After all, modern businesses and organizations must create visually appealing and user-friendly websites to attract customers. Thankfully, the best web design bootcamps in Chicago offer an efficient way to gain these abilities. For those looking to break into web design in Chicago, understanding the costs of bootcamps is a critical first step. Here’s a detailed overview of what students in the Windy City can expect from their unique web design learning experience.
Average Cost of Web Design Bootcamps in Chicago
In the top web design classes in Chicago, students access uniquely personalized lessons that reinforce critical skills. They’ll not only work on beginner-friendly exercises but also learn essential theories as well. In this way, they’ll understand the full scope of this unique market.
While these immersive classes will provide learners with the knowledge they need, they’re often quite expensive. After all, mastering a new skill takes time and effort from a professor. In the following section, we’ll examine what web design class prices Chicago residents can expect.
Overview of Typical Price Range
Since web design remains so in-demand in Chicago, courses are often costlier compared to some tech classes. That said, the Windy City offers many, many training options to create a pretty competitive price range. The least expensive program in the region is about $1,700 or so.
By contrast, the most expensive option costs around $16,500 but lasts a few months. Thankfully, those who can’t afford classes that high can find some between $3,000 and $5,000. While that’s still a good chunk of change, financing options are available to reduce expenses.
Comparison of Average Costs Between Different Bootcamps
Before signing up for any web design bootcamp in Chicago, students should take a look at what a few cost first to gauge what they’re getting into here. Thankfully, the following programs showcase a pretty reasonable and diverse range of tuition expenses. Anyone serious about learning web design in Chicago should check out these highly-ranked classes:
- Noble Desktop: As the most popular training team available in New York City, Noble offers high-quality courses at surprisingly affordable prices. For example, they have 162-hour web design classes that cost just $5,000, a practical steal for this market.
- General Assembly: Available across the nation in multiple locations (and online), this educational school provides immersive bootcamps lasting several months. As a result, their courses usually run around $16,500 but provide lots of hands-on exercises.
- Ledet Training: With locations throughout the nation, including Washington, Denver, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Chicago, Ledet can help learners master web design at reasonable prices. Their 2-3-day courses cost between $900 and $1,600 to complete.
- New Horizons: This computer training center focuses on tech-related career fields across multiple markets, including programming and office skills. Their two-day classes provide a decent primer for web design and cost around $800 per program.
Factors Affecting the Cost of Windy City Web Design Bootcamps
Anyone budgeting their Chicago web design education may struggle to justify their tuition rates when trying to meet their living expenses. As a result, it’s essential for anyone who wants to take a course to understand what elements impact their potential learning expenses. Here are a few things to keep track of when deciding on a high-quality web design bootcamp in Chicago.
Duration of the Program
Naturally, more extended educational programs cost more because they offer far more in-depth curricula and hands-on practice exercises. Schools need to develop these materials, which takes time and energy to get right. Just as importantly, they must pay their teacher for their time, which can drive up expenses. That said, longer classes are usually far more comprehensive.
Curriculum and Specializations Offered
Web design is a pretty diverse skill set, one that covers a wide range of topics. These include things like UX/UI design, responsive design, and web development languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Some include particularly intensive lesson plans that highlight some or all of these topics. Those that provide better insights generally cost more, which makes sense.
Reputation and Ranking of the Bootcamp
Some schools offer very high-quality learning experiences that can transform a learner’s life. Others are not so good, which is why well-regarded web design bootcamps with alumni networks, high job placement, and positive reviews charge more. They simply have higher value for both students and employers. It’s always worth paying more for a better design education.
Location and Facilities
While many bootcamps provide online learning options, others have in-person training facilities. In Chicago, these often operate out of high-demand locations such as downtown or tech hubs. Due to their operating expenses (including rent), they usually charge more. Sure, online programs might be less expensive, but they still might have higher fees to cover these costs.
Instructor Qualifications
Great teachers not only provide excellent mentorship but also real practical experience. Bootcamps often hire web design specialists who not only understand this market but have worked in it for years. As a result, these experienced web designers or industry professionals may charge more as instructors as they add significant value to the learning experience.
Benefits of Attending Web Design Bootcamps
Anyone examining web design courses in Chicago should know precisely why they’re so beneficial to learners. While it’s possible to master this skill set without expert support, it’s usually a lot harder. Put simply, these programs provide benefits that far outweigh the difficulties of initial payment. Here are a few things web design students must know before getting started.
