Career training programs FAQs

Thanks for your interest in a Catalyte technology career training and apprenticeship program. This page will help answer some basic questions about what to expect during your registration, screening, training and employment process. While we try to keep this information up to date, we constantly improve our programs, so some things might have changed since this page was last updated.

If you have any further questions before registering to take our online screening – the first step in the training/apprenticeship process – please submit them through the form at the bottom of the page.

General FAQs

What is Catalyte?

For 20+ years, Catalyte has provided opportunities for anybody, regardless of background, to launch new technology careers. We hire graduates of our programs into apprenticeships where they continue to develop skills while creating technology solutions for our clients.

What career programs and apprenticeships do you currently offer?

We currently offer career programs and apprenticeships in the following disciplines:

• Software development
• Digital media management
• Technical support

Are programs in person or remote?

All programs are currently fully remote. You can complete a program from home.

Can I live anywhere and participate in a program?

To be hired by Catalyte, you must be a legal resident of one of the following states: Arizona, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington or Wisconsin.

We are continuing to expand into new states, so please check our website occasionally.

Participation in a specific client-sponsored program could require you to live within a prescribed geographic area.

Are programs a full-time or part-time commitment?

All our career programs are a full-time commitment of approximately 40 hours per week during traditional business hours.

Can I work while I’m training?

Catalyte programs are a full-time commitment. Some participants choose to work nights and/or weekends while in training.

How much does a program cost?

All of our career programs are 100% free. There is no tuition or upfront cost. We don’t have income sharing agreements (ISAs) once you are hired.

Will I be paid during training?

That depends on the program. See specific program FAQs for details.

Do I need a degree to apply for a Catalyte program?

No. We do not take degrees, prior work experience or technology skills into consideration when selecting qualified applicants to join our career programs.

What are the requirements to apply for a Catalyte program?

To participate in a career program, you must:

• Be at least 18 years old.
• Have computer proficiency and high-speed/broadband internet access.
• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible to work in the U.S. for 30 continuous months from the first day of training. Catalyte does not offer visa assistance or sponsorship of any kind.

Can I apply if I have a criminal record? 

Yes. We do not conduct background checks for our career programs. Any criminal history will be addressed on a case-by-base basis when you receive an official employment offer.

How hard is it to get into a program?

Depending on the program, we identify 7-15% of people who take the screening as having the potential to become great technologists with the company.

Will I have opportunities to collaborate with others during the program?

Absolutely. We provide communication channels (such as Slack) for collaboration, communication and shared learning.

What is the Catalyte screening?

The first step to joining any career program is our online screening.

Do I have to take the screening?

Yes. Everyone who joins a Catalyte career program is first required to complete the screening.

What does the screening do?

The screening discovers a person’s ability to become a great technologist at Catalyte. We’ve learned from 20+ years of experience that great technologists think, act, behave and react in certain ways. The screening looks for people who display similar patterns, which identifies that they can quickly learn new skills and succeed in a new technology career.

Where do I register to take the screening?

You can register to take a screening by clicking the specific program link below.

• Software development
• Digital media management
• Technical support

What happens after I register?

When you register, Catalyte will immediately email you a single use code. Log in with that code and complete the screening. Make sure to check all inboxes, as some email systems route the initial email to promotions or spam.

Why does it ask me for information that would be on a resume (job experience, education, references)?

We don’t require any specific prior experience. Please complete this section to the best of your ability. This information will help us with future recruiting efforts and assess your level of commitment to completing our training program.

How long does the screening take?

It typically takes around two hours to complete the screening.

What can I do to prepare for the screening?

The screening is meant to be taken with little-to-no outside preparation. There are some areas of the screening where knowing high school-level math concepts could be helpful.

How can I request a reasonable accommodation before taking the screening?

Our screening gives fair and effective consideration to all takers. To ensure equal access for prospective candidates, you may request reasonable accommodations before taking the screening. You can submit a written request and propose accommodations that will help you complete the screening. We will explore whether the proposed or other reasonable accommodations can be made without undue hardship. The availability of any particular accommodation will depend on the circumstances. We may require medical documentation as part of the accommodation process. To submit a reasonable accommodation request, please contact hr@catalyte.io. 

I realized I need a reasonable accommodation after already starting the screening. What do I do now?

The process for requesting a reasonable accommodation after starting the screening is the same as requesting before starting. You can submit a written request and propose accommodations to hr@catalyte.io. We will explore whether the proposed or other reasonable accommodations can be made without undue hardship. The availability of any particular accommodation will depend on the circumstances. We may require medical documentation as part of the accommodation process. If you need to restart the screening with an accommodation, your previous attempt will not be used to calculate your eligibility for one of our programs.

What’s on the screening? What types of questions?

The screening consists of several sections, each intended to measure how you think, react and engage with difficult situations. Questions cover several areas including personality and work styles, mathematics, reading comprehension and logic patterns. Most of the questions are multiple choice, but a few require you to supply very short answers. Questions consist mostly of written English, but some contain some visual elements such as graphs and solid color shapes.

Do I have to complete the screening all at once?

