How to become professional on Bubble?

You discovered Bubble and you love it? You've discovered some content to get the hang of the tool but you want to take it to the next level? You've come to the right place!

‍

I started to discover Bubble via some mini-trainings(see my previous article) but if you really want to master Bubble, you have to go much further in your learning. To go from newbie to professional, and make Bubble your job, you have several options: watch videos on Youtube, learn in total autonomy (without any help from content, teacher or other) or train via structured courses.

‍

I've done a little bit of all three and there are pros and cons in all cases. But if you want to become a pro on Bubble and be able to make a living out of it, here are some tips and tricks that may be helpful. (Disclaimer: following these tips and tricks is not a guarantee of success, nor is it the only way to become a professional on Bubble. This is purely personal feedback).

‍

Tips I wish I had when I started Bubble

• You can see all the videos on Bubble and all the tutorials, without practice and real-life situations you will not be able to progress. Practice > Theory.
• You have to be aware that you never stop learning. Whether it's to improve what you already know or to learn new things.
• Don't get discouraged. Once you get past the exciting discovery of Bubble, the learning curve is more difficult to climb. This is normal. We all go through this phase at one time or another, but you have to be strong enough to assimilate more complicated concepts and get through this "valley of misery". To do this, you have to hang in there and practice on Bubble every day. Practice makes perfect.
• Don't be afraid to drop a few bucks. A lot of advanced training and tools related to Bubble are not free. At the beginning I was reluctant to put my hand in the wallet but it should rather be seen as an investment. Some contents are very qualitative and will allow you to better understand some concepts and know the best practices.
• Follow Bubblers and NoCode makers on social media. The best Bubblers are very active on Twitter, Linkedin and even Instagram. They share tips, best practices and help create a "geo culture" of Bubble. Here is a non-exhaustive list of recognized Bubblers (JJ Englert, Pablo de Heredia Pastor, Gregory John, TheNoCodeCrew, Will Ericksson, Petter Amlie etc.).
• Join the slack and discord communities. There are several of them linked to Bubble and it's always convenient to ask questions and look for solutions (someone has often asked a similar question before). The community is great, bubblers don't hesitate to help each other and to progress together. Some slacks and discords: NoCodeFrance, NoCodeFreelance, TheNoCodeCrew, AirdevBootcamp
• Go beyond pure dev on Bubble. A Bubbler can have several hats (dev full-stack, designer, PM, UX/UI designer etc...), and if you really want to understand all the issues related to a project on Bubble, you have to get familiar with the jobs and the digital world. There are many resources on these topics, here are my favorites: Lean Startup (book), Inspired (book), Wilson Wings (linkedin & twitter profiles), IndiHackers, Checklist design, Worskshop Wednesday, Podcast bypass, Podcast the kings of scale, UX tools, YCombinator website...

‍

The best courses to become professional on Bubble

‍

There are several trainings and resources available. Here are my favorites: 

‍

1. Airdev Canvas bootcampThe best learning/price/opportunity ratio

Airdev is the biggest Bubble agency in the US. The agency has createdCanvas, a framework (a block library to agile application development) that integrates with Bubble. To facilitate the use (and marketing) of Canvas, Airdev has created a very complete training course, mixing theory and lots of practice. There are two "tracks" in the training: the casual track and the professional track. The program is exactly the same for both tracks, only the professional track is to be done in a maximum of 10 weeks and allows to get a certification at the end.

Why do this training?

• The educational content is provided by Matt Neary, one of the best Bubblers and a very good teacher.
• There are 5 exercises to do that allow you to see many subtleties of Bubble, and to dig into complicated but essential topics.
• Learn best practices in terms of UX/UI and methodology to develop a project from A to Z on Bubble.
• Access to a Discord community to help each other and progress.

At the end of the bootcamp and provided that you have successfully completed all the exercises within the allotted time, you will receive a certification that is recognized and valued in the industry.

The price: 0 euro !!!!!

How much time? 3 to 4 weeks full time, 10 weeks part time.

