Google UX Design Certificate in 2025

Is taking the Google UX design course a good idea in 2025? Is it still relevant and is it worth the time and money?

Even though I finished the course in 2021, when it launched, and made a complete set of reviews of it on YouTube, I still get asked these questions a lot.

The answer isn't easy.

It all depends on your approach to learning design, your goals and whether you can wait to get the first job. But don't worry. I'm here to guide you through the best possible approach to learning UX in 2025. And yes, it does include the Google UX Course in it.

It is still worth doing but only if you're prepared for the right approach. It's all about what to focus on, what to avoid and skip and what kind of expectations should you start the course with.

That correct approach here is really important. Otherwise you may be in for an unpleasant surprise.

Google UX Design Certificate 2025

People are obsessed with certificates. When I interviewed junior designers back in 2021 when the course launched, 99% of them mentioned they're doing it for the Google Certification.

The reason for this is obvious. It looks really good on your LinkedIn and on your resume. Google is a well known, established company after all.

In many designers minds it gives more meaning to a certificate issued by the big G. Almost as if you were actually hired there.

That effect however, is offset by overflow of Google certified "designers" onto the market.

Today, in February of 2025, over 1.1Million people enrolled in the course.

Sure - only a small number actually finished the whole thing, but still it's a lot of people.

There is nothing unique or of value with the certificate itself. You may get lucky with some oldschool company that hires based on the resume itself. That isn't the industry norm though.

The Google UX Design Certification, like any other certificate is just a PNG diploma. You can print it and hang it on your wall.

It shouldn't be the reason for you to take the course though.

So what should?

Learning UX design in 2025

If you want to learn User Experience Design right now, the path has slightly changed since 2021.

The problem with most courses, including the Google one, is that it tries to fill the curriculum with a lot of techniques just in case. In reality the UX industry is much simpler than the courses portray it.

And there's not enough emphasis on critical thinking and daily practice. Something we noticed from our own experience is one of the primary factors of success for juniors.

A typical approach to learning UX is a little depressing. Most people we talked to just finish a course (or two) and use those 2-3 portfolio projects from the course to try and find the job.

Now, unless those projects are truly exceptional, the chances of finding a job that way are pretty slim. With so many people being in a similar situation, they all blend together in the eyes of recruiters.

When doing daily design challenges for months, you end up with two key differentiators:

1. You show you're motivated and disciplined enough to commit to a streak

2. You have dozens or even hundreds of examples of your work to show.

I closely followed people who completed lots of challenges and in most cases they have it much easier to find a job. The sheer scope of work is enough to impress most companies way more than a PNG certificate.

How long does the google UX Course take?

They say it's best to take it in six months. That allows for most newbies to fit it into their schedule.

How long did it take me? I'm a designer since 1998, so of course the material in the course wasn't new for me. I took it only for the purpose of reviewing it on YouTube. And it took me about a week per segment, so 7 weeks total.

You can watch my full review here:

I could've gone even faster, if I didn't have any other responsibilities.

For complete beginners it's not advisable to go that fast though. Take it slow.

Your goal should be to know the basics of UX by the time you finish, not to get a PNG diploma. This is the attitude you need to start with. Think of the certificate as a worthless bonus. You're doing it for the skills.

And those skills are in heavy demand. Sort of.

More on that later.

How much does Google UX course cost?

It costs $49 per month, so with the average pace they suggest people take it you're looking at a total of $294 to complete it.

You can however take it much, much faster if you prefer and do it for around $100. That option works for those who can take a leave from their job/school and focus just on that for two months. Tough, but doable.

There's also financial aid and scholarships for designers from developing countries.

How do you get financial aid for the Google UX Course?

Not all countries and regions qualify. The option is also not that visible - likely on purpose. When you see the main call to action button that says "enroll for free" there may be a little text link right next to it that says "Financial aid available". If you see it, click that and enroll that way.

Keep in mind that financial aid applications can take up to two weeks to get reviewed. If that is your only way to access the course, start early.

I personally talked to some designers that successfully applied to that program so it does work. May not be easy to get into but definitely possible.

Is the Google UX Course good?

I already talked about it in my video review.

Yes. I believe the Google UX Course is a great starting point. It's affordable and pretty easy to start even for non-tech people.

If you really want to become a UX designer, I can totally recommend you start with this course. However I do not recommend you finish it. You don't need the full certificate and you can save a ton of time. I'll give you a step by step guide on what to do, for how long and why.

The first part of the course is definitely best. A great introduction to user experience that everyone can understand. You can take that part completely free too. That's great for those not completely sure about what they want to do in life.

