Break into tech with

UX Design

Gain essential UX Design skills and earn a a Google Certificate in 22 weeks without quitting your day job. Pay $0 upfront.

22 weeks
20 hours/week

Apply Now

Why UX Design?

Considering a career change into tech? UX Design offers an exciting, in-demand field where you’ll create websites, apps, and physical products to enhance user interactions. As technology evolves, the growing demand for intuitive and functional user experiences makes a career in UX Design perfect for those with creativity, human-centricity, and a desire for continuous learning and growth.

Competitive Compensation: UX design careers are in high demand across all industries, with median entry-level salaries starting at $77,000+.

In-Demand Careers: With a Google UX Design Certificate and professional skills training from our best-in-class coaches, you’ll open doors to over 63,000 entry-level UX Design job openings across both small businesses and large organizations.

Fulfilling Work: Engage in roles that are not just tech-centric but also people-centric, ensuring users can navigate technology smoothly. Many tech roles offer flexible schedules, promoting a healthy work-life balance. Our alumni land roles such as Junior UX Designer, Interaction Designer, Visual Designer, Information Architect, Product Designer, and more.

A woman working from home learning more about paying for Merit America.

Hear What Our UX Design Alumni Have To Say

I researched multiple tech programs, but none of them felt right. Then I came across Merit America and it was a perfect.

Stephanie Program Assistant

With the program, I felt like it just fell in the place for me. This is what I was meant to do.

Brandy Printing and Graphics Assistant

Merit America has changed so much for me that I couldn’t be more grateful.

Rey Marketing Specialist

Get started with $0 upfront

Build a career based on your potential, not your bank account.

Learn about program costs

A Merit America learner receiving one-on-one career coaching and job placement support.

Learn in-demand skills
Land a great job
Pay only after the program
Support the next class

Work Life Balance

Your third-party coursework and Merit America career coaching services are online. Live meetings are only 3-5 hours per week. You can complete the coursework in-between work shifts, on weekends – whatever works for your life.

A woman sits on the floor, working her remote job in tech.

Monday, January 10

Merit America Program

At Work 8am – 3pm
Online Coursework 3pm – 5pm
Daycare pick-up 5:15pm
Family Dinner 6pm
1:1 Career Coaching 8pm

Work with a team dedicated to your success

Meet regularly with a career coach and squad of your peers to keep you on track. After you finish, you’ll join a network of thousands of Merit America alumni.

Meet your support team

Joining…

Michael, Career Coach
How’s your coursework going this week?
Cora
I’m really struggling with my resume…
Michael, Career Coach
You’ve got this! Let me connect you with our job success coach, Teresa.

Also, something to look forward to: you’re only one week away from completing your Google Certificate!

How does Merit America Compare?

	Merit America	Tech Bootcamp	Community College
Course Length	22 weeks	20-24 weeks	50-100 weeks
In person/Remote	Remote	Remote	In-person/Remote
Part-time?	20 hours/week	Varies	Varies
Maximum Payment/Tuition	$5,700	$16,000-$19,000	$5,000-$10,000
Certificate	Google UX Design Certificate	Varies	Yes
Organization Type	Non-profit (Merit America collaborates with for-profits)	For-profit	For-profit or Non-profit
Coaching and Job Search Support	Yes	Yes	Varies
Downside Protection	Yes	Varies	No

Get the UX Design skills employers are looking for

UX foundations

Core Principles of Design

Gain essential UX skills through the Google UX Design Certificate, which emphasizes user-centric problem-solving and empathy-building research methodologies. Understand human-centered design and equity-focused principles while collaborating with cross-functional teams. Practice end-to-end processes, including empathy and research, problem definition, collaborative ideation, mapping and mock-ups, and prototyping and testing. Additionally, you’ll explore visual design craftsmanship and the unique qualities of responsive and cross-device design.

