Let's face it: almost everyone hates their job. You know that life is too short to be doing something that makes you miserable, but the though of changing careers this late in the game might scare you. No one will make a bet on you, and you have no pre-existing credentials.
Here is a list of the programs, resources, and tools to help you land that dream job, regardless of where you're at now.
It is never too late.
While most of this document is self-explanatory, to save on screen space there are a handful of emojis and short-hands I decided to use as column keys:
- 💵 = Cost
- 🕐 = Duration
- 📅 = Time Commitment / Part-Time (PT) or Full-Time (FT) or Both (B)
- 👩💻 = Online / Remote-Friendly
- 🤝 = Includes career-coaching and/or job placement
What would you like to be?
Important: Before diving into any of the following sections, it may be beneficial to educate yourself on the barebones concepts of programming in case you have never programmed before. Generalist programming, and more specifically object-oriented programming (OOP), consists of a variety of concepts and paradigms that may be extremely foreign to those not in technical fields.
Some free courses and resources you can check out are:
iOS engineers write mobile applications for Apple products, including iPhones, iPod Touches and iPads. The software written by iOS developers may be used on a variety of operating systems, such as iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, and now even macOS!
Typically, iOS engineers:
- Code in either Swift or Objective-C, or some combination of the two
- Build user interfaces using XCode storyboards, the Apple UIKit library, or (more recently) SwiftUI views
- Ship new app builds to App Store Connect via tools such as Fastlane or XCode
According to Glassdoor, the base salary for an iOS engineer is ~$95,000/yr.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| awesome-ios | Crowd-sourced list of Objective-C and Swift libraries and tools. |
| awesome-swift | Crowd-sourced list of tools, resources, and libraries written in or built for the Swift programming language. |
| awesome-swiftui | Crowd-sourced list of libraries, tutorials, and resources for SwiftUI. |
| Essential iOS | Comprehensive free online book for iOS development. |
| F**king SwiftUI | A curated list of questions and answers about SwiftUI. |
| Human Interface Guidelines | Apple's free guide to best UI & UX practices when building Apple products. |
| Kavsoft | Free online SwiftUI tutorials. |
| Ray Wenderlich | Thousands of free in-depth iOS videos and tutorials. |
| StackOverflow | Every programmer's go-to resource for Q&A. |
| Name | Provider | 💵 | 🕐 | 📅 | 👩💻 | 🤝 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DevMountain Remote iOS Development Course | Strayer University | $7,900 | 13 weeks | FT | ✅ | ❌ |
| How to Make an iOS App | Udacity | Free | 3 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Intro to iOS App Development with Swift | Udacity | Free | 1 month | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Intro to iOS Development | BrainStation | $3,250 | 2 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| iOS Developer Nanodegree | Udacity | $399/mo | 6 months | PT | ✅ | ✅ |
| iOS for CS Majors | CodePath | Free | 6 weeks | PT | ❌ | ❌ |
| iOS 13 & Swift 5 - The Complete iOS App Development Bootcamp | Udemy | $19.99 | ❓ | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| LearnQuest Swift 5 iOS Application Developer Specialization | Coursera | $79/mo | 4 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| UToronto iOS App Development with Swift Specialization | Coursera | $49/mo | 5 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Name | Platform | Members | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| iOS Developers | Slack | 30k+ | Popular Slack community for every kind of iOS developer. |
Android engineers write mobile applications for the Android operating system, which runs on a plethora of mobile devices worldwide (including Pixel, Xiaomi, Huawei, and Galaxy phones). Android makes up roughly 90% of the global mobile computing market, which makes it an incredibly lucrative field.
