Student Success Story: Valerie Liuim
Looking back before you joined the course at Experience Haus, can you tell us a little bit about what you were up to and what led you to consider a course in UX/UI design?
I studied Graphic Design and Art Direction in Milan and my first two jobs were in that field, but then somehow I started doing something completely different and was working as a data analyst and taxonomist. While working in that industry I realised I wanted to go back to something related to design, but I was trying to understand what I really liked to do because working as a graphic designer wasn’t what I wanted to do in life. So then I researched a bit, realised UX and UI design could be the right career path for me and I came across Experience Haus, and it seemed like a really good opportunity.
How did you come across Experience Haus? What made you choose to study with us?
I think the first time I saw Experience Haus was through an Instagram ad so I clicked the link and went through to the website. I got in touch with the team and compared this option to others like General Assembly and Career Foundry and found it to be the most reasonable in terms of price and the fact the classes were live. I wanted to be sure I was going to start and finish something, rather than sign up for a course that was ‘do it at your own pace’ which I never would have completed!
Thinking about your time on the course… What did you want to achieve from your Experience Haus course?
I wanted to have a portfolio and at least one case study from this course. I also wanted to meet people who were in the same field that could help me and I could collaborate with.
What did you enjoy most about the course?
I really liked the fact we were divided into smaller groups. This meant you could get involved in lots of parts of the project and be really hands-on, which you wouldn’t get if you were part of a big group. You could also really get to know the other members of your team and that was helpful.
You also felt like you were part of something by taking part in a live class, rather than a recorded session. With lockdown and people still working from home, this was a nice reason to meet new people and see other people’s faces, even if it was on camera!
What was your one big takeaway from the course?
Something that helped me was the fact our teacher pushed us to follow up with the client, and that led to something really useful because our group started collaborating with the client even after the course finished. It helped us portfolio-wise, skills-wise and mentor-wise. We were also pushed to do things we hadn’t even learned on the course!