Structured Learning Environment
Before creating a web design bootcamp for Windy City residents, teachers sit down and focus on planning a structured, fast-paced course that creates a positive environment. As students move through their class, they’ll focus on acquiring web design skills without distractions. This approach can be especially beneficial for those who want to enter the job market quickly.
Access to Experienced Instructors and Mentors
As mentioned earlier, amazing teachers often make the difference between learning success and failure. Most Chicago-area web design bootcamps have the money to hire instructors with years of experience in web design. These professionals offer guidance, mentorship, and real-world insights that other teachers can not to help their students learn more effectively.
Networking Opportunities with Peers and Industry Professionals
Some colleges provide the chance to meet peers and industry professionals through guest events, intensive lectures, and collaborations. That said, many do not. By contrast, bootcamps almost always have some type of valuable networking opportunities. Connecting with peers and industry experts in this way can easily open doors to future job opportunities and partnerships.
Career Services and Job Placement Assistance
The best Chicago web design bootcamps stand out further from colleges by providing career services, including resume reviews, portfolio building, mock interviews, and job placement assistance. While some universities do offer this kind of support, many do not. When used properly, these tools can help students transition from bootcamp to employment with ease.
Why Paying for a Web Design Bootcamp is Better Than Learning for Free
Whether taking an in-person class or working through an online program, it’s tempting for learners to find free seminars and other tools that make education less expensive. After all, paying thousands of dollars is a tough sell. However, these free learning resources don’t provide the long-term help learners need to master web design. Here are a few reasons why.
Accountability and Motivation
Free classes seem nice on the surface but have a few issues that can make them far more limited. For example, students often drop out pretty quickly because they don’t have much reason to stay in class. By contrast, web design bootcamps provide a structured schedule, deadlines, and peer collaboration, which help students stay accountable and motivated.
Hands-On Projects and Real-World Experience
Yes, even free classes provide lots of theoretical practice that helps learners fine-tune their skills in various ways. However, they rarely have practical exercises that help students build their knowledge even further. To help with this fact, web design bootcamps emphasize hands-on learning, allowing students to work on real-world projects and build a strong work portfolio.
Immediate Feedback and Personalized Support
In most free courses, students basically have to learn by themselves without help from a teacher. Thankfully, the best instructors in web design bootcamps will provide immediate feedback on assignments and projects. This support helps students quickly correct mistakes and improve their design skills. In this way, learners can build their abilities on their own terms.
Community and Collaborative Learning
Web design bootcamps create a community of learners who can collaborate on projects, share ideas, and help each other. Free resources almost never have this kind of support. Working in this type of environment fosters a deeper understanding of web design concepts and helps students develop teamwork skills. It also emulates what a web design company does every day.
Financing Options for Web Design Bootcamps
Many bootcamps offer financing options to help make tuition more manageable. These will vary based on the specific school and its partnerships with financial teams. They’re more than worth investigating for anyone serious about learning web design. Here are some high-quality options available in many of the best web design bootcamps in the greater Chicagoland area.
Scholarships and Grants
Highly competitive scholarships and grants provide students with partial or complete compensation for their courses. Often, they’re available for underrepresented groups in tech or those who demonstrate financial need. These scholarships can significantly reduce the cost of attendance and make them easier to complete. Note that high achievers may also qualify.
Income Share Agreements (ISAs)
ISAs allow students to defer payment until they secure a job. That might sound too good to be true, but it’s real. Instead of paying right away, students agree to give a percentage of their web design income to the school for a set period, typically about 3-6 months. That makes this an appealing option for those who don’t can’t really pay upfront or who don’t find a job ASAP.
Payment Plans and Deferred Tuition
Many bootcamps offer flexible payment plans, allowing students to pay in installments over time. Typically, they pay 3-6 installments with very small amounts of interest. By contrast, deferred tuition lets students delay payment. Instead, they begin repayment after they’ve completed it. Usually, they wait until the students find web design employment before charging anything.
Loans and Financial Aid
While not always the most desired option, loans and financial aid can greatly help learners who need some support. Typically, federal loans are not available. Instead, web design bootcamps in Chicago will partner with lending institutions to offer financing to cover tuition costs. These private loans can help bridge the gap for students who need financing for their career education.
