All UX designers know that education is paramount to succeeding in this industry. The technical world moves fast and if we don’t keep up, more skilled designers using advanced tools like AI will outdate the need for their previous generation.

Education that is either free or cheap is amazing. Online resources like Google, youtube, or community boards like Reddit (if you can withstand the barrage of negativity) are invaluable for learning. Buying used books off Amazon has an incredible amount of value to dollar while also acting as a trophy when you’re finished reading (and if you don’t adopt that used book, who will?).

My go-to source for online education.

All that said, paid education has two major and often overlooked benefits:

  • It’s fast. Finding a free, high-quality resource can be challenging.
  • It’s comprehensive. Paid resources have curriculums and fill the entire gamut of knowledge.

If the goal is to learn as much as possible in the shortest possible time, paid education is superior. And in my experience, the return on investment is well demonstratable.