Typically, Android engineers:
- Code in either Java or Kotlin, or some combination of the two
- Build user interfaces using XML or Compose
- Ship new app builds to the Play Store via tools such as Fastlane or Android Studio
According to Glassdoor, the base salary for an Android engineer is ~$95,000/yr.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Ray Wenderlich | Thousands of free in-depth Android videos and tutorials |
| Android Developer Docs | Google's official Android documentation |
| StackOverflow | Every programmer's go-to resource for Q&A |
| Essential Android | Comprehensive free online book for Android development |
| Google CodeLabs | Interactive hands-on tutorials for Android and Google SDKs |
| Udacity's Android Courses | Udacity has partnered with Google to provide dozens of high-quality, completely free Android courses |
| Android Roadmap | Illustrated roadmap of different technologies and tools to learn if you're aiming to become an Android developer. |
| Name | Provider | 💵 | 🕐 | 📅 | 👩💻 | 🤝 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Android Basics Nanodegree | Udacity | $399/mo | 3 months | PT | ✅ | ✅ |
| Android for CS Majors | CodePath | Free | 6 weeks | PT | ❌ | ❌ |
| Android Kotlin Developer Nanodegree | Udacity | $399/mo | 4 months | PT | ✅ | ✅ |
| Name | Platform | Members | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android Unitied | Slack | 3k+ | Slack community of Android developers sharing experience, knowledge and relevant news about Android and mobile. |
A full-stack web developer is a web developer or engineer who works with both the front and back ends of a website or application—meaning they can tackle projects that involve databases, building user-facing websites, or even work with clients during the planning phase of projects.
Full-stack web developers:
- Code in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and one or more back end languages.
- Specialize in a particular back end programming language, like Ruby or PHP or Python, although some, especially if they’ve been working as a developer for a while, work with more than one.
- Build web solutions end-to-end. Startups often lust after full-stack engineers, as they can often carry the majority of the implementation for modern web platforms.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Awesome Stacks | Discover awesome tech stacks for building different applications and features. |
| Backend Developer Roadmap | Illustrated roadmap of different technologies and tools to learn if you're aiming to become a backend developer. |
| CSS-Tricks | Hundreds of easy-to-follow tutorials, guides, and walkthroughs for CSS, JavaScript, and HTML. |
| devhints.io | Massive collection of hand-written cheat sheets for various programming languages, apps, and executables. |
| Entry-Level Front End Engineering Quiz | Job placement quiz for entry-level frontend engineers (via TripleByte). |
| freeCodeCamp | Over 6,000 completely free technical tutorials. |
| Frontend Developer Roadmap | Illustrated roadmap of different technologies and tools to learn if you're aiming to become a frontend developer. |
| JavaScript Style Guide | Airbnb's hyper-popular style guide for JavaScript best practices. |
| Learn Web Development | Mozilla's comprehensive web development guide. |
| ProgrammingBooks | Free online books for (almost) every coding topic. |
| React Roadmap | Illustrated roadmap of different topics to learn if you're aiming to learn React. |
| Scotch.io | Hundreds of free web development courses and tutorials. |
| StackOverflow | Every programmer's go-to resource for Q&A. |
| The Roadmap | YouTube channel featuring a range of technical tutorials, many of which touch on web-related topics. |
| Name | Provider | 💵 | 🕐 | 📅 | 👩💻 | 🤝 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Become a Web Developer | CareerFoundry | $6,555 | 4-7 months | B | ✅ | ✅ |
| Berkeley Online Coding Bootcamp | UC Berkeley | ~$11,995 | 13-25 weeks | B | ❌ | ❌ |
| APIs and Microservices Certification | freeCodeCamp | Free | 2-3 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| App Academy In-Person | App Academy | $17,000 | 4 months | FT | ❌ | ✅ |
| App Academy Online | App Academy | $20k upfront or via ISA | 6 months | FT | ✅ | ✅ |
