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The market is extra tough right now as so many experienced uxers were laid off in the tech downturn. And the competition for entry roles - which are pretty few - is fierce. Honestly, a basic portfolio doesn’t really cut it anymore because all the boot camp portfolios look the same.
I don’t think the college degree by itself will hold him back — it’s coming up with an amazing portfolio of real projects that also exhibit strong strategy, problem solving, and collaboration skills. Your suspicion was true circa 2016, probably not anymore.
His chances depends more on how much time he can dedicate to learning, and how persistent he can be on reaching that goal
Boot camps are pretty common these days. Then build up a portfolio through an internship or freelance jobs and he’ll be fine.
I was in the exact same boat when I transitioned out of the music industry about 7 years ago. Did the bootcamp and all that and truthfully, it's hard to get your first gig. The industry is woefully set up for entry level and mentorship. that said, if your partner actually likes optimizing Experience, it's totally possible. That said, like others here have mentioned, now may be a pretty adverse time to actually get roles. The industry is flooded with all the recent layoffs. However, it is a totally fine time to do the educational part, if he's willing to wait out this current downturn. Hope that helps, even though it's slightly discouraging!
I don't have a college degree. It was hard and I got very lucky along the way, but I found and built a career.
Happy to chat with your partner some time about my experience and some of the trends/challenges people transitioning into the field are faced with.
Second to what the previous replier said: competition is fierce for all UXers right now but especially entry-level.
A few suggestions I share:
1) Like any other career transition, it's a marathon not a sprint.
2) Beware of anyone trying to sell him something or tell him there's a fast-track.
3) Start with free resources to get a sense of what UX is really like. ADPList offers free mentorship and UX Collective has a lot of free articles where he can follow the bibliography and links to keep reading.
4) Explore essential books and play around in Figma.
Happy to meet with him some time. I also never earned a college degree, so I get it.
All the best!