Chegg Skills

Thinkful provided me with just the program I was looking for. At the time, I was working full time as an engineer in the chemicals industry and I was unhappy with my role and really wanted a change. Through Thinkful's program I was able to keep my job while working through the program online on evenings and weekends. I was a grueling time commitment juggling both, but it turned out to be a great decision and I'm so happy I went for it. I met with my mentor 3 times a week online and in enabled me to learn to code faster than the online tutorials I'd worked through on my own. Being on the outside of an industry looking in, I found it incredibly valuable to to have access to skilled developers and live online QA sessions where you could ask questions and benefit from the developers' years experience and while also getting a feel for the latest tech and industry practices. Also when it can time to interview, a mentor recommendation meant a lot. Thinkful also does a great job with career support. Initially, I thought this would just entail someone helping me polish up my resume and portfolio, but it much more. In career coaching sessions we would talk though how to strategically approach job searching, applying and interviewing, which was very helpful. They are also very proactive in connecting you with potential employers, wherever your location. They worked with me to help me connect with employers in the city where I wanted to relocate. There can be cons to learning online, but it worked out well for me in the time I could commit.  After the program, I was able to switch industries and land a job as Jr. Software Engineer. I'd highly recommend the program!

I am a serial entrepreneur who has worked extensively with developers in the past as a project / product manager.  Made the decision it was time to learn to code myself, with the goal of increasing my independence in starting a project or building a quick prototype.  I researched and spoke with graduates of several of the well known bootcamps. I wanted a path towards learning React & React Native.  And as I looked at various bootcamps and their curriculums, I realized I preferred a remote bootcamp.  I have never done as well sitting in a classroom compared to learning on my own.  But I had already realized that learning to code on your own is very difficult, there are so many pitfalls and ways of getting totally stuck at.  Those reasons are why Thinkful's approach appealed so much to me.  It allowed me to self-study as much as I like, with regular mentor session available for me to ask all my specific questions of where I was confused or stuck.  Also it was somewhat early days for React, but they worked with me to modify their curriculum at the time to fit my goal.  Bottom line is I didn't find any other bootcamp that was flexible enough to fit my schedule, allow me to learn from anywhere, had the right curriculum, and allowed me to learn on my own as much as possible.

After the bootcamp I started building a few of my own projects, building on the Javascript & React fundamentals I learned at Thinkful to pickup redux, react native, & firebase.  I have now used my new skills to create several live apps (mobile & web).  And working with other developers is a totally different (better) experience, much easier to communicate and stay on task.

Next time I am in between projects I am thinking of advancing my knowledge using thinkful (either a backend developer course or perhaps design/UX)

Thinkful changed my life. I spent nine years in a career I hated. I was in sales, making great money but never felt any enjoyment out of my life. I dealt frequently with Software Engineers in my career and always wanted to be on their side. 

I was shocked when I heard you could attend a bootcamp and better yet do it remotely. After months of research, I decided I would enroll in the Full Time Web Development Bootcamp. At first, it was hard, I wanted to quit. I stuck with it and was so glad I did.  I learned more in the past 4 months then I probably have learned in the past 10 years. I went from not knowing what a variable or loop was, to building full stack applications using Javascript and latest Javascript frameworks. Not only do you learn in the Thinkful, but Thinkful teaches you how to learn for the rest of your life helping you continually build on your skills.

The special thing about Thinkful in addition to their curiccullum is something you cannot get from an Udemy or Pluralsight. It is the Thinkful community you are surrounded with. I spent 10 hours a day, 5 days a week and some weekends with the same 12 people in my cohort. We grew close as developers and also made some great friends / potential colleagues one day. I also grew close with the staff and we talk regularly even after the completion of the bootcamp.

The mentoring in Thinkful is second to none. I grew close with my mentor and he helped me every step of the way. There is no substitute from 1 on 1 mentorship and Thinkful has hired a great team of mentors to help students like me along the way. The mentorship alone is reason enough to enroll in this course. 

