Chegg Skills Reviews
Page 12
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Paul Baisley
Challenging & Rewarding
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I completed Thinkful's Engineering Immersion program earlier this year. I was originally considering doing the Flex program, but ultimately decided on the more intense Immersion program, partly due to the living stipend option, which I took. Although this meant I would pay back more money once I graduated and started making over $40k, it was absolutely worth it to be able to focus completely on the program for the duration of it without having to worry about how I would also cover my living expenses.
The Engineering Immersion program is quite intense - I spent about 60-70 hours a week in class, pair programming, studying, and/or working on projects and assignments. There are multiple project checkpoints and technical interviews that need to be passed in order to stay in the program. My cohort started with 24 people, and about 12 ended up graduating. The workload is no joke, and I think was especially difficult for people who had little to know coding experience before the program. I had been self-studying for about 6 months prior to enrolling, but I still found the material difficult and taught at a very fast pace.
That being said, I really enjoyed my experience in the EI program at Thinkful. It pushed me to learn much more than I would have on my own in the same amount of time. The teachers were great, as was my mentor, who I met with twice a week for most of the course. I also really enjoyed pair programming with other students in my cohort, which isn't something you get in the Flex or Nights/Weekends programs. My career coach was also outstanding, and my current job was a lead from someone on the Thinkful careers team.
I would definitely recommend this program to anyone who is serious about making a career change into tech. You have to give 200% to succeed in the Immersion program, but if you have the time and motivation to do it, then your work will pay off in dividends. -
Daniel
Data Science Immersive
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It’s a pretty great experience. It’s legit. The living stipend can sound too good to be true, but it’s real and it allowed me to actually be able to do the course.
The program managers (think academic advisor) are helpful and generally concerned about your experience and well-being.
The profs are very knowledgeable and helpful. They enjoy feedback, and pass along critiques to the curriculum developers.
The curriculum, as someone coming from education, could use an M Ed’s touch. The information is great, but doesn’t make use of modern teaching theory or learning development studies. It’s basically read this and try this example.
You get paired with a mentor for the duration of your program. By all means, if it isn’t a fit do not try to tough it out. Let your program manager know about the issue and get re-paired.
Post grad you get a career coach. They will help you with your résumé, cover letter template, and interviewing strategies. You get emailed curated job openings with Thinkful partners. There are tons of resources. Especially if you did a living stipend with an income sharing agreement, they are going to do their best to get you somewhere. That’s how they recoup on the investment.
Overall it feels pretty solid. Ask questions. Take chances. Go for it. -
Matt G
Great program that helped me to land a position in the Data Analytics field with a Fortune 200
I recently graduated from the Data Analytics Flex program and was able to shortly land an HR Analytics Analyst position with a Fortune 200. I come from a non-technical Marketing background when I enrolled and left with the necessary tools to succeed in finding a solid first position in this new data field. -
Esther
Web Developer Track
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I joined the online web developer bootcamp since it's flexible and I don't have to commute everyday. It took me 8 months to complete it even when I was a full-time student - it did take a little longer when it's totally up to you to control the schedule and how much time you want to invest in everyday.
Overall I think the curriculum is great, especially the front and backend programming - they taught you well to use Node, React and Express to build full-stack projects. I'm satisfied with what I learnt through the materials and building two projects on my own. I personally never used the help from the technical couches, so I don't know if they're helpful, but the two mentors working with me throughout the program were both very skilled, responsive and ready to help.
I would say how much of the data structures and algorithms part we could learn was entirely up to ourselves. I personally took other online courses (free) before so I kind of just skipped this part, but I think I'd be overwhelmed if I were new to algorithms and had to learn all the content by myself.
I did two projects that I could put on my resume, and it helped me to get through some resume scanning first rounds and eventually led to a job offer. The career couch I worked with was very supportive and resourceful. It was really nice to have her through the trying job search period, but I'd say in the end there's only you in it. Be patient and confident! -
Morgann
New Digital Marketing Program
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Thinkful has a new program, the Digital Marketing course, that started in April 2020. I was lucky enough to be part of one of the starting classes. I am at the end, entering the careers portion, but wanted to leave a review about my experience thus far.
To start, Thinkful communications with regards to meeting scheduling, was a flop from the beginning. Before even accepting the course, I scheduled two information meetings and neither time did a person show up. Yet, when you fill out their contact form on their website, a recruiter calls your phone, every day! I skipped the information session because I had done my own research on Thinkful in general and saw a ton of awesome reviews. However, any information on the Digital Marketing program was scant. *First red flags*
While I am happy that I moved forward to obtaining more skills in Digital Marketing, I was very underwhelmed with the program at large. The value of the course does not meet the price point. The only redeeming factor will be to actually obtain a job with the skills I've learned (a lot from supplemental resources) or receive a refund, I suppose.
Cons:
-The material can be found on programs like Google Digital Garage for free
-Two mentor meetings are mandated per week. I have plenty of meetings where mentors didn't show for whatever reason and it is a bit unnecessary. The DM program isn't nearly as intensive as, let's say coding. There only needed to be one meeting a week.
-Lack of peer to peer engagement
-Missing items such as what they call, "Office Hours" where Thinkful offers internal supplemental information.
