The Agile Learning Institute is a 501(c)3 educational nonprofit who’s mission is to provide free mentorship and one-on-one coaching services to support software engineers. We meet you where you are and accelerate your success. We work with partners to seek out and serve people who are under-represented in the industry. We also support an open Engineering Guild, that provides lifelong learning and peer support services to our members.

Our one-on-one coaching and mentorship based approach allows us to offer Mentorship coaching services for two accelerated curriculums for new engineers and career coaching services for more advanced members.

The first offering takes someone from an Apprentice Candidate who is interested in the field but has no experience or exposure, and equips them for apprenticeship in as little as 8 weeks.

The second offering works with the Apprentice who knows the basics of coding but needs to understand a wider breadth of topics to be a well rounded Resident engineer.

Agile Learning

What is Agile Learning? Our learning process draws heavily on Agile software development techniques, Software Craftsmanship standards, and Enterprise Design Thinking principles.

Following the Agile practice that favors responding to change over following a set plan, our curriculum is tailored to the apprentice and the learning styles that work for them. We revisit our goals and objectives after each success, and adjust as needed.

Following the Craftsmanship principle of not only responding to change, but also steadily adding value, our curriculum can adapt to changes in the industry like the rise of generative machine learning models. We find ways to constantly improve our curriculum and education options.

Following the design thinking roadmap model allows us to focus on what is most important Now, while keeping in mind the things we want to do Next or Later. This means, that we regularly loop around to the next subject and reassess our goals, priorities, and learning preferences to define a new Now scope for growth.

Coaching Mentors

We believe that the one-on-one style of Coaching combined with the technical role of a Mentor provide the richest learning and career growth experience. Our mentors are certified in Coaching , EngineerKit based Mentoring, and Trauma Informed care.

Life Long Learning

Software engineering is a field that requires life long learning, and we believe that the coach/mentor model provides value no matter where you are in your career. We meet you where you are, from Apprentice candidates looking for an alternative to code school or university to a senior or distinguished engineer looking for opportunities to mentor in the field.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • There is no charge for joining the institute, nor for coaching of eligible members. We are willing to invest in you, and we are confident that you will find value in the services we provide. We do ask that you make donations that reflect both your ability to contribute and the value you receive from membership.

  • We offer four support subscriptions levels, from $10/Month to $900/Month as well as one-time donations.

  • Our Mentors are senior engineers with experience that would demand a high hourly rate if they were to provide contract services. Fortunately for us, money is not the primary motivator for their work. We do pay a modest stipend to Mentors that puts our internal costs for an 8-week curriculum at roughly $600, and while mileage will vary this compares favorably with code schools running upward of $5,000