Enrolling in Thinkful does not mean you willl get a free ride. You truly get what you put in. It is not easy, you must study and eat, sleep and breathe coding all day to truly become ready to enter the job market. But if you listen to them and "trust the process" I guarantee you will be a competent developer by the end and more skilled than people from many other bootcamps.

I started Thinkful in January and Graduated in May. It is now July and I start a job this week as a developer making almost a $100K income. I cannot thank Thinkful enough and highly recommend this program to anybody on the fence. 

Yes ... going through the program got me a position as a Front End Developer coding in ReactJS.  I couldn't have got there with out them. Thinkful is amazing ... They stuck with me through it all and were absolutely decidated to my success.

For full-time, the classes are live online and you work in a collaborative, pair programing environment with students around the US using tools like Slack, Screen Hero, and in a live tool similar to Google Hangout. You have a dedicated mentor that you meet with every weekday evening to help you with anything you didn't quite understand. And, they also have multiple live mentor Q&A and workshops every day. The curiculum was focused around the MERN stack (Mongo, Express, ReactJS, Node) in and using Javascript ES6/ES7 ... so, is very current and applicable to the current job market.

After graducation, we had daily career meetings where they helped with anything I needed (extra mentoring, reviewing code when job interviews required projects, advice, and encouragement) to weekly one-on-one meetings with a dedicated career coach to advise me on everything from my resume to how to search for a tech job to understanding what was working/what wasn't.

Thinkful has been an awesome experience. I joined after taking a few primers on web development through Udemy/Udacity and I found that it was the best deal out there as far as web dev bootcamps go. What sets Thinkful apart is that you are really left to your own devices when it comes to solving problems so it really teaches you how to be resourceful and ask good questions when you're not meeting with a mentor. You're also not on a rigid in-person schedule like most bootcamps so this is great for people who are changing careers but dont have the ability to dive in 100% just yet.

They also do a lot to prepare you for networking, interviews, code challenges and beyond. The projects you build go right into your portfolio and its totally on you as to how far you want to take your projects. You can also slow down any part of the course due to its flexible schedule and proceed when you understand and are ready.

As for price, you get the most bang for your buck with Thinkful, but you have to be somewhat disciplined yourself in order to get the most out. You really get out of it what you put in so give it your 110% and you can get all the quality of a $20,000 in person bootcamp without spending 12 hours on site. 

I came into Thinkful's Full Stack Web Development Flex program with very minimal knowledge of coding beforehand. What I learned by myself in 3 months, we covered in 3 weeks at Thinkful. My mentor is amazing and put in extra time when I needed it. I went from being a broke musician, driving for lyft, to being an employed frontend developer in 8 months! I could not ask for a better experience. 

Be aware, that you will probably have to put in more time than they say upfront. The curriculum is pretty good, but they are a few sections where additional resources are needed ( you can find them for free ). Everyone learns at a different pace, but I averaged 30-40 hours a week in the flex program, so be prepared to kiss your social life goodbye for 6 months! But if you are willing to make that commitment, you will not only get a job when you graduate, but you will crush it at your new job! 

I was incredibly skeptible of bootcamps. The claims of becoming job-ready in x months seemed too good to be true. I started learning on my own through some of the free resources but I couldn't stay motivated. I got back in touch with my old friend, Elias, who's a mentor at Thinkful. Testimony from an individual I trusted helped nudge me in the right direction.

When I enrolled with Thinkful, I had a beginner's understanding of HTML, CSS and jQuery but I had no idea how to apply these skills to real-world applications. From the beginning, the curriculum is written in a way that the materials being covered can be easily-translated to the real world.

Working with my mentor, Rachel, has been fantastic. Both she and my project manager challenge me to perfect my projects and assignments. Rachel gave me direction and guidance from the early stages of the Front-End course which prepared me for the later courses like React.

There is nothing new or original about Thinkful's curriculum. They are not reinventing the wheel, nor should they. The value comes from the experience. I meet with Rachel 3 times a week, there are Q&A sessions multiple times a day which are run by mentors and open to all students, there is a Slack channel for students to get in touch with mentors and other students, and career counselors. All of these resources help me to see other perspectives on how to do things and connect with fellow newbies. I am building a network while I am still learning, which is priceless!

