How Julie Leveled Up Her UX Career with Springboard

Julie Liu already had an impressive foundation in UX design – a double major from UC Berkeley, the Google UX Design Certificate, and real-world product experience. But when the job market got tough in 2023, she turned to Springboard’s UX Career Track bootcamp to sharpen her skills, build a standout portfolio, and get structured support in her job search.

Now a Senior Product Designer at healthtech company Twin Health, Julie shares how she chose Springboard, the impressive apps she designed, and her best advice for UX professionals who want to level up.

Can you tell us your pre-Springboard story? What were you up to before Springboard?

I graduated from UC Berkeley in 2019 with a double major in Cognitive Science and Biology. I originally started in pre-med, but I discovered front end coding and design classes in college and realized how much I loved combining psychology with visual arts. I stayed an extra summer to complete the Berkeley Certificate in Design Innovation.

After graduating, I joined an augmented reality (AR) startup through a school job board – that was my first product design role. Then I moved into healthcare design at a growing Bay Area company. Right before joining Springboard, I was between product design roles and working as a visual designer at a consulting firm in San Francisco.

You already had a strong design background – what motivated you to enroll in a UX bootcamp?

I never had a formal degree in design, so I have always wondered if I was missing something foundational. In 2023, I was job hunting and struggling to land interviews or build a portfolio independently. I wanted structure, accountability, and support, so I looked into bootcamps and decided Springboard was the right fit.

What made you choose Springboard over other UX bootcamps?

I researched many bootcamps – General Assembly, Flatiron School, and Dribbble’s UX Design Institute, but three things set Springboard apart:

• The Job Guarantee. Springboard will refund your tuition if you don’t land a job within a year of graduating. That showed me they had skin in the game.

• The Independent Design Project (IDP). Springboard pairs you with a real company for a month-long client project. It’s not just hypothetical – you get real-world experience solving real problems. I actually got hired by my IDP client after the program!

• Mentorship + career coaching. That 1:1 support was a huge draw. I also appreciated the flexibility and scholarship options.

What was the application process like? Was it beginner-friendly?

Definitely! I chose the 6-month UX track (vs. the 9-month UI/UX track) which is for people with visual design experience. I just had to submit a resume and do a few mock sketches. It was a straightforward, beginner-friendly process.

What did a typical week in the program look like?

It depended on where I was in the program. Initially, there was a lot of reading, covering design thinking, user research, and career readiness, like building your resume and LinkedIn. I also worked full-time, so I’d study 1–2 hours a night after work.

Springboard is flexible – it’s officially 6 months, but I was able to extend my program to 9 months at no costyou can extend the program to 9 months at no cost, which I did. I invested time in my capstone project and IDP in the second half. That meant full weekends of work for a few months, but it was worth it.

How did the 1:1 mentorship model fit your learning style?

Mentorship was one of the most valuable parts of the program. My mentor, Han, is a seasoned designer with years of experience as a creative director. He brought a holistic perspective and gave me thoughtful, in-depth feedback.

I felt so validated being able to talk through ideas with someone who was just as passionate about design. Han helped set real-world expectations and guided me through refining my process, building confidence, and staying motivated.

Did Springboard fill in any gaps in your portfolio or UX toolkit?

Yes, I added two strong projects to my portfolio: my capstone and the IDP. While I didn’t learn completely new concepts, the structured approach helped refine my workflow and confirmed I wasn’t missing anything critical.

Before Springboard, I taught myself everything, so having a start-to-finish framework helped me solidify and polish my UX process.

Tell us about your capstone project – what did you build?

I designed an app for booking dance studio space, inspired by a problem my friends and I constantly face. The two pain points were scheduling with a group and finding a space to practice. I did extensive user research, interviewing people at local studios and online. You can see the Figma prototype here!

I was especially proud of one big pivot: I scrapped the original homepage flow (after 20+ hours of work!) because it didn’t serve my users well. Instead of starting with dates/times, I redesigned the flow to begin by selecting who you’re booking with. That streamlined the process by 80% and delivered a much better experience. 

What was your IDP project, and how did it lead to your next job?

I matched with a women’s health physiotherapy clinic and worked with a team to design their onboarding, mobile app,and clinic platform. It was a fantastic real-world experience.

After the program, I was hired as a contractor by that same client and continued developing the project, which became one of the portfolio pieces that landed me my current job at Twin Health.

What tools and frameworks from Springboard do you still use today?

• Tools: Figma is my primary design tool. I use it for planning, mocks, and prototyping.

• Frameworks: Agile and sprint planning. Springboard’s section on agile development was especially relevant since every company I’ve worked for operates that way.

