Breaking Down Google Career Certificates: UX Design
Welcome back to our Google Career Certifications series. In this multi-part series, we are breaking down everything you need to know about Google’s 5 most popular Career certificates including:
IT Support
Digital Marketing & E-commerce
Data Analytics
UX Design
Project Management
In this post, we are examining the UX Design Certificate exploring what it is, what you’ll learn in the program, how long it will take you to complete the courses and what you can do with this certificate in the job market.
How Are Google Career Certificates Structured?
The first thing you should know about this certificate (and any other Google certificates you do) is that it’s 100% online, asynchronous learning. That means you need to have a strong internet connection, a dedicated space at home or in a place you feel comfortable learning and a semi-modernish laptop that won’t overheat from hours of watching videos.
For many learners, this modality is ideal. If you have a lot of competing interests like a job, family, life commitments etc. having the increased flexibility of studying when you can/want is a nice to have or for some, an absolute necessity. The key to succeeding in this type of education is:
Making a plan that is reasonable (don’t over commit how much you can get done in a week)
Executing the plan (self-discipline and scheduling go a long way here)
Keep reviewing the plan (progress is not always equitable- some weeks will go faster or slower than others so keep on top of where you are with your studies and adjust your plans accordingly)
What Am I Learning In The Google UX Design Certificate?
In this certificate, you’ll go through 7 courses from fundamental to advanced. They include:
Foundations of User Experience (UX) Design
Start the UX Design Process: Empathize, Define, and Ideate
Build Wireframes and Low-Fidelity Prototypes
Conduct UX Research and Test Early Concepts
Create High-Fidelity Designs and Prototypes in Figma
Responsive Web Design in Adobe XD
Design a User Experience for Social Good & Prepare for Jobs
You'll notice there are a few specific technology platforms promoted in this certificate (Figma and Adobe XD). Before you jump into this certificate, it’s always helpful to go look at a few job descriptions of jobs you might be interested in and see if these programs are listed in the qualifications or nice to have section of the description.
If they aren’t listed, it’s not that they aren’t of value to the industry, it just might be that the company uses other programs. Find out what programs they do value and how closely they relate to what you are learning in this Google certificate. Is there a way you can make your skillset transferable even though you are learning a different program?
When moving into an industry like technology, you are signing up for a career of life-long learning. There will always be new technologies developing so being teachable and coachable and having a willingness to learn will carry you far in technology.
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How Fast Can I Finish This Certificate?
If you follow the program, it should take you about 6 Months of study with under 10 hours of study a week. Since you can go at your own pace, if you wanted to amp the number of hours a week you studied to say 20, you could be finished in as little as 3 months. My advice to you though is to go at a pace that feels like you are actually learning, comprehending and are able to apply what you are learning comfortably.
There is no point in rushing through a certificate only to get a job interview and realize you actually don’t know enough to get hired!
How Difficult Is The Google UX Design Certificate?
Like all the other Google Certificates, difficulty is really based on your previous experience and comfortability learning. In the final course, you will In this course, you will design a dedicated mobile app and a responsive website focused on social good.
You will showcase all that you’ve learned during the certificate program to complete the design process from beginning to end: empathizing with users, defining their pain points, coming up with ideas for design solutions, creating wireframes and prototypes, and testing designs to get feedback.
As someone that has not gone through the program, I don’t know if this final project is easy or hard but as someone completely new to UX, it sounds outside my comfort zone. It’s not that I’m not capable but 1) do I have the interest 2) do I have the time to learn and 3) am I properly motivated?
If my goal is a full career pivot and I’m currently unemployed then my motivation and interest and time might be extremely high on all accounts so I’m really giving it everything I’ve got. Would I say this is for the casual learner? Probably not.
Can I Get A Job With The Google UX Design Certificate?
Absolutely! The certificate helps you apply your skills with hands-on projects and build a portfolio that showcases your job readiness to potential employers. This program includes over 200 hours of instruction and hundreds of practice-based activities and assessments that simulate real-world UX design scenarios and are critical for success in the workplace. So you are learning and showing what you’ve learned to employers even before you’ve graduated from the program.
Some common job titles you may want to start looking into: User Experience (UX) designer, UI Designer, Interaction Designer, Visual Designer, Product Designer.
Final Thoughts…
Of the Google Career Certificates we have reviewed for this series, UX Design is one of the harder, new to most people types of certificate. The IT Support, Digital Marketing & E-commerce and Project Management certificates have a decent amount of cross-over into other areas of study such as the social sciences or business.
From people we’ve interviewed and employers we’ve spoken to, Data Analytics and UX Design are not for the faint of heart but they also have some of the highest return on investment in terms of job availability and higher paying salaries compared to some of the other certificates.
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Meet The Writer!
Hi! My name is Nadia Ibrahim-Taney and I help people design happy and fulfilling careers through authentic career coaching. My expertise includes career exploration guidance, resume writing, interview prep and LinkedIn profile optimization. My pronouns are She/ Her/ Hers and as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I focus on how diverse identities impact and influence folks holistically and professionally. Please connect with me on LinkedIn or at Nadia@beyonddiscoverycoaching.com