-Student lead mentoring sessions vs mentor lead sessions
-Expensive for the flex class layout
Pros:
-Overview of the most important details of Digital Marketing
-Academic Success Management is most helpful
-Potentially make some connections using Slack
-Was able to find a ton of resources and tools outside of Thinkful to help drive in my understanding of the material
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Pat Cuomo
Supported on Every Level
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I signed up for the Data Analytics Flex class online and was hoping to change career paths. The work was challenging and rewarding and I was supported the entire length of my course. My adviser met with me at least twice a week, answering questions, providing insights, and pushing me in a positive direction. As a result of this class, I was considered... and hired for a job related to data analytics. Without this coursework I would not have been considered for this promotion. -
Steven Thornton
Engineering Flex
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Overall the program was good! The curriculum was fast-paced and self-ran. My first mentor that they paired with me was really excellent. However he left eventually and I went through 4 more mentors who were not good at all. It was really unfortunate my first mentor left. Also, my program manager gave me misinformation regarding my program's end date, which ended up costing me another $1000+ to finish the program. There was very little ownership or recompense on Thinkful's part. I'm glad I did it, and after a few months out of it, I'm still hoping it pays off, but it wasn't without its major hiccups. -
Mayanne Atanacio
Data Analytics Flex
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I started the Data Analytics Flex program in June 2019 and completed it in December 2019. I enjoyed the content and variety of the course material. It was written very well and was most times, easy to follow. The projects and capstones were challenging and fun to complete and interacting with the graders was very helpful. I highly recommend spending time really immersing yourself in the material and other resources provided to really take in what you’ve learned and of course continue to practice after you have graduated, in order to keep what you’ve learned fresh in your mind until it becomes second nature. Anytime I had an issue or a question, it was resolved quickly on Slack or with my mentor. I would work on developing a good working relationship with your mentor and if you do not feel comfortable, request a new one. The career coach was a great resource and held me accountable, which is a big thing that I was missing prior to starting this program. Overall, I had a great, well-rounded experience with Thinkful and would recommend it. -
Kyle
Data Science Flex
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Overall, I had a great experience with Thinkful. They paired me with a great mentor and academic success manager from the start. I can say with confidence that my mentor was the biggest piece of my success in the program. He was extremely patient with all of my questions and would even answer emails and offer me extra one on one time when needed. Even now that I've graduated I have stayed in touch with him and he still answers any questions I have. What I'm trying to say is, develop a good relationship with your mentor and don't be afraid to ask your academic success manager to be paired with a different mentor if they're not a good fit for you. Your mentor will largely determine what you get out of the program.
The curriculum was fairly weak in some spots but overall it covered the big topics effectively. The assignments were great and challenging but I found myself going outside the curriculum to finish some of the projects. I was fine with this as I had my mentor to guide me to the correct literature but it would be nice if Thinkful could beef up the curriculum in certain spots. This is my only gripe with the program.
My career coach was great and very supportive once I graduated. I found a job in about two months after graduating and she was a big part of that. She gave me great advice regarding my resume and portfolio as well as great tips for interviews. She was also very positive throughout the process as I received about 60 "no's" before my first "yes". We had weekly one on one's as well as group sessions with other graduates - all of which I found very helpful.
Overall, I really enjoyed my time at Thinkful and would recommend it to anyone considering a "bootcamp". The program is not easy, they expect a lot out of you in a short amount of time but I can tell you with confidence that it is worth it. When I first started I only had about 6 months of coding experience and after the program I feel very confident in my abilities and am very excited to start my new career. Thank you Thinkful! -
Brad Bautista
Yes, it's the real deal
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If you're here, you're probably wondering, "Will this actually work? Is it worth the money? Can it land me a job?"
Here's your answer: After 12 years as a journalist, I quit my job and committed full-time to Thinkful's full-stack flex program. Today, just short of nine months later and at age 35, I had my first day as a professional web developer.
I'll spare you details about the learning platform (which is top-notch) and the resources available to students, as they're covered in depth in other reviews and in Thinkful's literature; suffice it to say, it's all legit. You have tons of resources at your disposal and my mentor/program manager/career coach were all delightful people who are great at their jobs.
What all that can't really communicate is the night-and-day difference in my experience as a job-seeker and employee.
I'd known long before I left my former employer that I was going to; I gave them eight months notice and conducted a nationwide job hunt with the goal of getting out of the state and out of the field. I sent out ~150 job applications. In six months, I got zero interviews. Not a one. This despite having a resume that, I've been told more recently, is actually pretty impressive.
That failure led me to the conclusion that I needed help — which led me to Thinkful — but it also led me to another conclusion: Even if I was successful, I was going to wind up living wherever there was work. I felt — probably accurately — that in that position, I had very little agency over where I could go and what I could do with my life.
I graduated from Thinkful in late April. By mid-June, I'd had interviews with four companies and got offers from two — this amid the worst economy the U.S. has seen in most people's lifetimes.
My pay is higher than it was, and will only grow. Instead of paying ~$150/month for health coverage, the company's paying for it — and the plan's much better. All tech is provided. Instead of working in an office with a moldy, leaky ceiling, I'm working from home or a spacious office suite in a business district. Instead of 90 minutes, my commute is 20 minutes — or zero minutes. Instead of working in a dying industry, I'm working in a thriving industry. Instead of worrying about layoffs, I can see a future rich with opportunity. Instead of trying to fit my life around a job, I can find a job that fits into my life.
If you do the work, Thinkful will change your life. It will materially improve it, it will make you smarter, it will make you savvier and it will better help you understand how the modern world functions. -
Vince Payne
Data Science Flex program was great!