Some sections of the screening are timed. You must complete each of those sections in one sitting. You can save your progress between each section and return to the screening at a later date using your original login credentials.

Can I take the screening more than once? If so, how often?

Yes. You can register and retake the screening as many times as you want.

What can I do to improve my score on the screening?

The screening looks more at how a person thinks or acts, rather than the specific answer(s) they provide to questions or prompts. We’ve found that this means when people retake the screening, their results change very little. There is no one combination of responses on the screening that would result in a better outcome.

Do I need to know anything about coding, digital media or technical support to take the screening?

No. The screening does not ask questions about coding or software development, digital media strategy or technical support. Having a background or education in technology will not give you an advantage on the screening.

Who grades the screening? What is that grade based on?

There are no people involved in scoring the screening . It’s not “graded” like a typical test. The results are based on 20+ years of unbiasedly measuring what makes a great technologist with Catalyte.

The screening doesn’t care about your current skills level, your education level, previous work history, personal demographics, etc. It measures your future potential to succeed in a technology career.

It doesn’t care where you’ve been, but where you can go from here.

What happens after I take the screening?

Within a few days, Catalyte sends everyone who completes the screening a follow up email. This email will tell you your status and if there are any next steps for you to complete in the process.

How will I know if I did well on the screening?

After your screening is evaluated, we adds individuals with competitive scores to a training candidate pool. From that pool, we select members to join a new program about once a month.

We will contact highly-qualified candidates for a quick interview to get to know you better, answer questions and provide additional program information.

What other employment opportunities do you offer? Do you hire staff who have not gone through a Catalyte program?

We hire all entry-level technologists through one of our career programs.

If you have mid-to-senior level experience, you can apply for open positions here.

If you are interested in joining our network of contract engineers, you can start that process here.

Software development program FAQs

How long is the software development program?

The program averages between 20 and 26 weeks to complete.

Will I be paid during the software development program?

Participants in our software developer program receive a daily stipend during their last six weeks in the program. There are rare occasions when, due to outside funding or an accelerated training schedule, participants will be paid for the duration of the program.

What happens after I complete the software development program?

Everyone who successfully completes our software developer program is offered a job as a software developer apprentice with Catalyte and commits to working for us for two years. Apprentices receive salary and benefits including paid holidays and time off, health, vision and dental benefits and a training allowance.

There is the potential for client-sponsored programs where graduates would be directly hired by an outside employer.

How can I prepare for this program?

Some of the technical skills you’ll learn in the software developer program are:

• Git
• HTML
• CSS
• JavaScript
• Databases
• Java / Spring / Node
• React / Angular
• C# / .NET

You can become familiar with them before the training program. freeCodeCamp is a wonderful resource.

What does a typical day look like?

Training lasts a full, regular, eight-hour workday, Monday through Friday. You will have an hour for lunch and additional time with your teaching assistant, as needed.

Training is composed of presentations and lectures with exercises, quizzes, activities and final projects.

What will I learn in this program?

You will learn the technical and interpersonal skills needed to succeed as a software developer. While specific programming languages or frameworks change over time, you will be proficient in front end, back end and databases, and be able to contribute to a software development team on your first day.

How can I apply to the software development program?

You can register to take the initial software development screening here.

Digital media management program FAQs

How long is the digital media management program?

The digital media management program is eight weeks long.

Will I be paid during the digital media management program?

Yes. Participants in our digital media management program are paid during the full training period.

What happens after I complete the digital media management program?

All successful graduates are guaranteed a job. Once hired, you will work on a variety of real projects during a six-month employment contract period.

Will I be penalized in any way for not completing the digital media management program or choosing not to continue with Catalyte if training is successful?

There are currently no penalties for withdrawing.

What will I learn in this program?

You will learn fundamentals of digital media buying, like audience targeting and ad optimization strategies. You will have hands-on media buying experience in leading platforms, such as Google Ads & Facebook/Meta.

You will also learn important interpersonal skills like communicating with team members, giving and receiving feedback, adhering to client requests and meeting deadlines.

You can find additional details here.

Is sales training part of the digital media management program?

Sales training is not a part of this program and future client positions are not sales positions.

Do I need graphic design skills for this program?

No. Participants in our digital media management program will not need to create graphics or other design elements as part of their learning or employment.

How can I apply to the digital media management program?

You can register to take the initial digital media management screening here.

Technical support program FAQs

How long is the technical support program?

The technical support program is eight weeks long.

Will I be paid during the technical support program?

Technical support program participants will receive a weekly stipend for every week they are in the program.

What happens after I complete the technical support program? Will Catalyte hire me?

All successful graduates are guaranteed a job. Once hired, you will work in a technical support role during a one-year employment contract period.

What will I learn in the technical support program?

You will learn and apply:

• The fundamentals of several different Microsoft technologies. 
• Technical troubleshooting techniques.
• Working with a customer to track down and resolve technical issues.
• Important interpersonal skills like communicating with team members, giving and receiving feedback, adhering to client requests, meeting deadlines and managing multiple cases concurrently.

How can I apply to the technical support program?

You can register to take the initial technical support screening here.