Thinkful

Overall, I feel I learned a lot from Thinkful's intense program.  I really feel the curriculum was well thought out and the Teaching Assistant's were top notch!!  2 out of 3 of my instructors were well knowledgeable and went above and beyond to help us understand.  
Some issues I did however struggle with was the availability of the assistance given.  A normal schedule consisted of 1.5-2 hrs of lecture by the instructor (which if you were struggling on previous material from even a day beforehand, basically made you feel like you were unable to follow along with the lectures) The rest of the scheduled day time was open to work with groups and teach ourselves most of the material.  However, we were able to call in a TA to assist if we were particularly stuck.  The TA's were my favorite part of the program!!!  Learned a lot with them and they were very patient and understanding.  I was sad however that they are not available at all any other times other than weekdays between 10am-5pm.  Most of my personal studies were in the evenings when I didn't understand a lot of concepts and really wanted to talk to someone for help.  They provided IM services called ThinkChat...but that was SUCH A WASTE OF RESOURCES AND TIME!!!!   No screen sharing or actual interaction other than typing.  Understanding concepts takes a lot more than typing out something for 30 minutes that could have taken 30 seconds to ask and get a reply if we could have done a video conference.  
The speed as well of what we went at was RIDICULOUS.  I understand the program being intense.....but it was strange that we were given 2 weeks off randomly throughout the program....but I feel I could have benefitted a lot more if we instead just had ONE day a week off as our CATCH UP DAY.  Still have access to TA's and whatnot, but at least give us some time to digest.  
I also had a hard time with our Mock Interviews.  There were 4 main Mock interviews throughout the program that STRESSED EVERYONE TO THE POINT OF BREAKING.  If you do not pass the mock interviews within 2 tries (which were a coding challenge you are given on the spot with no preparation beforehand)  you were automatically kicked out of the program.  It made you extremely paranoid and stressed out to the point of a mental breakdown.  That shouldn't be the point of the program.  
I came in knowing nothing of IT software engineering....and there were a handful that came in with backgrounds already.  Those that had some backgrounds are the ones that did well.  Still was a struggle, but at least they could follow along with the logic and had a better experience overall.  There were definitely times where I relied HEAVILY on the other students in my groups to either just give me the code, or beg them to help me understand it.  So the students were teaching me.  It was semi embarrassing to always be reliant on them....but maybe that was the point?   I would have preferred to go to a TA in those times.  

I admit that my review is more negative sounding than what I wish.  There were definite struggles and issues I had throughout....but OVERALL, I really still enjoyed all I have learned.  I now have graduated as of 2 weeks ago and I am now in job finding mode.  I am actually reviewing EVERY SINGLE MODULE we did and basically doing the whole program again just to solidify my knowledge and build up more confidence, but I feel I did learn the skills necessary to provide me a good job in the coming months.  My careers coach is also excellent and working to get me in the range of $65k-$85k before he is satisfied.  That sounds good to me!!!  Keeping my fingers crossed!!!  HARD PROGRAM AND EMOTIONALLY AND MENTALLY DRAINING FOR SURE!!!!  But that is also the point.  

I had an excellent experience with Thinkful from day 1. My Academic Success Specialist Sue was highly responsive and always offering encouragement and tips for success. The mentor that I was originally paired with wasn't a great fit for me so after a couple of weeks I reached out to Sue and she found me an incredible mentor for the remainder for my program. My mentor was always available for a quick question via e-mail and was extremely helpful in cleaning up my presentation skills. I had a job interview near the end of my program that included a take-home data analysis project. My mentor offered to talk through the project with me and gave me advice on how to get started. I landed that job and started in July while finishing up my Thinkful coursework. Don't be afraid to start looking for work before you complete the program. At the start of my program the only experience that I had was some free online courses/youtube videos. I am confident that the knowledge that I gained in 5 months of the program was essential to my landing this job. 