| Austral Full Stack Web Development en Español Specialization | Coursera | $39/mo | 4 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Front-End Libraries Certification | freeCodeCamp | Free | 2-3 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Full-Stack Web Dev Course | Lambda School | $30k upfront or via ISA | 9-18 months | B | ✅ | ✅ |
| Full-Stack Web Developer Nanodegree | Udacity | $399/mo | 4 months | ❓ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Responsive Web Design Certification | freeCodeCamp | Free | 2-3 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Software Engineering Career Track | SpringBoard | $1,150/mo | 6 months | PT | ✅ | ✅ |
| Software Engineering Immersive | CodeSmith | $18,800 | 4 months | FT | ❌ | ✅ |
| The Complete 2020 Web Development Bootcamp | Udemy | $16 | 2-4 weeks | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| UST Full-Stack Web Development with React Specialization | Coursera | $49/mo | 4 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Web Developer Track | Bloc | $7,500 | 8 months | B | ✅ | ✅ |
| Name | Platform | Members | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| BabelJS | Slack | 9k+ | Slack community for the Babel JavaScript transpiler. |
| dev.to | DEV | 500k+ | A community site focused on all kinds of programming, but especially web development |
| devchat.dev | Slack | ❓ | Slack community for all kinds of developers |
| FEDs on Slack | Slack | 7k+ | Small, invite-only Slack community of highly qualified front-end developers. |
| r/javascript | 1M+ | All about the JavaScript programming language | |
| r/webdev | 600k+ | A community dedicated to all things web development |
DevOps engineers combine an understanding of both engineering and coding to create and develop systems within a company. From creating and implementing systems software to analyzing data to improve existing ones, a DevOps Engineer increases productivity in the workplace. DevOps engineers work to balance the various aspects of a project, most of them complex issues such as programming and network building.
Typically, DevOps engineers:
- Build in-house tooling to help streamline development and deployment
- Scale systems infrastructure via cloud network solutions such as Kubernetes, Azure, and GKE
- Manage cloud assets and code deploys
According to Glassdoor, the base salary of a DevOps engineer is ~$100,000/yr.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| A Cloud Guru | Freemium DevOps courses covering Linux, Azure, AWS, and Kubernetes |
| devhints.io | Massive collection of hand-written cheat sheets for various programming languages, apps, and executables |
| DevOps Roadmap | Illustrated roadmap of different technologies and tools to learn if you're aiming to become a backend developer. |
| Linux Academy on YouTube | Hundreds of DevOps-related tutorials, talks, and more |
| The Roadmap | YouTube channel featuring a range of technical tutorials, many of which touch on DevOps-related topics. |
| tldr | Collaborative cheatsheet for console commands |
| Name | Provider | 💵 | 🕐 | 📅 | 👩💻 | 🤝 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Architecting with Google Kubernetes Engine Specialization | Coursera | $49/mo | 2 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Intro to DevOps | Udacity | Free | 3 weeks | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Introduction to DevOps: Practices and Tools | edX | $465.30 | 7 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| School of Cloud Computing | Udacity | $399/mo | 4 months | PT | ✅ | ✅ |
| Terraform Basics (Guided Project) | Coursera | Free | 1-2 hours | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Name | Platform | Members | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| DevOps Chat | Slack | 19k+ | A community of devops engineering sharing tips, tricks, and job ops |
Machine learning engineers combine an in-depth knowledge of mathematics, statistics, and engineering to implement programs that allow computers to learn completely autonomously or with little user input. An extremely young field, machine learning engineers are responsibile for some of the latest trends in tech, including self-driving vehicles, voice assistants, recommendation systems, and more.