Technical UX Skills

UX Specialization

Develop your technical expertise by mastering professional applications like Figma and Adobe XD. Engage in hands-on activities that simulate real-world UX design challenges, focusing on building dynamic user interfaces for websites and crafting engaging user experiences. Learn various ideation techniques and user-centric problem-solving methods, including HMWs, crazy eights, journey mapping, storyboarding, wireframing, and creating both low- and high-fidelity prototypes. You’ll also apply research methodologies for empathy-building, such as user interviews, surveys, usability testing, and competitive audits.

Professional Skills

Mastering the job search

Building a career in UX Design involves more than just technical skills, and Merit America’s career coaching is designed to prepare you fully. Complete real-world UX projects, such as a mobile app, app optimization, a responsive website, and a design for social good, showcasing your work in a portfolio you’ll develop. You’ll receive personalized guidance to craft tailored resumes and cover letters for UX positions, along with practice in responding to common UX design interview questions, empowering you to navigate the job market with confidence.

Our alums work for the world’s top tech companies

A women scratches her head while researching how to break into tech.

Two career changers view Merit America's curriculum

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the training in-person, online or both?

The training is 100 percent online, but it’s interactive. You will complete your Google certificate program on the Coursera platform. You will interact with your squad and access career coaching services through the Merit America platform. Both provide a blended online learning environment where you will participate in live virtual meetings and complete coursework independently online through industry-recognized partners, like Google.

You will leverage learning tools such as the widely used digital workplace platforms and software, including: Zoom, Slack, Google Suite, and our customized Merit America Learner Portal.

What are the admission requirements?

To be eligible for any of Merit America’s programs, the following must be true:

You have a high school diploma or GED.
Associates and bachelor’s degree holders are welcome.
You do not have a graduate degree and are not currently enrolled in a graduate program
You are a fluent English speaker, reader, and writer.
You are a resident of the U.S. and authorized to work in the U.S.
- DACA and Temporary Residents must have a status/visa that does not expire within six months of the Immersion start date.
- Residents of U.S. territories are eligible for our program.
You are 18 years of age or older.
You will be seeking full-time employment upon completion of the program.

What does a typical week look like at Merit America?

Merit America programs are flexible to fit into your busy schedule. For the UX Design program, you’ll spend about 18 hours in online coursework and 2 hours working on professional skill development with the help of your career coach, technical coach, and a squad of your peers.

The sessions are usually after typical business hours, and the coursework can be completed whenever you have free time.

What kind of support will I receive during the course?

When you join Merit America, there’s a team dedicated to your success.

Your program success manager and career coach helps you develop the professional skills you need to succeed in the job market, and will work with you to chart your career path.

Your cohort is made up of talented people just like you, and you’ll work alongside them to complete coursework and develop projects.

Your job success specialist will help you find job opportunities that match your interests and skills. We also have an employer partnerships team that sources jobs directly from employers that are made for Merit America alumni.

Can you guarantee me a job?

We can’t guarantee job placement or salaries, but we do provide you with a structured training curriculum, professional career development, and dedicated job-placement support. Because of this, the majority of job-seeking alumni are placed in new jobs within three months of completion.

But we can guarantee you won’t have to pay if you still don’t earn at least $40k within two years of completing the Immersion phase of your program, as defined in our Merit America Guarantee.

What does the UX Design program cover?

Our UX Design program technical training course is offered by Google.

This program focuses on user-centric problem-solving, empathy-building research methodologies, and an introduction to Figma and AdobeXD.

You will learn entry-level skills, including:

understanding what makes existing products difficult to use
exploring what can make people’s experiences great
designing wireframes, mockups, and prototypes

You will also hone your professional skills and chart your career roadmap with the help of Merit America career coaches.

Upon completing the program, you will be prepared to enter UX Design-related roles such as a generalist or a specialist in a variety of UX design-related roles, including UX Designer, UX Design Speciality, Product Designer, Interaction Designer, Visual Designer, UX researcher, UX/UI Designer, and more.

You can view the program syllabus here.