Chegg Skills

Overall the course was informative, an excellent refresher/intro to python and a great refresher/intro to SQL, Flask, Git and much more. It showed me how challenging but rewarding web development can be. It brings together many of the basics and puts you through exercises so you understand the core, so at the end you are constructing something that you would be happy to post up on the web. It is challenging but rewarding. It has put me in good stead to jump straight into writing tools for Maya which was my end goal.

As a professional it was tough fitting it in between work and business trips. I think I would have been able to rattle through the course in 1-2 months if I was approaching it full time. That would be my recommendation to anyone doing this as you are less likely to lose momentum.

The mentor program is extremely good. Instead of bashing your head for days over (sometimes simple) code errors, bugs, tech issues. Their experience is invaluable to keeping your momentum up. My mentor was top notch, friendly and extremely supportive. Providing examples, explanations and fixes that were holding me back.

I'm looking forward to applying my newly aquired knowledge to my work in game development and on personal hobby projects.

My only criticism is that the Slack channel wasn't as active as I would have liked, but still a good community on there too.

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I was enrolled in the Bloc part-time bootcamp and neede more than two 30 minute mentor meetings per week.  With Thinkful I got three 1 hour  session per week. Also, liked the way the material was presented on Thinkful. It was explained then you did drills then used the material in challenges.  In Bloc they just piled concept upon concept at a very deep level with much of you work just copying the code they already had in place. 

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My journey from social studies teacher to software developer has been a crazy journey, and not always an easy one. After trying a variety of different programs, such as Launch School, free code camp, code academy, etc... I realized that I in fact loved programming, however I was not going to be able to be disciplined enough to do a self paced program. 

This is where Thinkful comes in, and I am so glad I worked through the program. Not everything is perfect with any program, but Thinkful did a great job in the Full Time Web Development Bootcamp. The program was very structured, and built upon itself each week.

My favorite thing about the entire Thinkful full time web development bootcamp, was definitely the fact that we had structured instructor time, TA availability throughout the day, and a personal mentor. I met with my mentor every day after class and we would go over anything that i didn't understand or wanted to dive a little deeper into knowing how something was working. 

The thing that is awesome about the Thinkful program is how caring and hardworking the staff is in their mission to help their students become professional web develoeprs. The thing that i truly admired about the program is that we weren't only being taught current technologies, but how to continue learning, and think critically about a problem. 

Overall I would highly recomment Thinkful's full time web development bootcamp if your a student that requires a structured environment, and if you learn better by having classmates who are in the same boat as you are. 

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I was highly interested in the program and ended up sending 3 emails with a question and request for response.  These were all submitted through their website. Each was spaced a few days apart in an attempt to not be annoying/demanding.  Still no response to this day.

If they are unresponsive at this point, there's no way I would entertain the idea of sending them money and trusting them.  No longer interested - I've found something else. 

Note: I was required to rate the Instructors and Curriculum to submit this review.  I defaulted to a single star due to my experience with simply trying to get some information.  I have no experience with their instructors or curriculum.

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Pros:

• Easy to use platform
• Mentorship - 45mins once a week
• Offers Q/A and workshop sessions
• Price - $500 per month
• Nice and friendly staff

Cons:

• Exercises sometimes doesn't reflect on what was being taught. It's more difficult than what was explained or even asking for completely different solutions at times. I know that they want you to learn and do research yourself, but it just doesn't smoothly transition into the exercises/projects. I don't feel like it's for "beginners" as how they mentioned the course was for.
• No videos at all. Expect to learn from reading and mini projects only. And if you ask your mentor, they want you to research yourself as well.
• Although having a mentor is helpful, you need to be the one to ask specific questions and tell them what you want to review during your sessions. Basically, it's YOUR choice. However, if it's more structured, it will be a better guidance for the students. For instance, once you submit your projects, you will hear no feedback from your mentor unless you are THE ONE to bring it up. I feel that as a student, if I submit something, I should receive some comments or etc? Just like when you are in school, you receive a grade/comment. At least that's how I feel.
• Sometimes typos/errors in given problems to solve. For instance, you are given an algorithm to solve in jsbin, but if you're not able to solve it within a specific time, then look at the solution they gave you. Then after you understood it, write that code on your jsbin to solve it. However, it doesn't work (I did not change any codes at all, parts of the codes were already given when you open the file, so that it will show 'it's working' or 'it's not working'), so I had to copy and paste the same code from the solutions to the jsbin to make it work. Meaning there were already some kind of typos in the given problem to solve.
• You don't have lifetime access to the course materials unless you stayed at least 3 months in the course. What if people finish in less than 3 months, then they're forced to stay extra long and pay that extra month/s in order to receive lifetime access?