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I graduated from the Thinkful Data Science Flex program in March of 2020. This program was amazing! I was working full-time as a teacher so the pace and flexibility of this program was what drew me to it. There are guidelines for due dates to make sure that you graduate on time and some modules I finished early and others I needed an extra day or two and the program is setup to accommodate all of this. I was completely supported with a great mentor that I met with twice a week, a Slack channel that had tech support hours with great people, and a program manager that got back to me quickly with answers to my questions. After graduation my career counselor worked closely with me, gave me tips, sent over potential jobs to apply for, and helped refer me to the company that I just received an offer for! Overall, I am very happy with the experience and would recommend it to anyone looking to change careers! -
Logan Ellis
Review for After Graduation
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So it has been about 2 months since I graduated Thinkful, and I wanted to say that I am super happy with the money spent at Thinkful and I don't regret any of it.
The curriculum is amazing, I think they teach you super relative things, but the skill that I feel like was really taught to me was that I can learn any other language when needed.
Career services after graduating was honestly a lot better than I expected. The EPM team does really well in building relationships with other companies. I was able to gain an internship through the EPM. Also, even after gaining an internship I still have my career coach and career services for the 6 months.
Definitely recommend Thinkful! -
Anna Glover
Analytics Flex not worth it
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I completed the data analytics flex program in October 2019. When you start applying for jobs you realize the curriculum left a lot to be desired. They definitely don't dive deep enough for you to be really competitive in the field with the technologies you're using. There were a lot of holes in the readings that I needed elaboration on throughout the course. My mentor and career coach were the best part of the whole experience. They were always very eager to help which is great because office hours weren't always useful. Sometimes I would go to office hours and the people in there that were supposed to be "experts" would have know idea how to fix my python code and say something like, "Sorry I'm more comfortable writing in R." Like, what? That does me no good. Grading assignments was a whole other doozy. You don't get the same person grading your assignments, so one person could request a revision and when you turn in that revision the next grader says you still did it all wrong and tells you to do it another way. You end up doing 4-5 revisions based on peoples' stylistic preferences. When it came to getting a job, luckily I got one through a referral because I don't feel like my learning was very deep or thorough into the subjects taught and employers noticed. I bought additional courses on udemy to try and dive deeper so I could build better projects to showcase. I shouldn't have to do that if i just spent almost $8000 on a program (which they have since lowered the price and refuses to give out any kind of reimbursement for recent grads). All in all, look at requirements for analyst jobs and take classes that match on udemy or take a certificate program on coursera, it's basically the same thing. -
Taylor
Data Analyst Immersion
I transitioned from patient care to a technical analyst role where my new skills and tools from Thinkful are used everyday. Technical and career coaches were instrumental in keeping the path to a new job clear and guided myself through an aggressive environment to apply for and receive offers. -
Evan
Full-stack web development
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Thinkful was honestly one of the best decisions that I have made. I got a job 1 month after graduating. My time at Thinkful was not easy but I don’t regret going at all. I am a college graduate with a BS as well and I went straight from college to Thinkful. Let me start with this. This will take you a while but that is okay, this field is very top-heavy and When you're done you will not be an expert. But if you want it bad enough you can do it. If I can do it you can too. I really do believe these will give colleges a run for their money In the future. If you are debating going to a boot camp let me tell you, if your okay with spending nights cramming your brain with stuff and can see the light at the end of the tunnel.. you have the mindset to be a programmer and you will succeed. It isn’t hard but it is hard work. Thinkful is a great school. I met a lot of great people during my time there. If you're lucky you will get a mentor like mine who will help you succeed in any way possible. This school is a great choice if you want to work remotely or on your own time. If your on the fence like I was.. do it. Gaining a skill that will only make you better is not only going to help you career-wise it will also change the way you look at yourself. Many people can do this job but not everyone wants to put in the work to learn it. This field needs you. If you are willing to handle setbacks and push forward. I believe going to Thinkful will be a great choice. I highly recommend them.
Pros: My mentor(Tom) exceeded my expectations tenfold. I received more help in my mentor sessions than any of my professors provided in college. The curriculum was well thought out and covered all material relevant in today’s world. Flexibility: having the option to work remote is both a pro and a con. To me, it was a pro.
Cons: Curriculum: 100% text based. This can be very boring, although it made learning it easier for me -
Megan W
Overall very worthwhile experience!
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I'm overall very happy with my decision to join Thinkful. Could I have learned it all on my own? Sure! But I wouldn't have had the same level of mentorship or support that I received through Thinkful. Some notes if you're thinking about joining: 1) The curriculum is very text-based. As a visual learner, I did have to supplement a fair amount of the material with YouTube videos. However, I think this is ok because I knew going in that I'd have to put in work on my own. 2) I felt that my mentorship sessions were not always as beneficial as they could have been. I think this was mostly my own fault though, and I should've come to my mentor sessions with more questions prepared. --- In the end, I feel that I definitely got my money/time's worth out of Thinkful and feel very prepared to dive into my new career. The tuition reimbursement guarantee also makes me feel great knowing that Thinkful stands behind their program. -
Iona
Data Analytics Flex Program
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When I first started to look for Bootcamp, there were just too many options. I asked my friend and he suggested Thinkful, as he was currently working on a program with them. I looked into it and realized that what they are passionate about fits me perfectly. I chose the Flex program because I am still working full time and needed this program to be part-time. It was a great decision because the flex program solely depends on your dedication. This program provides pause time just in case you need the extra time or you had a vacation planned ahead. I was able to finish the program early because I was able to get through the program fairly quickly.