My experience at Thinkful was life changing.  I found Thinkful at the start of the pandemic when I desperately wanted to switch careers, but didn’t quite know what I wanted to do.  I have no prior coding or computer science experience - so if you don’t either, you don’t need it.  You will learn everything you need to get started in this new field!  
I participated in the Software Engineering Flex Program.  The flex program allowed me to create my own schedule and work part-time.  Keep in mind, I still spent most days from morning to night coding - whether that was on course work or my own personal extra study time.  I would encourage you to take the time outside of dedicated Thinkful hours to study on your own.  I found supplementing with outside resources was key to my success.  
They prepare you for the real-world of development right away - your “finals” are live coding interviews which is exactly how it is when you start applying and interviewing for jobs.  This alone was instrumental in preparing me for that process!
They provide you with a mentor and have a live chat feature where you can receive help in realtime when you are stuck on a problem.  I learned more than I ever thought possible.  It was one of the most challenging AND most rewarding experiences of my life.  It has put me in an amazing position for my new career.  
Everyone I interacted with was incredibly supportive and encouraging.  Remember to trust the process and take it one day at a time.  This program is NOT easy.  You will want to quit.  At times, you’ll feel like you can’t do it.  You’ll doubt yourself.  But I promise you, when you choose to persevere and dedicate yourself to the hard work, it was 100% worth it!!

Thinkful changed my life. I was working as a massage therapist when I had lost my dad in early 2019. In the city I was living in, there weren’t any in person boot camps so I had to turn my attention to finding a remote one. I had looked at other boot camps but due to their pacing and how many tech stacks they have you learn, I felt overwhelmed. Input Thinkful, which had the very opposite.

Thinkful's smaller tech stack (Node.js, Javascript, Express, React, PostgreSQL) and longer program length (6 Months) meant that I would learn the information but really take the time to learn the fundamentals. Meeting with a Senior Developer (they refer to them as Mentors), was an awesome experience in of itself. Not only can they help you with the current assignments, they can help with learning, building your full stack apps and more. The program manager was awesome as well with their check ins from time to time. But one of the biggest things was the mock interviews. I have bad interview anxiety but the people who ran the mock ones did a very good job at making you feel comfortable and confident.  The curriculum is pretty up to date.  It can be a bit dry to read (theres a lot of reading) but there was some videos/screenshots showing you what they were talking about.  The only thing I would change is swapping out PostgreSQL for MongoDB as MongoDB is a lot easier to work with than PostgreSQL.  You'll learn Javascript and then proceed to learning stuff on the front end before moving to the backend.  

Overall, I would do it all over again. It’s a great program, great community of people as well.

My thinkful program left me very well prepared for finding a job in data. I found that the Data Science Flex program complimented my Biology degree with highly relevant skills in python, data and machine learning. This program pairs you with a mentor to meet with every week, ensuring you can get the support you need to understand challenging topics. After completing the coursework, the careers section is thorough and educates you as to the best way to job hunt and interview. I highly reccomend this program. 

My time at Thinkful was an amazing experience. The Data Science flex program allowed me to learn during my off time from my daily job.  The thing that I enjoyed the most about the program was learning from an industry expert as my mentor.  My mentor helped me get through the items/sections of the program which I had trouble with while ensuring that I understood all other concepts, allowing me to slowly build confidence.  My mentor always looked out for my best interests, always tried his best to understand why am I getting stuck on a topic, and explain or point me towards resources to allow me to learn on my own.  After my completion of the Bootcamp, I was paired with an experienced career coach who has helped me polish items such as my resume, elevator pitch, and LinkedIn to name a few.  I highly recommend ThinkFul for those looking for a career transition and/or prep for a graduate school program relating to data science or any type of research degree.

