How to Learn UX for Mostly Free

1. Springboard has a free course you can go through the content yourself, https://www.springboard.com/workshops/ux-design/learn#/curriculum/7433/7434. There is no mentorship. You will need to sign up for a free account.

2. Go through this free course on Udacity with Don Norman, https://www.udacity.com/course/intro-to-the-design-of-everyday-things--design101.

3. Take this free course by Susan Weinschenk on Udemy, https://www.udemy.com/course/introtoux/.

4. Take this free course by Susan Weinschenk on Udemy, https://www.udemy.com/course/brain-and-behavioral-science-fundamentals/.

5. Take this Udemy course by Joe Natolie, https://www.udemy.com/course/user-experience-design-fundamentals/. It should be around $20 USD.

6. Take this Udemy course by David Travis, https://www.udemy.com/course/ultimate-guide-to-ux/. It should be around $80 USD.

7. Learn Figma (YouTube).

8. Read, and understand, two articles a day by NNg, https://www.nngroup.com/articles/.

9. Read, and understand, one article a day by MeasuringU, https://measuringu.com/blogs/.

10. Sign up for the Curiosity Tank newsletter, https://www.curiositytank.com/blog.

11. Review terms from this dictionary weekly, https://www.curiositytank.com/ux-lexicon.

12. Download the UX Companion app (it's free), https://www.uxcompanion.com/. Review and study one term a day.

13. Read the book How Design Makes the World.

14. Read the book The Design of Everyday Things.

15. Read the book Communicating Design.

16. Read the book Articulating Design Decisions.

17. Read the book The User Experience Team of One: A Research and Design Survival Guide.

18. Read the book Interviewing Users: How to Uncover Compelling Insights.

19. Sign up on a mentoring platform and meet with one person a week to talk UX. After the call, add them to your LinkedIn network. Suggestions: adplist.org, designed.org, UXPA (free).

20. Find one person a month to talk to on UX Coffee Hours, (it's free).

21. Add people to your LinkedIn network every week. Always include a note in your connection request. You do not need to use InMail. You do not need a premium LinkedIn account. According to LinkedIn, second-degree connections have the largest chance of finding a job. Follow people on LinkedIn in the UX community.

22. FIND A MENTOR or FIVE. You should meet with this person or people on a regular basis.

23. Do some passion projects.

24. Do volunteer projects. Check out Catch a Fire, Volunteer Match, and others for projects.

25. Build a portfolio.

26. Find an apprenticeship. Other options are internships (if in school) and returnships (you are a mom who wants to return to work after raising kids.

Expect to spend around two years studying, doing volunteer work, small paid projects, etc. until you are able to get a full-time "real" job.