By no means, I'm trying to make you change your mind if you do decide to join Thinkful. This is all from my personal experience and personal thoughts on the course. I don't recommend it to those who are just starting out as a beginner, but if you do have experience with coding, then Thinkful is for you.

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As far as the graduation rate and job placement,like many schools they promise wonderful things. Its just a matter of having the means to attend one of these schools or camps. My experience with my advisor or whatever they call themseleves was very simplistic. Simple in that once he found out i was living patcheck to paycheck i didnt matter much. Its quite understandeable but i dont think many people new to a career change are actually realizing how much 4 to 6 months without work can literally destroy a life especially if you have a family to care for. So I have 3 realistic options. 1. I can give up my low paying job and have me and my family stay in low income dangerous housing,going hungry from time to time and not knowing how bills will get paid 2. Keep my job and in my very little free time try and be self taught which will get me the experience in about 5 to 6 years. 3. I cannot get a loan for any real amount of money (if i could i wouldnt need to switch careers) so actually option 3 is off the table. Will the world be able to fill these 1.4 million programmer positions by 2020? With people like me probably not but what do i know i make minimum wage. So Thinkful and all you other schills;no thats not a typo, quit pumpin numbers about graduation rates and job placement. We all know theres TONS of jobs out there but until someone comes up with a realistic way for normal everyday people who have bills to attend these schools then youll just be another Kaplan or ITT tech Read less

I would highly recommend this course. I took it while working a typical 9-5 job and didn't feel completely overwhelmed.  I didn't know what to expect considering my college major is in philosophy, but the video tutorials and the challenges they give you really help you understand the material without feeling like you were at a disadvantage from the start.  I never really liked online classes but the way they organized the material made it much more enjoyable. I was a little worried with having it be self-paced but I actually preferred it that way in the end, and my mentor definitely helped out with that. I unfortunately had to put it on pause because I'm back in school finishing undergrad, but I will, without a doubt, finish the course later on.

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I have enjoyed the UX Design Thinkful course very much over the past month. I think the course work is very informative and relevant and gives a good overview of what goes in to UX Design. I have really enjoyed my mentor. I think that is the most valuable part of the program is having someone who knows what they are doing give advice and guidance. Of course, with programs like this you get out what you put into them. As long as you are willing to put the work in Thinkful will help you progress in a positive way.

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Thinkful's customer service and professional mentorship are the program's best assets. I was always impressed by how accessible Thinkful staff are. Here's one example: I was worried that my final project wouldn't quite be up to snuff before another billing cycle. If Thinkful just wanted my money, they could have made me pay for another round, but instead, they were on my side and worked with me to make sure my final project was solid. 

The front-end unit was pretty easy thanks to resources like codecademy, but suddenly the back-end unit made me feel clueless at first. I definitely felt frustrated at first, but I think that Thinkful was doing me a favor by making me seek out answers to suppliment the provided material. Also, they made that seeking-out-of-answers pretty easy by responding to all questions on Slack channels and pointing me in the direction of articles and tutorials that made the pieces click. I realize now that I will have to know how to go out and find the answers to most of the problems I encounter as a web developer, so I am really glad that the curriculum didn't hand me all the answers off the bat.

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My wife and I both joined thinkful, both of us have quit after two months. And let me say firstly, laziness was not an issue. We spent hours every day trying to do this course, we did not seek "handholding" nor did I enter this with an illusion of becoming an engineer overnight, this program is expensive and I wish I had sought better information before handing the cash over.