Available Web Design Bootcamps in Chicago
With dozens of potential learning opportunities in the Chicagoland area, budding web designers should have plenty of excellent opportunities to master these skills. As a result, narrowing down these options can seem difficult without a bit of help. The following three schools and programs are the best for Chicago residents and can teach them web design in a comprehensive manner.
Noble Desktop
Noble Desktop provides award-winning and exciting education in New York City with its in-person programs and innovative online education elsewhere. Chicago residents will love the reasonable prices of this school and its high-quality teachers. Hands-on exercises in various web design subjects will make sure that learners walk away confident with their abilities.
Web Design Certificate
Web Design Certificate is a 162-hour course that costs $5,000. During its in-depth training sessions, learners will truly master web design, including a deep knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. However, they’ll also learn about Git and Figma, critical tools that help them stand out. With 1-on-1 mentoring options, this course gets learners ready to sharpen their skills.
New Horizons
New Horizons offers on-site training on a variety of subjects, especially in tech-related markets. For example, they teach learners all about Adobe, Citrix, and Microsoft products and programs to ensure they understand them fully. Learners can also take online courses if they’d rather not deal with Chicago traffic, which helps streamline their education and makes it easier to learn.
Adobe Dreamweaver CC—Part 1
Adobe Dreamweaver CC—Part 1 is the first part of a two-section course that focuses on this powerful software. Both classes last two days and cost $800, meaning students pay $1,600 to master Dreamweaver. During this first program, they’ll learn about basic web design skills, including CSS rules, and move on to master more advanced topics in the second class.
General Assembly
General Assembly provides educational opportunities in many locations around the nation, including in Chicago. Studies focus heavily on digital marketing, user experience design, data science, and software engineering. Hands-on lessons and multiple weeks of lessons reinforce important skills and ensure that students walk away confident in their overall professional skills.
Front-End Web Development Short Course
Front-End Web Development Short Course is a 60-hour class that costs $4,500, which makes it one of this company’s least expensive classes. Lessons focus on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to build a robust skill set for learners. As they work through activities, learners will build on previously mastered abilities to build an impressive range of capabilities that help them thrive.
Admission Requirements and Application Process
Web design bootcamps in Chicago rarely demand strict or complex prerequisites for their students. Instead, they provide a beginner-friendly approach, one that helps anyone master these skills. However, most ask that students prove basic computer literacy before signing up.
Beyond that, most schools simply want learners who can afford their courses or who qualify for financial aid. Note that more intermediate or advanced programs might require completing a few classes first. These courses help graduates transition more easily into a rewarding career.
Skills Learned in Chicago-Area Web Design Bootcamps
Students in web design bootcamps typically learn a range of valuable skills. The abilities include concepts like IT and even machine learning, as many designers now utilize AI in vital ways. Understanding these abilities can help graduates handle the step-by-step work necessary for this career. Here are a few that learners need to know before they begin a bootcamp.
HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
Modern web design centers on these three coding languages. HTML helps create the structure for sites, while CSS produces styles and attractive looks. Any interactive element needs JavaScript, including tools for collecting data or even games. By understanding these languages, budding web specialists can transition toward career mastery after graduation.
Responsive Web Design and Mobile-First Development
In the past, mobile traffic made up only a tiny portion of the market. In today’s world, though, most people go to sites on their phones or tablets. As a result, designers must understand not only responsive web design but mobile-first concepts. These tools help them walk away confident in their abilities and in high demand with more web design specialists and teams.
UX/UI Design and User-Centered Design Methodologies
A site’s user interface (UI) can significantly impact the user experience (UX) and potentially drive away visitors. As a result, designers must study user-centered methodologies that help customers move through their sites efficiently. Often, these concepts translate easily to other fields, meaning that graduates could find work in a surprising range of potential markets.
Usability Testing
A great-looking website might attract a lot of customers, but poor usability will drive them away like the plague. As a result, web designers must understand how to test their sites (including various UI-focused checks) to ensure they run correctly. Doing so can give them the edge over other designers and ensure that they walk away confident in their overall abilities as designers.
Visual Design Software
Great tools like Figma, Adobe XD, and Sketch help web specialists design intricate and beautiful styles that make their sites more appealing. Throughout a course, most learners get hands-on time with these programs to fine-tune their abilities and become more competent. When done, they’ll know how to utilize these tools in effective, powerful, and exciting ways.