Typically, machine learning engineers:
- Use an expert understanding of mathematics and code to deliver the most optimal systems
- Code using an array of cutting-edge frameworks such as PyTorch and Tensorflow
- Deploy machine learning models in production using highly optimized pipelines
According to Indeed, the base salary of a machine learning engineer is ~$145,000/yr.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Kaggle | Hundreds of free-to-use public datasets and data science competitions. |
| Name | Provider | 💵 | 🕐 | 📅 | 👩💻 | 🤝 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASU AI and Machine Learning MasterTrack Certificate | Coursera | $4,500 | 6-9 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Deep Learning Specialization | Coursera | $49/mo | 4 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| HSE Advanced Machine Learning | Coursera | $49/mo | 10 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| LMJU & IIITB Master of Science in Machine Learning & AI | upGrad | $7,499 | 18 months | PT | ✅ | ✅ |
| MIT Professional Certificate Program in Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence | MIT | $6,000+ | 2+ weeks | FT | ❌ | ✅ |
| ML Engineering Career Track | SpringBoard | $8,940/mo | 6 months | PT | ✅ | ✅ |
| School of AI | Udacity | $399/mo | 4 months | PT | ✅ | ✅ |
| Software Engineering Immersive | CodeSmith | $18,800 | 4 months | FT | ❌ | ✅ |
| UWashington Machine Learning Specialization | Coursera | $49/mo | 7 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Name | Platform | Members | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| data-scientist/spark-ml | Slack | ❓ | An online Slack team of communication and knowledge management which focus on data science and machine learning by Apache Spark, Python Scikit-Learn, Scala Breeze, R or any other topics on big data domain. |
| r/learnmachinelearning | 198k+ | Reddit community for learning the ins-and-outs of machine learning. | |
| r/MachineLearning | 1.5M+ | General machine learning forum for users to share tutorials, advice, Q&A, and more. | |
| Machine Learning and AI | Slack | ❓ | Silverpond's Slack community for ML and AI enthusiasts. |
Data scientists collect, analyze, and interpret large data sets in order to develop data-driven solutions to tackle difficult business challenges.
Typically, data scientists:
- Analyze large sets of public data, or infer data from user patterns and behavior.
- Extract useful information from this data to drive decision-making or fuel in-house machine learning efforts.
- Collaborate with other engineers to obtain the data they need to work effectively.
According to Glassdoor, data scientists make a base salary of ~$115,000/yr.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| awesome-datascience | Crowdsourced data science resources, including tools, tutorials, MOOCs, and more. |
| Data.gov | The U.S. government's directory of publicly-available datasets. |
| Kaggle | Hundreds of free-to-use public datasets and data science competitions. |
| towards data science | A Medium blog focused on data science concepts, ideas, and code. |
| Name | Provider | 💵 | 🕐 | 📅 | 👩💻 | 🤝 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 365 DataScience | 365 DataScience | $29/mo | ❓ | PT | ✅ | ✅ |
| UMichigan Applied Data Science with Python Specialization | Coursera | $49/mo | 5 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Berkeley Online Data Analytics Boot Camp | UC Berkeley | ~$11,995 | 6 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| DataQuest | DataQuest | $49/mo | ❓ | PT | ✅ | ✅ |
| Data Science Career Track | SpringBoard | $1,490/mo | 6 months | PT | ✅ | ✅ |
| Data Science Certificate | BrainStation | $3,250 | 2 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Data Science Course | General Assembly | $3,950 | 2-3 months | PT | ❌ | ❌ |
| Data Science Immersive | General Assembly | $15,950 or via ISA | 2-3 months | FT | ❌ | ✅ |
| Data Science Immersive Remote Bootcamp | Galvanize | $17,980 or via ISA | 13 weeks | FT | ✅ | ✅ |
| Data Science Part-Time Remote Bootcamp | Galvanize | $17,980 or via ISA | 30 weeks | PT | ✅ | ✅ |
| Data Scientist Nanodegree | Udacity | $399/mo | 4 months | PT | ✅ | ✅ |