If you are  looking for an immersive educational experience leading to a career change, this is not the program for you. If your company is paying for it and you are looking to kill time and put on a good front for the boss this is perfect, or perhaps for some reason you want to buy an ebook that cost thousands of dollars; this is the program for you.

Expect the course material to be 100% reading and assignments based on the reading, expect the solutions to be wrong(wasting days and days and weeks and weeks), expect your personal mentor to have no  knowledge of the course material itself or your prgress throughout it, expect no help, expect arrogance and condesention when you seek help.

Not many graduate, they claim 60%(read the fine print of their report) graduate the program and if that is true I would be surprised that the graduate rate is even that high. I never wanted to write a review like this and stayed loyal as long as I could but the truth is they don't care about your success, and I would hate to see someone lose hope in learning to code and make the life changes simply because they were fooled and signed up for the wrong program. I switch to the free version of CodeSchool.com and in 10 minutes learned more then 2 months of heartache from thinkful.

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Are you totally intimidated by the phrase "Full Stack Web Developer"? I was too. Thinkful's entire Slack community dispelled my fears. Anytime I had a question, Thinkful was there to point me in the right direction. Anytime I was worried about career options or needed further support, Thinkful was there. My mentors were all engaged and helpful, and when (due to scheduling conflicts) I needed to switch to a new mentor in my first few weeks of the course, the mentorship manager was immediately on it to get me the connection I needed. The career services team is up-front, kind and thorough, and I have every confidence that they will be able to place me in the right network as I move past graduation. 

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I've never programmed before so I didn't know what to expect, but Thinkful has made it a smooth easy to understand. The curriculum covers a lot of core topics, and the projects they assign test your knowledge thoroughly. My mentor is great – quick to respond and good feedback. The sessions generally go over the projects – any key points that you miss will be pointed out, and solutions different from yours will be shown to give you an idea of how experienced programmers think. 

The only negative thing that I could say is that the reading material isn't always as in-depth as it should be in my opinion. Sometimes in order to do parts of some of the projects that they assign or answer some of the questions they ask, I find myself having to look at free online sources. But that isn't too big of a deal because the information is readily available (for free), and you are guided towards learning this information by the projects and questions so you won't miss out. 

Great course overall. 

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I just completed Thinkful's Web Development Career Path and was very impressed with the program. I’ve been coding regularly for over a year now and I am currently seeking full-time work as a full stack developer. During the program I studied in depth, full stack JavaScript web development, created four personal projects, and received excellent mentorship. I was able to complete the program in three months without working. I recommend this program to anyone starting out in web development.

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I have been enrolled in Thinkful for about 1 month now, so very new and very new to coding itself. I am a true beginner coder, changing careers. I was between Viking and Thinkful and did a lot of research to see what would be best for me. The cost, length of course, mentorship and career help was what led me to Thinkful ultimately. I knew that I would need help along the way with the intensity of the program and so mentorship was key for me. My mentor Marius is a superb mentor that has been doing web dev for a considerable amount of time, so I knew I was getting a professional. 

 

I will say, the course is hard (is for me) but very much worth it. As much as I struggle is as much as I thrive and motivated to go the next challenge and see my coding create sites. You will struggle, you will doubt yourself and you will wonder if you will get better and YOU WILL if you stick with it and do the work involved.

I know I'm only a month in, but I have already learned so much! Only 5 months more to go!

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I am currently taking the $300 a month Frontend Web Development course. 

Pros: 

1. Quite a bit of course material.
2. Course material can sometimes be in depth.
3. Good mentorship
4. Breaks down learning into easy steps.
5. Good amount of projects to work on.

Cons: 

1. Course material 95% of the time is extremely vague.
2. No video's.
3. For the most part you have to look other places to actually learn about what they cover.
4. You get the feeling that a lot of the course work was just mashed together from other free websites out there.
5. The price they charge for the course. Not worth $300. $100 a month or less seems a fair price.

Overall I am very unimpressed with this course. The course material is altogether very vague. Going through it almost feels like you have to decipher everything line by line. I believe they do this so that it takes you longer to go through it so that they can charge you more. 

If you are willing to drop money on an online course I would honestly look any where else but here. In all fairness I am going to complete the course and then look else where to continue my education. I would not recommend thinkful.com to anyone.

