Ironhack gives students the opportunity to relearn and helps them find the right job according to their chosen field of study. Alumni stories are back to share our graduates’ experience at Ironhack. Today, the focus will be on Silvia Vukic, a 2022 bootcamp graduate, who got multiple offers just weeks after finishing the bootcamp.
We sat down with Silvia to talk about her life pre-Ironhack and her bootcamp experience. Let's get started!
From Industry Design to UX/UI
Silvia has a background in industrial design and product development engineering, which gave her foundational design thinking skills. Despite her education in these fields, however, she found herself working in customer service in the hospitality industry and later in community management.
Silvia's interest in human interaction, psychology, and customer experience grew during her time in hospitality. She explored digital marketing, UX security, and graphic design, eventually realizing that her true interest lay in UX/UI design, which combined her skills and passion.
UX/UI Design with Ironhack
Silvia worked as a graphic and web designer before deciding to formally train in UX/UI. Her journey led her to enroll in a UX/UI bootcamp at Ironhack, influenced by a friend’s recommendation.
Silvia chose the remote option as it was easier for her to work from anywhere, especially when it came to budgeting expenses. Below, we have highlighted elements that made Silvia’s bootcamp experience positive.
Flexible Time Options
Choosing the part-time option allowed Silvia to manage her job and bootcamp work efficiently. Without Ironhack’s flexible options, she could not have managed all the workload that was on her plate.
Project-based Learning
Projects strengthened Silvia’s learning and understanding of basic concepts and fundamentals in UX/UI. The hands-on experience allowed her to prepare effectively before landing a role in the job market.
Group Collaboration
Homework and tasks were almost always in the form of group learning for Silvia, making it easier for her to understand difficult concepts. Communal collaboration is a crucial part of Ironhack’s core values, which has helped Silvia and her classmates get through their intensive bootcamp experience.
Career Services
Through the support of her Ironhack’s career services, instructors, and teachers, Silvia was able to prepare and be job ready. Their guidance provided the class with valuable insights, tips, tricks, and preferred strategies to land a job as quickly as possible. This consisted of learning methods on how to improve skills and how to build a proper LinkedIn profile.
Landing a Role in UX/UI
After completing the bootcamp, Silvia took a long-deserved break to recharge, despite advice telling her that she should focus on job hunting. Silvia prepared her portofolio, CV, and LinkedIn profile before her break, which resulted in her getting multiple job offers within a few weeks.
Silvia landed a UX/UI job without actively seeking it, attributing her success to her background, Ironhack’s career services, and skills she developed during the bootcamp. She discovered a job that aligned with her interests and considered it a dream role.
Today, Silvia advises future Ironhackers to stay curious, continuously learn, and be realistic about personal goals. Further emphasizing on the importance of preparation, especially with portfolio and case studies, and finally recommends staying up-to-date with industry trends.
Do you want to learn more about changing careers? Check out Ironhack’s bootcamps in UX/UI design or any other field you might be interested in, and explore how anyone can transform their career and start working in something they love.
