967]

Thanks Justeen, these are great suggestions! I appreciate your helpful responses :)

[@遊味遊]

Hello, this was really informative video, but I have questions, if you can suggest by yourself the best master degree UX design programs in countries that can offer also a grant opportunity?

[@Justeen15]

Hii thank for the comments! I don't think I have the knowledge to answer that question haha, since there are so many schools with grants and I have not looked into schools for year. I bet many things changed. Yet, you can use ChatGPT or similar to do that research for you. Compile a list of 10 schools with the most grants, and then you can refine the schools based on how well their programs match your interests. There can be schools with full scholarships but the program is more graphic design related and you are into UX, so that might not be a great fit. I understand we want the best of both worlds, but I think there will be trade offs to make in the end. First step is still gather info though! ChatGPT or similar can be very handy :)