I have been enrolled with Thinkful for a little over 3 months now and I am very happy with my decision. I would recommend Thinkful to anyone looking to get serious about a new career in Web Development, as long as they are willing to commit to the time and energy it takes to complete this or any bootcamp.

I joined Thinkful's Flexible Bootcamp last November. It was very good at the beginning and I felt as though I was learning a lot. Once the course got to Node, I started to fall behind and I couldn't understand the lessons very well. My instructor, M____(want to keep his name anonymous), was definitely a good guy and very flexible with scheduling, but oftentimes would do things for me and not explain why he was doing things. There was a bit of a language barrier, too, which made communication difficult at times and limited his ability to explain.

I admittedly didn't have as much time as I would have liked to work on programming (averaged 15-20 hours/week), but I did go over the course material over and over to no avail. I found the Thinkful course material lacking, especially starting at Node and for React. There's a lot that's just glossed over. I guess you're expected to seek out the materials yourself but that's a bit unfair considering how much you're paying for the course.

I'm 2 months over the expected 6 months at this point after project requirement changes mid-course that also stalled my progress. For instance, you're expected to make a landing page for your projects now, a requirement added in at random. I understand they want us to have the best portfolio possible, but it's annoying when you're not given these expectations up front.

Two of my projects keep breaking at this point and I tried scheduling a time with my program manager but he blew me off yesterday. Not sure what to do at this point. I think most people would be better off self-learning through Udemy, Coursera, Pluralsight, and Stack Overflow, to be quite honest. I wanted to belive in Thinkful but I was pretty let down.

It's difficult to know where to start with an update on my review. I just recently graduated from Thinkful- because I was hired as a Junior Developer. SO much is going through my head as I write this review, but I will start with this: If you are considering bootcamp, Thinkful will help you reach your goals! 

I started this program with a little experience in HTML & CSS. I didn't really understand either of them, if that helps you know what "a little experience" means, but I loved learning it. I was an elementary teacher, looking for a way to help provide for my family, love what I do, and not spend 70-80 hours a week trying to keep my head above water. I loved my students, but the workload was unsustainable. I wanted to connect my love for learning with my new-found fascination with writing code. 

I knew that I could not truly learn to code and change careers on my own with the job I had, family, and other demands for time. I began looking into bootcamps, and was quickly discouraged at the time commitment and cost. But then I stumbled across part-time, or flexible, bootcamps. Thinkful was one of many that I considered and interviewed. Ultimately,  the staff, their system, and the job guarantee won me over. Every staff member with whom I spoke was helpful and informative. The system is set up for students to succeed. I found very few bootcamps that offered the amount of support Thinkful did- from 3 one-on-one mentor sessions weekly, to a program manager available any time, and career services to boot. 

I spoke with career services very early on, and the person I spoke with strongly encouraged me to network. That is not something I enjoy or do well. However, because of the way she helped me understand its importance, I jumped out there and tried it. Eventually, it led to my first interview as a developer. And a position as a Junior Developer in a company I love. 

I could not end this review without mentioning my incredible Mentor. My journey has not been all rainbows and cupcakes- I held down a full-time job, took care of my family, and often on my days off traveled to do teacher trainings. While learning Javascript. And jquery. And Node. And React. And so many things I thought I would NEVER actually "get". My mentor walked me through it, gave me specific exercises to help me understand, encouraged me, and told me when I needed to put forth more effort. On our last call, when I told him I appreciated him and could not have done this without him, he said, "Oh you definitely could. I was just here to be your sidekick and help you know you could." He is truly one of the greatest teachers, because he stuck it out with me even when I wasn't sure I could do this. 

I am grateful for this experience and the opportunity to begin this exciting new career where I can, and will be expected to, learn constantly, be on a team making tools to share with the world, and solve incredibly complex problems. If that sounds exciting to you, call someone at Thinkful now!!

