The Google UX Design Review

As a veteran of the Google UX Design Certificate, I am happy with my experience, however it could always be better.

Let's start off with the specifics of the program.

1. It’s exclusively offered through the Coursera Platform.

2. It costs $41 each month.

3. The first week is free, then the user is charged monthly.

4. While the program is designed to be completed in 6 months, it is self paced.

5. 100% remote learning, hence the self paced.

6. Broke up into 7 modules that cover everything from the basics to job interviews.

7. 3 portfolio projects that help you kick start your career.

Those specs read really well on paper, especially considering the price of most UX learning programs that average more than $10k. And yes, there are a lot of benefits to the Google Design Certificate. Let’s highlight some of them below.

1. The affordability, honestly speaking this was a big pull factor for me as all the other programs that I saw started at around $10k. I concluded that with this cost I could also learn more about UX and if I didn’t like it then the financial cost wouldn’t be too strong of a burden.

2. Now this can be a double edged sword but I enjoyed that the program was self paced, because between the unexpected travels or sickness (hello COVID like cough) and whatever life throws at you, taking some time off was necessary.

3. Teachers are Google employs that are subject matter experts. I enjoy learning on the job so sitting down on a desk took a lot of discipline from me. What helped a lot was the diverse teachers who gave real life examples and snippets of their challenges and work processes.

4. The independence, while this ties in to point number 3, it bears weight. I really enjoyed the fact that you are taught to wear all hats on a project, however, it did have its disadvantages which we will get to later.

5. Lastly, I enjoyed the forums. While this program is largely solitary it was great to hear from other students and see their progress. At the end of the program there were beautiful notes of encouragement and congrats and truly felt like a uniting projects.

Now, on to the inevitable cons. These don’t make the program bad but they definitely make it more challenging for learners and take away from the ease of the projects.

1. Referring back to the double edged sword, the self paced of this program could cause you to get ‘lost’ and potentially not identify and tackle your struggles. For example, the evaluations are graded by other peers which is a great skill to harness, however, as a beginner you need a seasoned eye.I found that I had to resubmit a few projects because my peers didn’t bother to read through properly and the feedback they left was broad…almost as if they didn’t even open my project.

2. This was a big one for me that I didn’t realize until after I had graduated, but the lack of UI exercises and teachings. Once I and my mentor evaluated my portfolio and designs and had a mentor also look through them I understood that my UI had a lot of space for improvement.

3. I wish there were more collaborative projects with other seasoned UXers. Google has an extensive work force and network and I wish they assigned a trainer to a group of 10 people who reviewed their progress every few weeks.

4. There is a lack of follow up, I finished the program 2 months ago and I haven’t even had so much as a computer generated email asking where I am in my UX journey.

5. It feels and is very much like a big Google ad. The people, terminology and process are all google centric, which isn’t necessarily bad. However, this program is not a direct employment pipeline to Google therefore learning about other popular processes is key.

Overall this is a great stepping stone into the world of UX but you need to be aware of the effort that is expected from your end. Supplementing with books, videos, podcasts and daily exercises is the best way to truly make this program worthwhile.