• Processes: Springboard covered the entire UX process—user research, journey mapping, wireframes, and prototyping. I use that foundation every day.

How did Springboard support you in the job search?

After graduation, I had biweekly calls with my career coach, plus access to workshops and portfolio reviews. The structure was the most significant help – I had to log 10 job applications and 10 new connections weekly, keeping me on track.

I applied to nearly 300 jobs in three months and did almost 30 interviews. The habits I built with Springboard’s career support services made a huge difference.

How would you compare Berkeley, Google’s UX Certificate, and Springboard?

• Berkeley: A great foundation, very theoretical, and super fun. I loved the in-person learning experience and creative freedom.

• Google Certificate: The course provided quality information, but it’s self-paced. To stay motivated, I had to create a study group.

• Springboard: The most comprehensive program in terms of material and resources. Half the value was in the mentorship and coaching, and the Independent Design Project was a unique opportunity to work on a real client project.

What types of roles were you targeting, and how did your strategy evolve?

I leaned into my healthcare background and targeted healthtech roles. I created a second version of my resume specifically for that sector, added keywords from job postings, and applied through healthtech-specific job boards. Once I adjusted my strategy, I started getting more responses.

How did you land your current role as a Senior Product Designer at Twin Health?

I saw the job on LinkedIn and applied immediately without a referral. I tailored everything toward healthtech and emphasized my passion for fitness and health data.

The interview process included two portfolio reviews and interviews with the design, PM, content, and clinical teams. There were no whiteboard or take-home challenges for this role, though I did those for other companies. Springboard helped me prepare with mock interviews and presentation practice.

What are you working on at Twin Health now?

Twin Health helps patients reverse metabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes through lifestyle interventions. The app tracks what users eat, how they sleep, and exercise, and connects with sensors like CGMs (continuous glucose monitors).

Right now, I’m working on:

• New AI features

• Behavior change using health data

• Community and workout experiences

We’re a small but mature design team, and it’s been a great environment to grow in.

Has AI changed the UX/Product Design role? Is it still worth learning UX Design in the age of AI?

AI has definitely changed how we work — there are tons of new tools out there, and I do use AI regularly, especially large language models like ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity. My top use case is synthesizing large amounts of research — I’ll paste in pages of user interviews, feedback, or internal documentation and get concise summaries or main takeaways. That’s huge when you’re short on time or juggling multiple research streams. I also use AI to take meeting notes, surface key points, or help me brainstorm early ideas.

But when it comes to the actual design work — wireframes, prototyping, or crafting product flows — I haven’t found AI to be all that helpful yet. Tools like Figma’s AI features or AI-driven UI generators can spit out something that looks decent, but they don’t solve for how it all fits together. UX is about systems thinking, prioritization, edge cases, and understanding your users — things that AI just isn’t capable of yet.

There's a misconception out there, often from people who haven’t worked in UX, that you can prompt an AI to build a full experience and replace the need for a designer. But designing a single pretty screen isn’t the same as designing a coherent user experience across dozens of touchpoints, states, and edge cases.

For example, in my current work, our product spans multiple tabs, integrates with sensors, and requires a deep understanding of behavior change in healthcare. That level of complexity demands human creativity, empathy, and problem solving. I’ve tried using AI tools for prototyping, but by the time I finish writing and refining the prompts — and then fixing the output to meet our standards — I could’ve just built it myself in Figma. So it ends up being more of a time sink than a shortcut.

Are you using what you learned at Springboard in your current job?

Yes, especially the Design Process. Even with prior experience, it helped to review the foundations and tighten my workflow. Springboard didn’t cover a lot of AI design tools, so I’ve continued learning those on the job.

Was Springboard worth it, in terms of time, money, and results?

Absolutely! I landed my first senior position, and the salary increase was higher than I expected – it more than paid for the program’s tuition.

The structure, mentorship, and job search support were incredibly valuable. I could have done it alone, but it would’ve taken longer and been much more stressful.

What advice would you give someone starting Springboard, especially if they already have UX experience?

• Apply to jobs as early as possible. Don’t wait for your portfolio to be perfect. Make a scrappy v0.1 and iterate with each application.

• Prioritize mentorship and coaching. Mentors and coaches are a goldmine of advice – come prepared with questions and take full advantage.

• Don’t stress over the readings. Focus on building a stellar capstone project and refining your applications.

• Make it social. Reach out to other students and mentors – it’ll make the experience fun and less isolating.

• Remember: The best time to apply is when a job is first posted, and the best portfolio is the one you have right now.

Find out more and read Springboard reviews on Course Report. This article was produced by the Course Report team in partnership with Springboard.