 i was very excited to see that I could enter a fast-paced program while receiving a stipend so I could focus my time on studying instead of juggling homework and working to cover my bills. The program and instructors were very helpful however sometimes our lectures did seem a bit rushed. I felt like having advisors and mentors available to me helped to pick up that slack. I think the timelines for projects was helpful as well as getting us ready to perform daily standups on our individual progress. When I neared the end of my program, I naturally had imposters syndrome even though I had learned a lot in the program. They offer support for career placement for six months after your graduation and while my career coach was amazing, I still was worried I wouldn't find a company to accept me as a developer. I accepted a position in early August after graduating late March. Even if it took me over six months to get a job, I still would have not had to pay back my tuition which I think is an important promise they make to students so they aren't stuck paying for something that wasn't helpful to their careers. I was furloughed from a hospitality job (no developer/technology experience before) in April 2020 and have not worked since, I was sure that working in such a different field combined with such a large gap in my resume would surely make it hard to be hired. While it took some time, I'm very happy I was able to find a position within six months of graduation.

Overall Verdict 

1.     They are good at what they do and worth the money to invest in your future. Thinkful has a rigorous and strict policy for students to comply to in order to be successful. They are selling you a product and guarantee its success, IF AND ONLY IF, you follow their plan that they outlined and are backing their word up by offering full tuition refund if THEIR plan fails. 

2.     They give you the tools and the support to help you succeed and graduate the program because care about your success. All their staff (mentors, academic success manager, TAs, graders) are people with impeccable years of experience within the industry and are available for you to gain some industry knowledge/advice through their experiences. 

3.     Their success is dependent on your success because it affects their retention rate, success rate, and alumni network. People are more willing to purchase things based on brands that have a positive reputation. So, they want and will do whatever it takes for their students to succeed. This also means students need to come in with an open mind, motivation to learn, and drive to push through this rigorous program.   Thinkful and My success 

I was offered a project manager position in the software development team 2 weeks before graduation. The careers coach helped me prepare for my interviews by providing me possible industry-based interview questions. My mentor gave me confidence by reassuring and motivating me. My instructor answered any questions I had throughout the program and provided insightful advice driven from experience. Alumni’s were active on recruiting Thinkful’s students for their company’s job openings. All resources to succeed were made available and I made sure I got my money’s worth. 
What led me to Thinkful’s Technical Project Management Program   After months of submitting at least 5 applications a day (35 per week), attending about 4 interviews a week, and receiving rejection emails due to my lack of experience in the technology industry (FYI, I have prior experience as a project manager and attempting an industry switch), I decided to enroll in the Technical Project Management program at Thinkful. I chose the immersive plan because I had the time and motivation to dedicate more than what is expected of me to complete the program.  My experience with the Technical Project Management Program Thinkful gave me the project management knowledge and the experience to apply it to real-world projects that can be found at any organization in any industry. Company structures are all different from each other, so being familiar with all and selecting the appropriate ones that align with a specific company’s value only prepares you for success.  Thinkful gave me the strategies to become a successful leader which is the main aspect to leading teams on a project AND MOST IMPORTANTLY provided the opportunity for me to refine my skills while putting it into practice (This wasn’t written out or openly expressed, but I think it was a something that required students to “read between the line” or “find value in the things you do/learn by relating it to real-world work” to be successful in their career, which also further develops critical thinking skills).  Thinkful gave me the tools to understand the required processes and workflow involved in technical work by allowing the students to get hands-on experience with coding and various applications. Allowing the ability to understand the terminologies commonly used and to communicate more effectively between cross-functional teams. 

My time at Thinkful was a great experience. Transitioning my career during the pandemic was tough, but the resources that was provided to me through Thinkful helped tremendously. I participated in the Immersion program which was the full-time course, and although it was fast paced, the instructors as well as my mentor were available to me any time I needed help understanding the Data Science concepts. Throughout the course Thinkful has you learning the concepts by completing and presenting hands-on assignments and projects as well as mock-interviews to help you prepare for your job search. In addition, the graders were great as they gave feedback on what could be improved and what you did well. After the completion of the program, my career coach was with me 100% of the way in my job search. She helped in presenting my best self on paper, sending me job descriptions, and setting up a schedule so I could complete tasks throughout the week. Overall I am grateful for the experience at Thinkful as the skills and connections I made will continue to help me grow in this industry.