Thinkful's Nights & Weekends Program Combines Structure and Flexibility

After hearing strong demand for a classroom experience without a full-time commitment, Thinkful launched their new Engineering Nights & Weekends program. The new program is designed for students who seek a live, classroom experience involving lectures, group projects, and paired programming, all without having to quit their jobs or commute to campus.

Not only is this program a perfect fit for those looking for more structure without losing flexibility, it also accommodates different time zones. Starting with the next cohort on March 4th, the Nights & Weekends program will operate on both Eastern and Pacific time.

What will you learn?

The Nights & Weekends program follows the same curriculum as Thinkful's full-time Engineering Immersion program. The program covers topics like React, Node, data structures, and algorithms. Students will build full stack JavaScript applications, learn to collaborate in teams, and come out with strong portfolios. Before graduation, students will conduct 5 mock interviews, and polish their resumes, LinkedIn and GitHub profiles with insight from career coaches.

Because the program is part-time, students will have more time between classes to dig into each topic before moving onto the next. Students will also have 1-on-1 mentor sessions each week. Your personal mentor is not only your partner-in-code, but also a seasoned industry expert who is invested in your success.

In addition to the curriculum, Thinkful added "Technical Coaching" into the mix. Instead of asking questions in Slack groups, students can create tickets with questions and they will be answered by Thinkful's technical coaches within 30 minutes from 9am until 11pm.

Is there an admissions process?

The admissions process is rigorous and includes an initial application, a culture fit interview, a prep course that covers front-end basics (vanilla JavaScript, GitHub/git, command line, HTML/CSS), and a live technical interview. The admissions process is thorough because we want to ensure students come into the program on solid footing and are dedicated to committing to a consistent schedule for seven months.

We work with students to set expectations around time management before enrolling to ensure each student is confident he/she is using his/her time and money wisely. And most importantly, we make sure students are genuinely interested in becoming developers after graduation.

How much time is required?

The program is seven months long and with a 25 hour per week commitment. Classes will be offered in both Eastern and Pacific time on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6-9:30pm and on Saturdays from 11am - 3pm. In addition to classroom time, students are required to dedicate about 15 hours a week to complete graded homework assignments, read the next day's lesson, meet with their mentors, or join study groups.

How you spend the required time outside of the classroom is up to you, but there will be regular assignment deadlines and comprehension quizzes to make sure students stay on track.

Does this program offer a job guarantee?

Not only is this program backed by a job-guarantee, it has an income-share agreement option so you don't have to pay tuition until you get job. This means you could start the program and pay zero tuition upfront.

If you choose to pay upfront, monthly, or through a loan, Thinkful programs are backed by a tuition reimbursement guarantee. If you don't get a job within six months of graduating, and you meet the criteria, we'll reimburse your tuition. To qualify, students need to have a bachelor's degree and live within an hour of the cities listed on our website.

Whether you qualify for the tuition reimbursement guarantee or not, you will still have your own career coach. Your career coach will help you navigate the job market, apply to positions, and ace your interviews for six months after graduation. We work with you until you've negotiated the best possible job offer.

When is the next cohort?

The next Nights & Weekends cohort starts on March 4th. Students need to apply by January 14th to be eligible for this cohort as they'll need to complete a self-paced prep course beforehand. New cohorts start every 5 weeks.

This post was sponsored by Thinkful. Want to learn more about Thinkful? Visit thinkful.com or check out their reviews on SwitchUp.