The course itself is great. You read/watch videos on the topics and they give you exercises so that they know you know the material. The projects they ask you to work on are able to be put on your resume as they are based on data from different companies. Each student has a mentor and the mentor I had was amazing. He was helpful in every way when I had questions about the material or just about data analyst jobs. We had sessions twice a week and I felt like this was a great factor in learning the material. Someone was always there to help me if needed.
I would greatly recommend Thinkful to anyone that is interested in learning data analytics! -
Lera
Data Science
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Great course for everyone who would like to open door to Data Science. Amazing where I am in 6 months, my grad report was about 50 pages of code. Everyone who did online courses knows how easy is to quit. It's not like this with Thinkful. They're amazing, supportive and the mentorship system worked! My Academic Success manager (Ashley) and Mentor (Gary) helped to "move the stone" for sure and make it in timely manner.
The only thing I wish to have more advanced Data Science workshops but they have a bit.
I didn't look for a job yet much but their career modules are very much up to point and I'm sure if you need to find a job - you will be able to find with them and after the course.
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Chris
Great if you put in the work
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Thinkful is very good if you're willing to put in the work. When you start the program they estimate that you will need to work 20-30 hours a week in order to graduate. I think that this is a decent AVERAGE, but what they don't tell you is that some weeks you will work 50 and others you will work 20.
There were days during my time with Thinkful that I was frustrated with different aspects of the course, but in the end it was totally worth it. I learned a whole lot that I would not otherwise know through self taught development.
By far the best part of the course is the 1 on 1 mentor time. I was fortunate to get a good mentor, and they can help fill in the gaps that the curriculum leaves.
At the end of it all, I am a much, much better developer than I was before I started. -
Jon
Engineering Immersion
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Thinkful's Engineering Immersion course was life-changing. The skills I learned have set me on a new and exciting career path. I got a full-time job less than a month after graduating. The cutting-edge skills they teach are clearly marketable and useful in a variety of web development situations. I highly recommend this full-time course to anyone with the passion, time, energy, and patience to learn. -
Kevin Ngai
Data Analytics Flex Program
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Initially, I had done a lot of research on different boot camps and was at a standstill on which options to go with however, because Thinkful had a one-to-one mentor ship program that stuck out to me in the end, I went with them and did not regret it at all.
You get a two week grace period where they wont charge you and you're able to see if that is the right program for you. The program should take you 6 months on average however, it was fairly straight forward enough to where I finished earlier while working at my current job throughout the week.
The program lays out the fundamentals on what you should know to be a successful data analyst and provides numerous examples. Each module has an assignment at the end for you to work on so that you can really understand what you learned and you'll be required to do projects in between to showcase what you have learned. Each week, you'll get to meet with your program mentor that will help guide you if you need help, however you can always reach out to them at any time of the week through slack or email.
Not only that but you'll have access to an abundance of technical coaches on their slack channel whenever you have a question or need help with something.
The program does a good job guiding you however, a minimum degree of technical skills such as how to manage through excel would help greatly.
Some cons for when I took the program was that I wish it had videos that explained certain concepts, however a change that they incorporated into the program while I was pretty much finished with the program was video explanations which is great because they take into consideration feedback on how to make the program even more smooth and intuitive. -
Julie B
A Late Life Career Change Made Possible
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I think Thinkful genuinely opened doors for me. I have been able to find a new job with better pay and better future opportunities, and I know I would not have gotten my foot in the door without my time at Thinkful.
It is very much so a case of “you get what you put in”. You could skim by and do the minimal and finish the program and have learned very little, or you can attend Q&A sessions, do all the study material, and really come out knowing what you are talking about.
I think my time was really valuable, personally, and the support after you graduate is pretty out standing. It took me about 2.5 months to find a job but I am extremely happy with where I am now. -
Nathan Kinne
Web Developer
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I decided to take this course because I believed there was something missing from my skills set. One of the greatest decisions I have ever made. I was taught valuable industry standards I use everyday at work. The course was challenging at times and well done. I love that you get a great mentor to help you along the way. The course is setup in a great and easy to understand way. With tons of resources to help when needed. -
Reed Boskey
Data Science Immersion
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A few bullet points about my experience. First, the good/great:- Successfully helped me make the complete switch from food service to tech industry. I did what they asked and was able to find a job within the 180 days/6 months post-graduation career coaching period.
- Great mentor. My mentor is based in Athens, Greece, and has 5 years Data Science experience, as well as many years of computer programming before that. He was an absolute expert on statistics, data science methodology, and practical use of the techniques. He was patient, saw where I excelled and offered additional outside material to supplement the course's, and saw where I struggled and slowed down to help me understand. He has become a friend, and is truly the best thing about my experience.
- Great curriculum covering, for the most part, the breadth of understanding required to start at a very basic role in the field (though, given that I didn't have much domain-specific knowledge or experience, I had to take a data analyst role - but I got a job from it!!).
- Links, where applicable, to further readings for complex topics and additional learning outside the scope of the course.
- Focus on building a portfolio of projects to show potential employers, not just building the skills.
- Career counseling once per week for another 6 months/180 days beyond successful completion of coursework and graduation.
