News & Events
Post Grad Diploma in UX Design: Daniel Dowling tells of his experience
Completing a Post Grad Diploma in UX Design gave Daniel Dowling the confidence boost and skills he needed to secure work as a UX Designer.
Before starting the course, he had more than 10 years’ experience as a Visual Designer and decided to move into UX design, but after an unsuccessful job interview he realised he needed to retrain.
In 2017, he signed up to a Post Grad Diploma in UX Design in IADT through Digital Skillnet who covered 25% of the course fees.
At the time Daniel was working as a Digital Designer in the marketing department in a company in Kerry. Three-quarters way through the course he landed a job as UX UI Designer with Aspen Grove Solutions.
The part-time option combined with 25% fees covered by Digital Skillnet was the perfect option.
“The course focused on developing a portfolio and worked closely with industry to see what employers were looking for,” explained Daniel. “It gave me the skillset needed to get into the market and succeed. It was much easier to get a job with the portfolio and knowledge from the course.”
The course included people of many backgrounds, including visual, marketing, HR, product owners, developers and graphic designers. With four children, Daniel wasn’t in a position to take a year off work to study, the part-time option combined with 25% fees covered by Digital Skillnet was the perfect option.
“There’s a major need for UX Designers and a big gap of skills in the market,” says Daniel. “Most people were working full-time and looking to upskill. The part-time course made it possible to learn while continuing to earn a living.”
“It gives you the skillset and portfolio to get you seen and the confidence to know you can succeed in getting a role."
Earlier this year, Daniel was promoted to UX UI Design Lead and is now running a team of four. “The course taught me everything I need to know to excel at my job. It covered everything from problem identification, user research, personas, scenarios, user journeys, prototyping and finding pain points to designing solutions. The lecturers were very knowledgeable and helpful and with so many different types of people on the course you really have a chance to learn from each other as well.”
For those looking to work in UX design, Daniel says the Post Grad Diploma in UX Design course will help you with the tools needed to succeed. “It gives you the skillset and portfolio to get you seen and the confidence to know you can succeed in getting a role. Most people from my year got jobs in UX, while others were upskilling to understand the role of UX design better. If you are committed to the course and to succeeding then it’s worth doing. It gave me the confidence to present and show my work and it helped me drive my career forward. For me the course paid for itself within a few weeks of getting a new higher paying job.”
Visit our Postgraduate Diploma in UX Design page