May be best to check it out and see if ux is even something that you find interesting. Don't go into it for some perceived high earnings as those are going down for juniors lately. Takes a while to get rich doing UX.

Biggest issues with the Google UX Design Course

The main issue with the course is that it's peer graded. Of course that is to be expected for the low price, but it poses multiple issues that can make your learning experience a pain.

Let's start with the most obvious. Peer grading means you will grade someone's work, and some other student will grade yours.

At this stage, neither of you are designers. You barely did a couple of classes, so there's no experience and no way to predice whether your recommendations are even good.

Yes. You can get bad advice. Or a failing grade for a project that's completely fine. Bad advice especially can slow down your learning or mess up the results.

But there's another, less fun side to peer grading.

The certificate obsessives.

Some are doing this only for the certificate. What it means they don't even do the exercises. They submit a PDF saying "I need the certificate, please give me a passing grade, thanks!" and that's it.

Mentors are a must for faster learning

This is why we went the mentor route instead. It's way better if you're rated by people who have done a lot of projects and have the experience to give you good advice. That, combiend with AI feedback is a much faster path to actually being a good designer.

Over the last year over 20,000 feedback comments were given on projects. And since they were done by people who know what they're doing, designers were able to learn what to do and what not to do faster.

Learning without the confusion is just so much better. Guided practice is the best way to learn design in 2025 and beyond. And when that guided practice sits on good UX foundations, it's the place you want to be.

Which UX design course is the best?

There are other courses out there from the likes of UXcel or Interaction Design Foundation. I haven't taken their full classes, but IxDF in particular says they greatly improved their offer since I last reviewed it.

It is however more costly and you need to remember to cancel the subscription before the year is up, otherwise you'll be charged again even if you don't use it.

The Google UX Course has the price-to-quality ratio going for it. It's probably the best UX course for the money, but it doesn't really matter which one you take.

To continue practicing design (daily) you need a foundation and most UX courses provide that.

Are UX designers even in demand in 2025?

Yes. The demand is for mid-level and senior designers. There's very little demand for juniors and beginners.

If you want to start your UX career you need to be aware of that right from the start. Chances of getting hired after any UX course are slim to none. However that doesn't mean it's not worth pursuing.

You need to be aware that it will take time. And you will likely need to start freelancing at first. Get some real clients, some real job experience and become mid-level on your own.

This is currently the only safe path, even if it's a little scary.

To succeed in UX when starting from scratch you need to be very disciplined and motivated. You need to be 100% sure that UX is what you want to do. You need to read UX articles in your free time.

You basically need to live and breathe design.

Will AI replace UX designers?

Everyone is afraid that AI will come and take the design jobs. The truth is a little more complicated.

AI can now write code, but it hasn't replaced developers. It just made their work a little easier sometimes. A little faster.

As of this writing, no AI can do usable UX design yet. Some try, but they all fail. The quality, reasoning and problem solving is just not there. It may get closer, and help us accomplish our tasks faster, but there's a crucial aspect of UX that is almost impossible to replicate in code.

Empathy.

Empathising is an essential part of a UX process. You try to imagine yourself in the shoes of your users/customers. Then you make decisions to make their experience better.

And sometimes those decisions may seem irrational. Emotional.

AI can't replicate that. Only humans can. That's why a human-machine interaction within UX will likely not be replaced by AI anytime soon.

We are however using AI to make data analysis and some decision making faster. It's removing some tedious, menial tasks from us, so we can focus on being creative.

Relax. AI is not creative.

Just don't let it take over your creative side out of laziness, as those lazy designers will definitely be replaced.

Is the Google UX course worth it?

Yes. Yes it is. But don't take the whole course.

Don't focus on the certificate. What matters is your portfolio and your skills. And for that you need to get a little smart and a little sneaky.

Here's how:

The best roadmap for 2025

Start with the Google UX course but only finish the first four segments. If you go fast you can do it in a month, maybe two. Save some cash.

Then, right away start practicing daily challenges - you can do them for free, or with a cheap plan to get AI and human feedback from experts and mentors. You should do those challenges for a couple months.

That content alone will be enough for a robust portfolio, showing both the discipline and a lot of design.

Then start designing your own ideas, posting them on social media and freelancing.

You can either build a small design agency that way, or just get enough real experience to find your dream job. Whatever you choose, the road requires motivation, time and effort.

This won't happen automatically. It won't happen just because you have a PNG certificate.

You can be a successful UX designer in 2025 but you have to want it. Like really, REALLY want it.

Do you?

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