- Career counselor was based in my area, which was helpful with familiarity of companies, events, etc. After a few weeks of curriculum and preparing materials (resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn workshopping), we shifted to building my skills, preparing for interviews, networking tips. It was a crucial part of the transformation for me, coming from very different background.
- I think they give you 30 "pause" days, where your course days don't accrue, for vacations, emergencies, etc. Taking this over the summer and nicer months of the year, those definitely helped.
- The tech support on their Slack channel was incredible! I was always able to find solutions with their help, and they were almost always on. Really great resource.
A few things I thought could be better:- Obviously, timing...even putting in the time they recommended every week, I struggled to keep up and had to pay an additional $1,500 to extend my program for a month to finish. It seems likely that unless you're already trained in one of the required skills (programming/stats), you may have to as well. I was working only 2 days a week for the first half of this program and still found it very difficult to keep at the pace my mentor wanted. He mentioned that many of his mentees had to get extensions, and if multiple people are having this problem, they should perhaps change their timeline to reflect that. OR, make it clear that it's a very common situation before accepting you.
- My program manager was pretty good, but I felt she could've been a bit more attentive or helpful. Had to remind her a few times to take care of administrative things.
- It was also a bit difficult getting clear answers on timelines of things. A few times it happened where my program manager would tell me one thing and then I'd get an email from, say, the financial team about a passed payment date, or how many days I had remaining different from her quote.
- The push for networking and going to meetups makes sense, but in my city (Detroit, surprisingly), there were barely any tech meetups, let alone data related ones. I wish they had been ready with alternative suggestions for virtual meetups or some other useful options. Two times I brought up my struggle with people in the company and they were surprised and not ready to offer any other solution.
- A big thing that caught me off guard was this simultaneous "careers curriculum" which I was supposed to be working on alongside the data science curriculum. I found out at the beginning of the course, and then was reminded a few weeks or month out from graduation that I had to complete BOTH to graduate. The problem is, I never got any of the careers curriculum assigned, and I never got a clear answer on who I was supposed to report to on the assignments. And as far as I can tell, this curriculum was entirely separate from the post-graduation career counseling curriculum. Obviously, it's my responsibility and they told me of it up front, but come on! If it's important enough to be part of the course, just make it all one curriculum and make the mentor responsible. At least something to clarify.
Final thoughts:
This program was great. It was well constructed and paced, professional, full of helpful resources and people. I went from Coursera to this because I wanted mentorship and more of a safety-net, being a complete beginner. In most ways, it provided that and then some! I got a job in the field within 5 months of graduation!! I learned so much about data science, job searching and networking, but also about myself. It wasn't until I made some serious sacrifices that I realized my potential in this course, so try to do better than me if you take it. You may not struggle as much as I did to fit this into your life, but I had to give up almost all socializing. My life essentially was this course for the duration. I should also note that it wouldn't have been possible without help from my fiancée (cooking our meals, walking the dogs, doing grocery shopping, and pulling extra weight when I had a big project or something). I think if you're transitioning from a 9-5ish office professional role into this field, it would probably be easier. I was kind of an outlier, I'd say, of needing additional guidance and assistance from this program. But, I still made it and I'm sure you can, too. I highly recommend them.
Partway through my course they implemented a curriculum update, which wasn't required for me to follow, but was good to see. It shows they care about providing the most up-to-date material presented in the most understandable way.
COVID-19 notes:
My job search pretty much followed the rise of COVID-19 (I graduated late November 2019). By the time it became clear it would have severe effects on the job market, Thinkful was coming to all recent graduates with offers to extend career coaching for an additional, complimentary month. They also offered access to one additional training of your choice (I chose Tableau), as well as a few info sessions on "job searching during COVID-19" and similar topics. It's very clear to me they are trying to do their best and serve their students well. -
Zach
Engineering Flex Grad.
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Overall I am pleased with the outcome of the Engineering Flex program. This course takes you through a relevant tech stack and gives you the opportunity to build two full-stack applications. Building both applications and all projects on my own seemed to be a big benefit while interviewing. You WILL need to work on your team communication and workflows on your own time but there are plenty of pair coding opportunities around, it will show if you do not do this.
The curriculum was headed towards a more visual presentation at the end of my time with thinkful, which was much needed. I often supplemented the readings with videos found online. The video content I did get at the end was very helpful and well put together. You should have a strong academic background if you're thinking about this course. You will need to reread, research and be proficient at utilizing all resources thinkful provides to be successful. It seemed that most students that did not graduate lacked this drive.
My mentor was top notch and I would gladly pay for his help again. If you do not feel the same about yours, simply attend all classroom sessions and find a good match, then request them as a new mentor. This is exactly what I did.