I want to disclose that the reason I am a current student at Thinkful is made fully possible through a full tuition scholarship recipient from Out in Tech. It has been a wild adventure to get to this point of my life and it's something I wake up every day to going, "Oh golly this really is still real and happening, that's so darling."

For anyone else like myself who really loves to break and find things, it truly is worth finding out how the folks who design the things that you like to break think. It also is most certainly helpful to be able to actually build that same thing from scratch beginning to end and ask yourself: is this actually secure, am I part of the problem, too? It has been an extroardinary experience working through that which I accept as a very happy challenge to myself.

Going into this program I knew I'd be going into a structured program with the trendy/popular full stack they're gearing students towards. What I didn't expect was for my mentor to figure out how I learn best, how I think or see problems, and use that to help me get a much richer and fuller understanding than the course itself alone. I'm a massive generalist so to have my mentor reach into my security and hacker community backgrounds to connect everything I know and the course together to fill in the gaps I do have has been absolutely wonderful.

The mentors are by far what truly make this program what it is for me. That's not to say the instructors and TA's aren't, they are most definitely that other huge chunk. Yet it really is up to you to decide on what path you want to take, what you want out of the program, and your mentor will be there to help guide you down the way you want to go.

Before I forget if you're in a Thinkful city like DC there are a lot of meet ups plus dinners for students and mentors together! They're absolutely darling and I highly recommend going to them even if you're not a registered student (for the regular public meet ups of course).

The full time program is intensive. If you come from prior experience, however, you may end some specific days during certain parts of the bootcamp earlier than expected. Especially if you know what '1=1' is for times you focus on databases. On the other hand you make up for it by helping other pairs understand it, working with your mentor on more advance concepts, and working on other things.

Paired programming is something I never got to truly experience growing up messing around in the way we work in the full time program. There is a really lovely mix if folks in my cohort when it comes to prior experience. Getting a chance to work with everyone whether they have a comp sci degree or are a former lawyer is really exciting to see what they bring with them to the program.

You learn a lot about yourself, I don't think I've self reflected nearly this much about myself in how I interact with people in a long while.

There's so much I want to talk about alas I think this is a long review already. If you really want to talk more about the program with me it shouldn't be that hard to reach me! Hope you all have a darling day.

I have been in the Thinkful Flexible Bootcamp for a little over a month now. I have learned so much within this short period of time with the very thorough curriculum, mentorship three times a week to help me work through my most recent problems, and the community that Thinkful has around it to propel me as a lifelong learner and student of software development. I took a lot of thought into picking a coding bootcamp that helped me accomplish my goals and flexible enough to give me the opportunity to grow as a programmer.

I highly recommend Thinkful for anyone who wants to level up their skills. Whether it's server-side programming, learning asynchronous programming, or learning how to solve software problems with algorithms and data structures. I have been coding little over a year now. Since being in this program, I have learned invaluable advice from some of the best in the field. With all this said,  this bootcamp gives an individual everything they need to succeed but it's up to the individual to apply and grow to acheive what they desire. Good luck and happy coding!

I would like to admit that I was a big skeptic of bootcamps and people claiming 'it was a life changing event for them', at first. Seemed like propaganda to me.

One day a friend came up to me and said that he had joined Thinkful, out of the blue mind you. Of course, this had me a little more interested in bootcamps, because now I had an inside voice and a test dummy for me. Win!

After hearing him talk about how great Thinkful is and showing me all that he has built in less than a month, I was in.

I knew I had to make a change in my career soon, and Thinkful did that just that and more for me.

After about 4 months in this course, I am still amazed how much I have actually learned in 4 months. 4 MONTHS. That is nothing realistically. But hear I am developing FULL_STACK apps, by myself and with others (pair programming is an indispensable skill to learn)!

Even though I am paying a tuition, I still think I won't ever be able to repay them for everything I have accomplished. From becoming a developer to all the way to learning how to work better with others, it is all thanks to them!

So if you are like I was, a skeptic, I would highly recommend you check out Thinkful. 

If you have any questions about my experience at Thinkful or just want to talk more, please feel free to reach out to me on twitter: https://twitter.com/jacoboutlaw or on my LinkedIn ^