Version Control
Websites rarely come out perfectly in the first draft and require a lot of adjustments to look great. That’s why learning how to use Git and GitHub is so important in web design. These tools let coders share their vision online with others and make changes if needed. Keeping older designs in place is vital, too, because bugs in updates might make them unworkable without extra fixes.
Jobs Available After Web Design Bootcamps
Finding careers in web design after graduation requires a careful approach that takes a learner’s experiences and strengths into consideration. Furthermore, while each job focuses heavily on design, they have different roles that might appeal to certain people. Here are four popular professions in this field, including their average national and Chicago salaries:
- Web Designer: A Web Designer designs the overall appearance and function of websites and web pages to ensure they run smoothly and look great. They make about $53,000 on average in the United States and $70,000 in the Chicagoland area.
- Graphic Designer: A career as a Graphic Designer focuses on creating art that communicates essential lessons in digital and physical mediums. In America, they make an average salary of about $61,000 or $84,000 in the Windy City region.
- Designer: As a Designer, graduates will work in various industries and mediums to produce appealing and attractive styles. They might work in web or print fields and usually make about $75,000 in America and $70,000 on average in Chicago.
- Visual Designer: A Visual Designer focuses heavily on products like banners, graphics, and menus and uses web design processes to create fabulous looks. Salaries for this profession include an $82,000 American average and a $67,000 Chicago median.
Why Learning Web Design is Rewarding
Web design is a dynamic and creative field that offers both job security and growth opportunities. Beyond those exciting jobs, there are many unique reasons why learning about this market is so rewarding. Those fascinated by web design will likely find learning it enjoyable in and of itself. However, they’ll also get many other bonuses after completing training.
High Demand for Tech Skills in the Job Market
As businesses increasingly rely on digital platforms, the demand for skilled web designers continues to grow. In fact, it’s one of the fastest-growing fields in the world and has been for quite some time. All that makes it a stable and in-demand profession, especially for those who go the extra mile with training and utilize their skills in exciting and forward-thinking ways.
Opportunities for Creativity and Innovation
Web design allows professionals to express their creativity while solving real-world problems. They’ll not only focus on creating visually appealing layouts but also help with improving user experience on websites. The overall goal of this process is to produce unforgettable styles that connect with the reader and convert business. Any Designer who can do this will be set.
Potential for Remote Work and Flexible Hours
Many web designers have the opportunity to get jobs remotely or as freelancers, providing flexibility and control over their schedules. For example, some might work with multiple clients to build several sites. This helps diversify their skills and even lets them set their pay rate. Others will work with one company but have the ability to stay at home while designing websites daily.
Personal Satisfaction and Continuous Learning
Web design is a constantly evolving field that brings in new concepts and theories all the time. In this way, it offers opportunities for continuous learning and personal growth for people who like to learn new things. In fact, staying up-to-date with the latest design trends and technologies keeps the work fresh and exciting and ensures web specialists always have plenty of work.
How Easy is It to Learn Web Design?
Web design isn’t necessarily one of the hardest tech skills to learn. In fact, it’s actually one of the easiest programming-adjacent things to master! HTML and CSS use common-sense syntax, while JavaScript builds on other simpler languages and has a fairly limited range of commands.
That said, mastering things like visual layout and responsive design will take more time. It should take a few months to understand the basic process but six months to a year to feel comfortable as a Designer. That difficulty will decrease greatly with regular portfolio practice.
How Long Will It Take to Learn Web Design?
People interested in learning web design need to do more than take a Chicago-area bootcamp. Yes, these courses provide the foundational skills learners need to thrive. They’ll basically walk away knowing core design skills, including HTML, and shouldn’t struggle to use them properly.
That said, it can take up to a year for many people to feel ready for a job. During this time, they should be coding websites using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and sharing them on GitHub. Doing so lets them collaborate with others and builds their skills in common-sense ways.
Author Bio
Eric Benac is an experienced writer with over 15 years of experience covering multiple subjects. He has written extensively about education, addiction, the financial industry, art, music, travel, and golf carts. In his spare time, he writes electronic music, reads, writes fiction, and swims. Eric continually seeks new experiences and looks to constantly expand his writing portfolio.