4 Ways to Stay Motivated in a UX Bootcamp

While most early bootcamps were 12-week programs for younger people, the need to be offer more flexible programs geared towards career-changes became apparent. Now, many programs are monthly subscriptions that one may complete in as much as 1–2 years. For newcomers to UX, contending with common challenges such as busy home lives, current job demands and imposter syndrome, this can pose a challenge to staying dedicated to one’s studies.

My 10-month journey took 5 months

When I first started my design bootcamp, I was working full time, so I selected a bootcamp that would give me flexibility to study around my schedule. My program was marketed as a 10-month program, but I decided I didn’t want to waste that much time getting to my dream career, so I put my head down and focused, and finished that program in just 5 months.

How did I do it?

1. A little every day

The program I was in encouraged doing a little bit every day. The coursework for the program consisted of reading and hands-on projects, so the program recommended reading during the week and focusing on projects on the weekends.

2. Feed your reward system

The program I was in gamified learning by making tasks short and progress measurable, with a progress bar for every sub program. Every task was rewarded with a congratulatory message, like I had climbed Everest. I felt so rewarded by getting something done every day, that I ultimately decided to quit my job and taking out a personal loan to pay the bills— (an investment that resulted in me nearly tripling my income, so it was worth every penny!)

If your program doesn’t offer built-in dopamine-boosters, consider giving yourself a special reward every time you finish a task.

3. Focus full time

Being able to focus full time on bootcamp helped me to stay committed. Without a full time job, I had no fall back — I could only move forward, and land that job that would pay enough to cover the hit to my income by “going back to school.”

If you are unable to do this, don’t worry. Most of my cohorts studied part time, and I’ve noticed that many have landed great jobs in the industry!

4. Accountability

This goes back to feeding your reward system. Having positive feedback, a cheerleader if you will, can keep you going.

If you can afford it, I recommend joining a program with built-in mentorship. If you cannot, there are other (free) options!

Several of my friends have joined low-cost programs that do not offer mentorship in the price. I have seen them struggle with not getting good feedback on their work from real UX professionals. I’ve offered to give them feedback and be their accountability buddy.

If possible, get more than one accountability buddy!

When I was in my UX Bootcamp program, which had several mentors on payroll to help me along, I was also guided by the program to connect with a study buddy. I ended up connecting with two buddies, one I actually met in real life, and one that was a couple timezones away. Both helped me stay focused and engaged — which led to finishing the program early!

If your bootcamp doesn’t support this sort of community, you can connect with cohorts and bootcamp peers on Slack, Meetup, LinkedIn and Facebook, with a little searching.

Bonus Tip - Keep this message in your pocket:

In case no one has told you, you can do this and you deserve this :)