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Curated curriculum means most of the content is from FREE web resources.  So I guess you're paying for the Mentor, except my mentor never answered any questions but rather threw me some weblinks and told me to go on Slack or Stackoverflow.

Yeah, I know I can find the answers online but I'm asking YOU right NOW for the answer. She also told me to go to Codeacademy - again another FREE resource.  

I had high hopes for Mentor led learning but at Thinkful I got the impression that my Mentor was just trying to fulfill a quota of meetings and killing time just to reach the required 45 minute minimum.

I'll give Thinkful credit in that it got me to start using Github and Terminal but most of the technical learning I did on other resources like Codeacademy and even Lynda.com (my current employer has a company account).

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Just finished up Thinkful's FrontEnd Development Course with a dedicated mentor.  In full disclosure, I conducted a signfiicant amount of diligence into how best begin exploring a career in coding -- and after reading many reviews, making calls, talking with references, I decided to choose Thinkful.  Importantly, my own personal experience over the past five months has been entirely consistent with the feedback I had received from a myriad of others before embarking on the course.  

My experience with Thinkful:  This was truly my first coding experience and while I was bit nervous, my assigned mentor literally assuaged each and every one of my concerns.  IN so many ways, Thinkful bridges an important, critical gap between asychronous, self-paced, online free learning and on the other end of the spectrum, jumping into a coding bootcamp, full-time (whether online or in residence.)  

With Thinkful, I got access to:

(1) a very strong online curriculum that allowed me to work on my own pace

(2) a strong, active and supportive community of both instructors and fellow students with ample opportunities to participate in workshops (think extra, live classes) 

(3) And most importantly, a dedicated "mentor" who was litearlly with me every step of the way.  

I cannot emphasize enough how important this mentor-relationship is.  While Thinkful calls its instructors mentors - I really thought of my mentor (TJ) as a super coach.  He is a professional developer with a ton of experience -- experiences that he shared with me that went well above and beyond the actual curriculum itself.  For example, there were multiple times in which TJ suggested fantastic additional, free learning resources that were outside the scope of the Thinkful online curriculum that I would likely not have found myself.  There were instances were TJ told me that it would pay off in dividends to invest the extra time and effort to learn a ton of Git shortcuts.  He was right.

Most of all, my Thinkful mentor served as an inspiring and encouraging coach. Not only were all of my 1-on-1 sessions with him instructive and incredibly helpful, but knowing that I had a meeting scheduled with TJ was super motivational to put the extra time in - even after a long & tiring day at school - so that I could be best prepared to a) try to impress him and b) make sure that I used the time most effectively to address questions or concepts that I had been struggling with on my own.  

For my "capstone" project - TJ continued to be super encouraging and incredibly helpful.  I wanted to go a little further for my FrontEnd project - so I literally developed and launched a commercial website that's now generating approximately $1K per month in revenue just a few weeks after launch.  My Thinkful mentor was not only open to helping me with my project as part of our mentor sessions together, but was incredibly helpful in teaching me how to do things like STRIPE API integration, leveraging AWS et al. Again, I realize that these things may seem both obvious and simple -- but remember, prior to starting Thinkful, I had absolute zero experience.

To balance out this review, I really wish there were some things I could point to for areas of improvement in regards to the overall Thinkful experience.  Fortunately (or unfortunately) there really aren't.  Ultimately, the litmus test for me is will I be returning for the next course sequence at Thinkful? The answer is yes.  I could not recommend Thinkful and it's mentor program more highly.  Truly.   

 

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Thinkful has provided me with great resources to be successful in this program. I was able to complete the 6 month program in 4 months by working on it full time. A few things that I wish I had been prepared for were to do some additional learning and research on my own to discover new things, and to reach out for help much earlier and more often. I found myself scrambling to work on things on my own, and once I owned up to the fact that I needed help and asked for it, I was able to learn and do so much more. Some of the curriculum is slightly dated (for example deploying to heroku, rather than another deployment site), based on the jobs I'm applying to, but there are plenty of external resources and other thinkful mentors and students to get help from. If you're coming from a completely different background, like I did, be prepared for a steep learning curve. 

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