The career assistance was great and truthfully much needed. Expect the hardest part about any bootcamp experience, not just thinkful, to be making connections to get a job. This is easily done through meetups etc as the tech community is very welcoming. But the bottom line is if you're not out selling yourself, you're not getting a job. -
Maya
Engineering Flex
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Thinkful's Engineering Flex Program is amazing. It is a LOT of hard work, but you gain the skills that will make you extremely desirable in the job market. The way the curriculum is written is easy to understand. My favorite part about the whole program is the mentorship. You get paired with an experienced mentor who is there to help you every step of the way. I honestly cannot put a value on this. Learning from someone in the industry is priceless. Not to mention the technical coaches who are available via Slack...you will never be without help during this program. Students are required to do mock interviews, which is so great. By the time you get to real-life interviews, you will be ready and have a head start on your competition. And then, when you graduate you are paired with a career coach. Again, this part is a lot of work, but the coaches give you so much support and help you stay positive. I was paired with my coach in mid-February, and I had an offer less than three weeks later. Of course, I had already been applying, but the coach really helps you get polished and navigate the job search. I would most definitely recommend Thinkful to anyone considering a boot camp. -
Dan
subpar
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pros: they have a curriculum set up. they have some organization. i hear employees get paid a decent amount to work remotely and the employees also have access to thinkful's full catalog of courses.
let me preface by saying i ended up withdrawing from the program because of my experience so i can't speak to experiencing the full program but only based on what i saw.
cons: its hit or miss with mentors. if youre lucky, you get a mentor who knows what they're doing. unfortunately, it's more likely your mentor wont even do the bare minimum to help you learn. my mentor spent 2 meetings giving me the wrong information before contradicting himself and fixing the issue a week later. he did this repeatedly. it wasn't a big problem since my husband is an engineer but for anyone who is new to coding, i think it can be pretty awful way to lose a week's worth of progress even worse is if the student blames himself for being too stupid to code and keeps meeting with the mentor. i really caution applicants to reconsider enrolling if this sounds like it could be you. i submitted a formal complaint about the mentor but never received a response. this was before the covid pandemic so worse case scenario is that they have too many complaints to process. for a company that boasts that their mentors have several years experience, i expected them to know what they were doing but i think now that the data may be skewed. after attending office hours and interacting with mentors in the slack channel who gave me advice that turned out to be bad practice i asked them about their professional experience, more often than not, they revealed they only had a few years experience. one of them was a recent thinkful grad.
i dont want to accuse anyone of anything but i saw my academic success manager's name in one of the verified reviews. she didnt say in her review that at the time she was also an employee of thinkful. i guess it might not be a big deal, but it does come off a certain way to see a detailed 5 star review when the very first bullet in the review guidelines on coursereport says only students, grads, and applicants are allowed to leave reviews. as far as i know, thinkful employees do not fall under any of those options. their profile and titles on the thinkful website says "program manager" or "head of communications" or even "mentor" but never "student" -
Chris Fencl
Data Analytics Program Review
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A health informatics grad student's review of a data analytics 6 month long online bootcamp for improving one's analytical skills.
I love Thinkful and really enjoyed my experience with this group immensely. I learned skills that were more relevant to the jobs I am looking for than at grad school. All the mentors and tutors are really nice, the management staff are very flexible and answer all of the student's questions. The curriculum is set at a flexible pace that students can finish at a reasonable time.
Since everyone worries about this, let me clarify. You are getting a great deal on the education and training you'll receive with excellent job assistance afterwards to help you find the job you want for the fees you are paying. I highly recommend Thinkful to anyone wanting to improve their technical data skills and more 'soft-skills' presentation, networking, and interview skills. It was a life changing experience for me. -
Sohail Shaikh
Web Developer/Software engineer
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Let me start by saying that be VERY CAREFUL before you sign up for any course with Thinkful. I work as a Stock Broker at Wall Street. I was planning to learn to code and later write my own program to trade stocks. I registered for the Web Developer/Software Engineer course with them back in April 2019. It was Bloc which later was acquired by Thinkful. During the admission process, I was never told that the course has to be finished within 8 months. In fact, I was told that I can learn to code according to my own schedule. Due to my hectic work schedule, I was putting only few hours a week. I was not in a rush. It was my understanding that I will finish it at my own pace. I had no idea that my clock was ticking and I am running out of time. No one from Thinkful or my mentor reach out to me and warned me about the course timeline. After reading the fine prints I reached out to the support team and spoke to Taylor Alexandra, she couldn't help me. I asked for supervisor, Lauren Jacobson was the supervisor who flatly refused to extend the time period so I can finish the course. I explained to her everything in detail about the miscommunication. She did not even care about my situation. Keep in mind that I have paid over $6,000 for this course. I got so upset and turn off by their staff that I lost interest in the course and lost all my money. If someone wants to learn to code, there are many many sites those offer to teach for free. There is no difference. Please save yourself your hard-earned money and use free sites or go to at least someone who truly care about students. -
Chau
My part- time engineering program at Thinkful
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My nights and weekends engineering program at Thinkful has been great so far. The curriculum is compact, focused, and well organized. My main mentor was very knowledgeable technically and helpful in directing me towards the right direction. Initially, I mostly self taught and built my portfolio with simple personal projects. I struggled to find jobs in New York city as a front end developer, so I decided to give Thinkful bootcamp a try. I was impressed! The program keeps me on track and solidified my ability to write clean code, test, and collaborate in team.
There are some suggestions for improvement. Instead of lengthy and tedious text ( especially in the server node and algorithms), it's easier to digest the materials with more visual materials or interactive coding. I usually get bored and lost in the very long and boring reading. I am more of a visual learner. Also, the instructors (other than my main mentor) sometimes were not prepared on the material and explained it rather ambiguously.