| IBM Applied Data Science Specialization | Coursera | $39/mo | 5 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| IBM Data Science Fundamentals with Python and SQL Specialization | Coursera | $39/mo | 5 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| IBM Data Science Professional Certificate | Coursera | $39/mo | 10 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| IBM Introduction to Data Science Specialization | Coursera | $39/mo | 4 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| IIITB Master of Science in Data Science | upGrad | $7,499 | 18 months | PT | ✅ | ✅ |
| JHU Advanced Statistics for Data Science Specialization | Coursera | $39/mo | 5 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Master of Machine Learning and Data Science from Imperial College London | Coursera | £28,000 | 2 years | FT | ✅ | ❌ |
| MS in Data Science from CU Boulder | Coursera | ❓ | 2 years | FT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Online Data Science Diploma | BrainStation | $15k | 3 months | FT | ✅ | ❌ |
| UCSD Big Data Specialization | Coursera | $49/mo | 8 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Name | Platform | Members | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| data-scientist/spark-ml | Slack | ❓ | An online Slack team of communication and knowledge management which focus on data science and machine learning by Apache Spark, Python Scikit-Learn, Scala Breeze, R or any other topics on big data domain. |
| DataScience Salon | Slack | 1.5k+ | Private Slack community for every kind of data scientist. |
| DataQuest Community | Discourse | ❓ | Online forum for DataQuest students and data science enthusiasts alike. |
| KaggleNoobs | Slack | ❓ | Slack community for Kaggle users of all levels, as well as data science enthusiasts. |
UI (user interface) designers are responsible for presenting a product's development in a way that is attractive and convenient for users, while UX (user experience) designers are responsible for enhancing customer satisfaction by improving the usability, accessibility, and pleasure associated with a product in a way that is attractive and convenient for users. Often used interchangable, UI design and UX design are two separate but very closely related fields. I've grouped the two under this single section for this exact reason. Typically, most designers rely on user interfaces to improve the user experience, so the two fields often go hand-in-hand.
Typically, UX/UI designers:
- Iterate over numerous designs and wireframes before landing on an ideal design that most strongly resonates with users.
- Prototype their designs to illustrate the intended interactions using tools such as Figma, Invision, SwiftUI or React.
- Collaborate with engineers and PMs to weigh product requirements and technical limitations to produce the most workable design.
According to Glassdoor, the base pay for a UX/UI designer is ~$100,000/yr.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| awesome-ux | Crowd-sourced collection of helpful tools, books, resources and more for UX designers. |
| Color Designer | Free online tools for generating color palettes, gradients, and more. |
| Designed | A non-profit career growth platform focused on providing equal-access to educational resources and mentors for designers across the world. |
| Femke van Schoonhoven | Femke van Schoonhoven is a Canadian designer who publishes helpful hints, hacks, and tutorials about breaking into design on her popular YouTube channel. |
| HackDesign | Dozens of free lessons and resources for everything from web to 3D design. |
| Mobbin | Free collection of hundreds of mobile UI and UX design patterns to use as inspiration and research. |
| Refactoring UI | Designed for developers, this clean-cut guide provides a collection of rules and guidelines to design visually attractive UIs. |
| Type Scale | A visual calculator for building typographic hierarchy. |
| UI/UX Design Resources | A massive, free collection of online design resources for UI and UX designers, assembled by BaseTemplates. |
| UXArchive | Automatically generated database of hundreds of UX flows across dozens of mobile apps. |
| UXPlanet | One-stop resource for everything related to user experience. |
| UX Collective | Blog discussing all aspects of UX design. |
| UX Stack Exchange | StackOverflow for UX designers. |
| Name | Provider | 💵 | 🕐 | 📅 | 👩💻 | 🤝 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Become a UI Designer | CareerFoundry | $6,555 | 6-10 months | B | ✅ | ✅ |
| Become a UX Designer | CareerFoundry | $6,555 | 6-10 months | B | ✅ | ✅ |