The best thing about the training: Airdev is constantly looking for devs and product managers for Bubble projects made on Canvas. After finishing the training, you can apply to work directly with this agency! The training is demanding and you have to invest your time, but it opens up professional opportunities and expertise.

‍

2. BuildCamp (Flexcamp / SaasCamp): learn at your own pace with the best Bubblers.

BuildCamp is a platform of tutorials, courses and bootcamps to learn Bubble on your own. It was created by Gregory John and James More, considered two of the best Bubblers. The platform includes three recognized bootcamps (Beginners BootCamp / FlexCamp / SaasCamp) as well as courses and tutorials especially on design. Recently the team has grown and BuildCamp has built a dream team of Bubblers, which suggests new quality content.

Why register for BuildCamp?

• Three mini-bootcamps with recognized certifications in the field.
• Lots of tips and best practices.
• Courses that can help after the fact for client projects.
• A lot of content on design and UI, something I find lacking in other trainings / bootcamps found on the internet.
• An excellent explanation of Bubble's responsive (to adapt apps to all types of screens).
• Access to the Buildcamp Discord with a community focused on helping each other.
• Access to Buildcamp Community: a free community with lots of tips and support.

The price? There is a free version that gives access to a part of the videos, then it's a monthly ($49/month) or yearly ($348, or $29/month) subscription system. Note: the SaasCamp mini-bootcamp must be purchased separately.

How long will it take? A few months to do the bootcamps, see everything and put it into practice. I don't recommend it as a full-time course but rather to do it in your free time to refine your expertise on Bubble.

The extra thing: BuilCamp Community, a kind of free social network with tips, info, webinairs on Bubble

‍

3. Think it, Build it: The most educational and complete

This one is special because it is not yet officially released. However, I have good reason to believe that this training will be a must:

• Training created by Matt Neary himself. He is the person who thought up and created the Airdev training (#1)
• The syllabus / detailed training plan is available and it's promising!
• I've seen a lot of videos, trainings, websites to learn Bubble. Clearly, he is the most pedagogical "teacher". Matt really takes the time to explain all the subtleties related to Bubble with diagrams and precise examples.

The price? $179. For the moment access is closed (surely to create FOMO), but will be available again in October with feedback from the first users.

How much time? It's hard to say at the moment but there are more than 18 hours of videos. Count twice as much for the practice.

‍

4. Ottho: one of the French reference resources.

I did the Ottho Bubble bootcamp 10 months ago. Since then, the offer and the pedagogical content have evolved a lot and now there are several ways to learn Bubble:

• an e-learning option to learn independently and at your own pace
• an On Demand option, with mentoring sessions by Ottho teachers
• an intensive Bootcamp with virtual classes.

Once you have chosen the formula, you will be able to choose between more or less advanced training courses, one of which consists of 2 months of courses and then 2 months of internship in a company to put into practice your learning of Bubble.

The price ? from 0€ to 2,000€ depending on the course chosen.

How long does it take? At your own pace for the e-learning course, 4 months for the 2,000€ course (2 months of intensive courses + 2 months of internship)

Bonus: 

• How to build in Bubble: Bubble offers on its website a multitude of tutorials to replicate the most famous and used applications (Instagram, Kayak, Linkedin, AirBnB, and many more). It's really not bad for practicing and creating a portfolio of projects.
• MillionLabs CertificationMillionLabs is an English Bubble agency. They have a free certification that can be done when you already have some basics on Bubble (the certification is a MCQ of 40 questions that is done in less than 30 min. Honestly, I don't think this certification has a huge value but it's not a big deal and it's free)
• The two books of Petter AmliePetter Amlie is one of the first Bubble experts. He has his own agency and his site AmlieSolutions is full of tutorials for advanced Bubblers. He also sells two e-books (free to buy) on Bubble performance and safety that are real Bibles.

‍

Of course, there are many other trainings and resources that allow you to become professional on Bubble (Alegria.academy, Caastor, Uncode School, Coaching Nocode Apps...) but for the sake of honesty, I wanted to talk only about resources and trainings that I know and have personally tested

Next time I'll talk about the different career paths you can take being a Bubble expert, stay tuned!

‍