Other than that, I am satisfied with the way Thinkful runs. The clean, straightforward front page of curriculum inspire me to write even better layout and code. I hope you like my reviews! Cheers and happy coding :) -
Lucas Barbosa
Thinkful! Changing lives one student at a time
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I stumbled upon Thinkful mostly by chance than anything else. I had a buddy who found out about the program and sent me the link. The more I read the more it seemed to check off every internal box that I had set in order for me to enroll in a school/course. After much consideration I decided to take the leap and enroll in the Data Analytics Immersion program, and I am very glad I did. Every step of the way they have been both supporting and encouraging. As I discovered more about the analytics field, I felt like this was something that I should have gotten into a long time ago. The coursework and the curriculum are both challenging and thorough, and I have been learning so much! The instructor I have, Walter, is a data genius who has a knack for explaining complex topics as well as being an all around supportive coach. The mentor and academic success manager I was given have both done nothing but encourage me and make me all the more excited for what's coming up ahead. I would highly reccomend Thinkful to anyone who is at all interested in breaking into the Tech field or learning new skills that will prove to be valuable. My life has taken some major changes, thanks to Thinkful, and they have made every step of the process easy and fun!
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Dani
Data Anlaytics Flex Course
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I just graduated from the program and was able to complete the would-be 6 month course in under 3 months. I come from a completely different career field (left dental school after 1 year, only about 1 months worth of programming experience). It is pretty extensive in the topics covered, so far including Excel, SQL, Tableau, Python with Pandas, Seaborn, and Matplotlib. Your experience can vary depending on your mentor, mine was a very experienced and helpful guide who focused mainly on the Python aspect in our sessions. I would say the assignments will challenge you enough to test your independent skills while the Capstones will be what you make of it. The more in depth you go, the better your eventual portfolio will be. Do not phone it in if you are doing the flex as your skills you build will be dependent on the work you put in, and my interviewers for job positions have been pretty excited about the projects in my portfolio because of this. My only gripe: the grading team seems to be either in need of more members or be better organized. I had them cancel my presentations 5 times, delaying my graduation. While the academic team was helpful in remedying this, it was a major frustration for me and remains a huge problem for an online course that employs remote contractors.
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Romana
Product Design Flex
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Thinkful is a great way how to change your career within less than a year. I have quit my full-time job, found a part-time job and started Product Design Flex.
The curriculum includes the whole process that every UX/UI Designer should have. From research to code. You get a mentor session twice a week with a senior designer. 7-day week support on slack in case you are stuck in your projects. Thinkful also offers multiple online workshops every day. After you graduate you get a coach that supports you while looking for a career.
The most valuable thing for me was a relationship with my mentor. He helped me to build my confidence in talking about the industry and being able to talk about my projects out loud and receive feedback. He also provided a lot of extra resources, such as books, podcasts, events and people in my area.
Thinkful was an incredible experience! I was offered a UX/UI position before graduation.
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Maxine
Data Analytics Flex graduate
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I went into this program looking for:
- External accountability to learn the skills
- 1-on-1 mentorship
- A curriculum that would give me the skills needed to land a job
I have not gone through the careers portion yet, so can not say from personal experience whether it's done that, but the working data analysts and scientists I've talked to all agreed it was a great base to land that first entry level data analyst job.
On the other above criteria, I would also say that Thinkful came through. I loved my mentor, Alex, who went above and beyond to help me out with my comprehension and my capstone projects. Paying into a program and having an academic success manager and, again, the mentor, helped with that external accountability too. My academic success manager, Cali, was great too.
I found the technical coaching, which is supposed to fill in the gaps between the twice a week mentor sessions, was a little lacking. While I did find a few tech coaches that were extremely helpful and willing help me understand, sometimes I was frustrated feeling like no one wanted to spend time to help me comprehend.
The curriculum, overall, did what it was supposed to. Since it's the newest program that Thinkful has, there's some bumps in it still that were kind of irritating, but they're very open to feedback and I believe they will continue to improve it. Be prepared to take your education in your own hands (as you should do anyway) and look online for alternative explanations when the curriculum isn't making sense to you.
I was reluctant to do the mock interviews at first but now that I'm finished I'm really glad that I did them-- they were great practice.
Due to the flexibility of the program, I worked on it part time for two months and then full time for two months and was able to finish it in 4 months instead of 6, so I'll only be paying for 4 months, which is cool.
Overall, my goal was to bridge the gap to help me get a job in a new field ASAP. I feel conifident in the skills I acquired through the program, and confidence is everything going into a job search! Thinkful did the job I wanted it to and I would recommend it to anyone who's looking for a similar outcome as well.
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Christina C.
Is this you?
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Hello! If you're on Course Report reading up reviews on various bootcamps, you're likely where I was several months ago: curious and considering a change in pathway for your careerpath because you're seeking to build a better life for yourself. Considering the fact that majority of the jobs out there are to be obsolete in the near future, you're indeed wise to be searching bootcamps to better secure yourself. While everyone else I know are sitting around complaining about being unable to find a job or unhappy about their pay, you've decided to not be one of them. Good for you!
