Monica Martinez began her career as an admissions recruiter in education sales. But she wanted to do more than just pitch the solutions—she wanted to design and build them.
So she began searching for a career that offered a combination of business and creativity … and discovered UX design..
“After doing my research and meeting with UX designers, I had a better understanding of what types of projects and day to day looked like for them and I was really excited about it,” says Monica.
At the time, she was living in Hong Kong and wasn't sure if she was going to stay put or move back to California, so she began looking for a UX design course that was location-flexible and also offered high quality mentorship and a community. That’s when she found UX Academy.
“I looked into a plethora of options and narrowed it down to two. I chose Designlab for its structure, mentorship, and Group Crits. I thought about my learning styles, and as an independent learner, I found the structure of UX Academy to suit what I was looking for. I loved that I was able to learn at my own pace, but still had a weekly schedule to hold me accountable,” Monica says.
Monica’s UX Academy Experience
When asked about her experience in UX Academy, Monica shares, “I loved it! I enjoyed learning, creating, and improving. Don't get me wrong, it was challenging, but you get plenty of resources and help.”
One aspect of UX Academy that Monica found particularly helpful was the 1:1 mentorship with an experienced designer.
“It's one thing to have a mentor, but it's another when you build a relationship and really lean in to understand how designers think.”
Monica also found the Group Crits helpful, since they gave her an opportunity to see what other students were doing and how they thought through problems.