| Berkeley UX/UI Online Bootcamp | UC Berkeley | ~$11,995 | ❓ | PT | ❌ | ❌ |
| Bloc Designer Track | Bloc | $1,200/mo | 8 months | PT | ✅ | ✅ |
| CalArts UI/UX Design Specialization | Coursera | $49/mo | 4 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Certified Product Design Course | Dribbble | $540/mo | 3 months | PT | ✅ | ✅ |
| Google UX Design Professional Certificate | Coursera | $49/mo | 6 months | PT | ✅ | ✅ |
| Learn UI Design | Learn UI Design | ❓ | ❓ | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Learn UX Design | Learn UI Design | ❓ | ❓ | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Online User Experience Design Diploma | BrainStation | $15k | 3 months | FT | ✅ | ❌ |
| User Experience Design Certificate | BrainStation | $3,250 | 1-2 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| User Interface Design Certificate | BrainStation | $3,250 | 2 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| UI/UX Design Career Track | SpringBoard | $1,299/mo | 9 months | PT | ✅ | ✅ |
| UX Design Career Track | SpringBoard | $1,299/mo | 6 months | PT | ✅ | ✅ |
| UX Design Course | General Assembly | $3,950 | 1-2 months | PT | ❌ | ❌ |
| UX Design Immersive | General Assembly | $14,950 | 2-3 months | FT | ❌ | ✅ |
| UX Design Masterclass | EY Design Studio | $199-$499 | 1-2 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| UX Designer Nanodegree | Udacity | $399/mo | 3 months | PT | ✅ | ✅ |
| Visual Design Course | General Assembly | $2,800 | 1-2 months | PT | ❌ | ❌ |
| Title | Author | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People | Susan M. Weinschenk | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| A Designer's Art | Paul Rand | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Breaking In: Over 100 Product Designers Reveal How to Build a Portfolio That Will Get You Hired | Amina Horozic | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| The Design of Everyday Things | Donald A. Norman | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Don't Make Me Think, Revisited | Steve Krug | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Hooked: How To Build Habit-Forming Products | Nir Eyal | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Layout Essentials | Beth Tondreau | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days | Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky, Brad Kowitz | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Refactoring UI | Adam Wathan, Steve Schoger | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Universal Principles of Design | William Lidwell, Jill Butler, Kritina Holden | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Name | Platform | Members | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Behance | Behance | 10M+ | Adobe's web platform where designers can network and showcase their portfolio. |
| Dribbble | Dribbble | 3.5M+ | The insanely popular web platform where designers showcase their work, ask for feedback, look for jobs, and more. |
| Designer Hangout | Slack | ❓ | Invite-only network for UX designers looking to talk shop and advance their careers. |
| Designer News | Designer News Ltd. | ❓ | HackerNews for designers. |
| Designer Slack | Slack | Mixed | Online directory of almost every design-focused Slack community out there. |
| Hexagon UX | Slack | 7k+ | A non-profit design organization focused on women and non-binary individuals in the UX industry. |
| ProductTribes | Slack | 10k+ | UX Pin's Slack community for designers, developers, and PMs alike. |
| Rethink | N/A | ❓ | A design community dedicated to help experienced product design professionals navigate growth, ambiguity, and change and succeed as design leaders. |
| r/uxdesign | 39k+ | Reddit community for every kind of UX designer. |
Motion designers create artwork for the web, television, or film. They use visual effects, animation and other cinematic techniques to bring life to their creations.
Today, motion designers create live video content, graphics, and animation for handheld electronic devices, web programs, video games, and for smartphones and mobile platforms, including apps.
Typically, a motion designer will:
- Use modern animation software, such as After Effects and Blender, to produce high-quality animations.
- Collaborate with other teams and clients to determine product requirements and technical limitations.
- Assist in the creation and brainstorming of animation storyboards and layout.