I considered going back to a university and commiting myself to learning material for the next few years, but quickly learned that the things taught could be outdated by the time I complete another degree. While accepted into Berkeley's Extension Program after a placement test, I saw that reviews were either REALLY good or REALLY bad- that's a red flag. You want to see some level of consistency in reviews. Also, it is smart to read up on reviews for the course you're interested in- some bootcamps may be stronger for certain career sectors or courses than others. Meanwhile, you'll want to avoid certain bootcamps that don't offer you adequate support. In this sense, I chose Thinkful. While bootcamps like General Assembly are reputable for accepting anyone and everyone (many people compare them to McDonald's- "fast food" but doesn't keep you "full"), Thinkful requires you take the time to reflect and apply with WHY you want to bootcamp. They not only have someone to speak to you by phone while going through the admission process, but equip you with a program manager, mentor, 24-7 support on Slack, support on the Thinkful dashboard where your materials and assignments will be, and much more. YES you have to be willing to put in the time and effort and do your work, but YES you're also held accountable and there are no excuses not to complete bootcamp into succession. The learning material and assignments are well organized so it's easy for you to follow along and follow through. I'm about 1/3 through my course in Data Analytics and am loving it! My mentor has been more than just a mentor- he's been my "punching bag" to vent all of life's miseries and hurdles, to which he has had great wisdom and sense of humor to share with me. The team behind this bootcamp consist of individuals who WANT to help and support you, and not those with just "jobs" to do...and that, my friend, makes a world of a difference.
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Gennifer
Strong Support and Resources
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I'm a little more than halfway thru my Product Design Flex bootcamp. Thinkful does a great job with the curriculum and teaching the fundamentals, and then portfolio-creation, but what I've been benefitting from the most are the resources and the support. They have one-on-one technical mentorships with working professionals, online groups, slack support, and student discussion threads. Then they have a program manager that basically acts as your coach to ensure you graduate and job seek on the planned timeline. Anytime you feel stuck in the process, there are a team of people there to help you.
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Anthony B
Highly recommend the EI Program
The program is great. If you're considering joining this program I'd highly recommend getting affiliated with HTML, CSS, and JS.
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Morven Watt
Engineering Flex
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I am about half way through the engineering flex program (previously full stack flex), and it's just ok.
The major issues for me are threefold, as a total newbie to coding.
1. With the flex you are just being given a ton of information, not being taught it. Even if you are really applying yourself, its just a massive info dump with little to aid you in terms of actual teaching. You have to spend a ton of time researching outside resources in order to really teach yourself. I found they are very lacking in drills (and so I sprang and paid for Udemy courses and for the pro CodeCademy).
2. There is a massive, MASSIVE, lack of peer group/less formal options for when you get stuck. It seemed like no one every really used the spreadsheet for peer work, and the online 'class' type things are often later in the day (5-8pm) which I couldn't attend. My first mentor and I did not gel at all and that was actualyl horrible, but I then swtiched. The slack channels also don't seem to encourage people further along helping, probably as they are incredibly swamped in work, but it means you often just get help from the teacher on duty and that really slowed me down.
3. The 6 month goal is great....but not personalized at all. All the projects that are given, aside from capstones, are really bland and generic, and it felt like as soon as we had completed one area, we just jumped to something totally new so it was really hard to retain the information. I felt like we rushed through HTML, CSS, JS, JQ and so on, and not really got any kind of solid foundation before we were onto the next, leaving me feeling like I was just passable in each area.
Im considering moving into an immersion program, either with Thinkful if I can sort that, but if not then with another company in Phoenix, as I don't feel like the flex will give me the solid foundation needed to join the work force or work freelance right now.
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Cassie
Worth it for those prepared to work for it!
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Overall, I'm very glad I did this program. Not having much experience in SQL, Tableau or Python, the curriculum takes you through these (and Excel) at a good pace and involves projects to help you practice your new skills. Also, it gives you proof of your skills (instead of being self-taught) for future employers to get your foot in the door for interviews.
That being said, I do think it depends on what you put into the program for what you get out of it. Because it's all online, you have to be very resourceful for finding answers and ideas of how to solve problems. Yes, your mentor and Slack are provided as resources also but sometimes they are slow/busy so it's beneficial to get used to looking for answers yourself.
The Data Analyst track is still pretty new so I would find errors or mispellings in some of the modules. They didn't prevent me from progressing but it was noticeable at times. However, I do think the way this track builds on itself - from Excel, to SQL to Tableau to Python - was very well-structured and I would highlight that for anyone interested in this program.
Also, who you have as your mentor makes a BIG deal. My first mentor was very disengaged and didn't feel very supportive. Luckily, Thinkful is happy to work with you and find you a new mentor. And wow, I'm glad I did! The mentor that I finished the program with is what made it so worth it for me - and she is still my professional mentor after the program!
I am currently looking for a job and the career services is a huge benefit to have after you graduate. I've learned some things about the job search I never knew before and it's nice to connect with someone every week to stay motivated throughout my search. Plus, they send you great resources!
FINAL THOUGHTS - I think Thinkful is a great option for people who want something self-paced, online or part-time and the price point is fair. Also, if you graduate early, they give you some of your money back - I haven't heard of any other program that does that! Check out their 2-week free trial option to try out the track you're interested in and if you like it, I say go for it!
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Logan Ellis
10/10 Would Recommend
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I'm currently in the engineering flex program at Thinkful, and I absolutely love it!!
The student advisors who tell you more about the school were amazing. I was a little worried that I wouldn't learn Python, but they assured me that it won't be terrible to learn after the bootcamp.
I'm currently almsot halfway done with the bootcamp, and I've had nothing but good exxperiences. They not only teach you front end and back end development, they also teach you how to learn code outside of Thinkful!
The mentor program that they rate so highly definitely lives up to its name. They pair mentors and mentees based off of availability to meet, and if you don't think your mentor is a good match then they don't mind finding you a new mentor!
The curriculum is amazing, and I already feel prepared enough to get a front end development job!
I would recommend this to anyone that asks me about this bootcamp!