According to Celarity, the average base salary for a motion designer is ~$75,000/yr.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| AEUX | Google's free plugin for Figma, XD & Sketch for importing designs directly into After Effects. |
| Animography | Animated premium typefaces for After Effects. |
| Bodymovin | Airbnb's free After Effects to Lottie exporter. |
| LottieFiles | Thousands of free and premium Lottie animations, easily importable to After Effects via the Bodymovin plugin. |
| Motion Design School | Hundreds of paid motion design courses and masterclasses. MDS also posts free After Effects tips-and-tricks, tutorials, and more on their YouTube Channel. |
| MoGraph Mentor | Hundreds of free and paid courses for motion designers, ranging from beginner to advanced. |
| Mr. Horse | A collection of paid and free animation plugins for After Effects. Home of the popular free Animation Composer plugin. |
| useAnimations | Open-source collection of animated Lottie icons, available in Lottie JSON and as React components. |
| Name | Provider | 💵 | 🕐 | 📅 | 👩💻 | 🤝 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced After Effects CC | Adobe Bootcamp | $1,195 | 2 days | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Advanced Motion Methods | School of Motion | $314/mo | 3 hours | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| After Effects Kickstart | School of Motion | $370/mo | 2 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Animation Bootcamp | School of Motion | $349/mo | 3 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Character Animation Bootcamp | School of Motion | $315/mo | 3 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Intermediate After Effects CC | Adobe Bootcamp | $1,495 | 2 days | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Introduction to After Effects CC | Adobe Bootcamp | $1,495 | 3 days | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Illustration for Motion | School of Motion | $349/mo | 3 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Motion Design 101 | MoGraph Mentor | Free | 3 hours | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| The Path to MoGraph | School of Motion | Free | 10 days | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Name | Platform | Members | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Behance | Behance | 10M+ | Adobe's web platform where designers can network and showcase their portfolio. |
| Dribbble | Dribbble | 3.5M+ | The insanely popular web platform where designers showcase their work, ask for feedback, look for jobs, and more. |
| MOGR | MOGR | ❓ | Dribbble, built exclusively for motion designers. |
| MoGraph Meetups | IRL | Mixed | Collection of various motion design meetup groups across the world, source by the School of Motion. |
| Motion Design Artists Slack Group | Slack | ❓ | Invite-only Slack group for motion designers. |
3D designers create still and moving images using computers, as well as 3D models of products, and manage multiple projects while adhering to deadlines.
Typically, a 3D designer will:
- Use modern modeling software such as Blender, Maya, Cinema4D, or 3Ds Max to produce high-quality 3D renderings of products, icons, and more.
- Manage cameras, lighting, and shadows in a three-dimensional space.
- Export designs in a format easily integratable into software products, such as OBJ or USDZ.
According to Glassdoor, the average base pay for a 3D designer is ~$75,000/yr.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| 3D for Designers | Dozens of free high-quality, ease-to-follow tutorials for Cinema 4D & Cinema 4D Lite, made for designers. |
| 3DTotal | Free 3D design tutorials. |
| BlenderGuru | Dozens of free high-quality, ease-to-follow tutorials and articles for the Blender 3D modeling software. |
| CGTrader | Thousands of free and paid 3D models, plus a job board for freelance designers. |
| Free3D | Hundreds of free and paid 3D models for every major modeling software. |
| GrabCAD | Millions of free CAD models provided by the community. |
| SketchFab | The premium online resource for free and paid 3D models for 3D designers. |
| Thingiverse | Thousands of free 3D and CAD resources, provided by the community. |
| TurboSquid | Thousands of free and paid 3D models and textures for every major modeling software. |
| Name | Provider | 💵 | 🕐 | 📅 | 👩💻 | 🤝 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cinema 4D Ascent | School of Motion | $349/mo | 3 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Cinema 4D Basecamp | School of Motion | $349/mo | 3 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Name | Platform | Members | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| CGTalk | CGTalk | ❓ | Forum for 3D and game designers to ask questions, showcase their work, and share knowledge. |
| Polycount Community | Polycount | ❓ | Forum for 3D and game designers to ask questions, showcase their work, and share knowledge. |
| r/3dsmax | 21k+ | Reddit community for all questions, discussions, and showcases regarding the Autodesk 3Ds Max modeling software. | |
| r/blender | 321k+ | Reddit community for all questions, discussions, and showcases regarding the Blender modeling software. | |
| r/Cinema4D | 67k+ | Reddit community for all questions, discussions, and showcases regarding the Cinema4D modeling software. | |
| r/Maya | 39k+ | Reddit community for all questions, discussions, and showcases regarding the Autodesk Maya modeling software. | |
| r/Unity | 22k+ | Reddit community for all questions, discussions, and showcases regarding the Unity Real-Time Development Platform. |
| Name | Provider | 💵 | 🕐 | 📅 | 👩💻 | 🤝 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berkeley Digital Marketing Bootcamp | UC Berkeley | ❓ | 18 weeks | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Digital Marketing Course | General Assembly | $3,950 | 3 months | PT | ❌ | ✅ |
| Digital Marketing Nanodegree | Udacity | $399/mo | 3 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| The Facebook Digital Marketing Certificate by USD | Pathstream | $2,159 | 4 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
A product manager is a professional role that is responsible for the development of products for an organization, known as the practice of product management.
Product managers:
- Own the business strategy behind a product (both physical and digital products).
- Specify the product's functional requirements, and generally manage the launch of features.
- Coordinate work done by many other functions (like software engineers, data scientists, and product designers) and are ultimately responsible for the business success of the product.
According to Glassdoor, the base salary of a product manager is ~$100,000/yr
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| awesome-product-management | Crowd-sourced list of tools, articles, books, and more, all designed for PMs. |
| ProductSchool on YouTube | Hundreds of helpful webinars and videos on product management. |
| Name | Provider | 💵 | 🕐 | 📅 | 👩💻 | 🤝 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Product Management Certification | Product Faculty | $2,950 | 2 months | ❓ | ✅ | ❌ |
| AWS Real-World Product Management Specialization | Coursera | $79/mo | 4 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Complete Product Management Workshop | ProductDive | ~$355* | 2 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Duke Product Management Certification Program | upGrad | $540/mo | 6 months | PT | ✅ | ✅ |
| Imperial Brand and Product Strategy | Imperial College Business School | £1,600 | 2 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Product Management Certificate | BrainStation | $3,250 | 2 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Product Management Certificate | Cornell University | ❓ | ❓ | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Product Manager Certificate | ProductSchool | $4,199+ | 5 days - 2 months | B | ✅ | ✅ |
| Product Strategy Certification | Northwestern University | $2,600 | 2 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Product Management Course | General Assembly | $3,950 | 1-3 months | ❓ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Product Manager Nanodegree | Udacity | $399/mo | 4 months | ❓ | ✅ | ✅ |
| RIT MicroMasters Program in Project Management | edX | $810 | 8 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
| Ultiva Product Management | Ultiva | ~$300* | 4 months | PT | ✅ | ✅ |
| UVA Digital Product Management Specialization | Coursera | $79/mo | 3 months | PT | ✅ | ❌ |
* Converted from Nigerian Niara (NGN). May change due to conversion rate.
| Title | Author | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Cracking the PM Interview | Gayle Laakmann McDowell | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Hooked: How To Build Habit-Forming Products | Nir Eyal | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Principles of Product Management | Peter Yang | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Name | Platform | Members | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Accidental Product Manager | 30k+ | A LinkedIn group for both seasoned and newbie product folks. | |
| MindTheProduct | Slack | 30k+ | A community of product managers talking shop. |
| PMAfrica | Slack & WhatsApp | ❓ | Networking for product managers across Africa. |
| Product Coalition | Slack | 7k+ | Invite-only Slack community for the Product Coalition product management blog. Membership costs $10/yr. |
| Product Collective | Slack | 30k+ | Slack community for the Product Collective newsletter. You must sign up for the mailing list to receive a Slack invite. |
| ProductStack | Slack | ❓ | A Slack team of product people sharing tips, tricks, and best practices in the product world. |
| Product Management | 125k+ | General networking forum for product managers. | |
| ProductSchool | Slack | 60k+ | ProductSchool's official Slack community. |
| ProductTribes | Slack | 10k+ | UX Pin's Slack community for designers, developers, and PMs alike. |
| Women In Product | 22k+ | Facebook community for the international Women In Product organization. |