Hack Reactor

Pros:
1 .Knowledgeable instructors and TAs.
2. Structures that mimic real job situations.
3. Peer pressure that keeps you motivated.

Cons:
1. Not cheap, but is still a good investment if employed at market salary after graduation.
2. Bootcamp in general, increased difficulty in finding an entry-level position compared to a CS degree new grad getting a job through on campus career fair.

Hack Reactor is just a platform. It is not intended to solve anyone's life problem. It offers challenges advanced enough for even seasoned engineers. You learn and grow through working through those challenges. Hand holding is minimum, and that is intentional.
Success at Hack Reactor requires a matured mentality: understanding that we 99%ers can only achieve success through hard work.
If yo...

Hack Reactor is by the far one of the best boot camps you can now attend. If you've considered a career switch to Software Engineering than I highly recommend that you take the leap of faith and enroll in Hack Reactor.

During your time at Hack Reactor you learn not only how to code like an engineer but to think like one as well. Being autonomous and a self learner is a must to succeed in Hack Reactor. You will be expected to put in a lot of work to grow as an engineer. It will be challenging but once you land your first job all the time and money you invested into the program will be worth it.

I have no regrets. Enrolling in Hack Reactor helped me become a Software Engineer and I encourage that you do the same.

Hack Reactor was the second online boot camp experience I had, and while I would not recommend the first which I will not reference by name I will fully recommend Hack Reactor. It was a great experience. The curriculum was fantastic, the pair programming and group project structure prepared me fantastically for the job that I have started (a job the Hack Reactor Alumni network helped me get). I was VERY worried about finding a job even at the completion of the course. Terrified to even apply for fear of my skills being inadequate. However, once I started I found that I was more than prepared for my new career path. If this is what you want to do, I suggest this is the course you take. And the remote programming is also excellent training and proof to a potential employer that you...

Hack Reactor is a great program. I really enjoyed attending and spending time with the helpful and supportive staff and students. It felt like the only place where I felt motivated and encouraged enough to ask questions, try new things, and continue to "climb that mountain". I spent 3 months studying my butt off, literally slept for 3-5 hours a day ( 7 days a week ) and living on a $25,000 loan rather than attending schools for 4 years, working, and owing over $100,000. I didn't talk to any of my friends, family, or even my fiancé for that time. That's ok though because now I am back to my normal life, with a good job, and no longer have to worry about "The struggle" as often as I did. Do I regret it? No. Would I do it again? Yes. Should you do it? Yes!

I attended the 12-week Hack Reactor remote cohort for full stack development which started in June 2018. Prior to Hack Reactor, I was attending the University of Texas at Austin with little prior coding experience. At first I was definitely skeptical about the program, but also the outcomes. Seemed WAY TOO GOOD to be true that in 12 weeks of the program grads on average made $75k+. But this was the industry I wanted to be in and after doing research, Hack Reactor seemed to be the best fit for me. The program was INTENSIVE... no surprise there. It is split into two phases: a "Junior" phase which is a 6 week long crash course on coding filled with a variety of topics split into 2-day sprints. The junior phase was fast paced but definitely manageable; with alot of content thrown your way a...

So let me give you some context. Before attending Hack Reactor in 2017, I was unemployed for an extended period of time. And before then, I was employed in a job that wasn't satisfying. During my employed tenure, I was doing simple HTML and CSS copy pasting, but I knew I could do better and wanted to take my game to the next level. So I left my job and for the next few years, I tried learning software engineering all on my own.

I learned a lot by myself because I have that tenacious growth mindset, but it wasn't enough. While I learned bits and pieces here and there, I didn't have the high level overview and understanding of how you build a piece of software both from the frontend and the backend.

So I made the decision to attend Hack Reactor. I felt that by applying, I could ac...

I think Hack Reactor's curriculum is very well thought out with what skills are desired currently in the industry, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested in changing careers.

I moved to Austin just to attend Hack Reactor (HR) and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. Before HR I had few job prospects, little money, and no college degree; now I'm doing work that a truly enjoy, making much more money than I need, and... still don't have a college degree. 😜

The program is hectic and difficult, especially when you're so poor that you have to live in the cheapest part of town, cook almost all your own food, and take the bus everyday. But the leadership there and the other students were fantastic; it was amazing being surrounded by so many smart, dedicated, and encouraging people. Although almost all my time was spent there those 3 months, it all flew by way too fast.

Although the program itself was difficult, the hardest part was the job search. Don...

I came into Hack Reactor SSP with 0 experience in computer science or coding of any sort and have learned a great deal about the subject in such a short amount of time. There is a great support system and structure to SSP and I enjoyed being apart of it.

I just completed SSP37 and would absolutely recommend this course to anyone willing to put in the time and effort. Hack Reactor's SSP program provides all of the exercises necessary to be fully prepared for their technical interview, as well as a "helpdesk" that provides help if you get stuck on any of the exercises. I definitely took advantage of the helpdesk throughout the course, but just know that while this support is there, the mentors will not give you any easy answers or quick fixes - they will help point you in the right direction and encourage new ways of looking at the exercises, but you need to do the work of researching, trying different strategies, etc. If you're a driven student that is motivated to succeed, this is the program for you! Shout out to Kevin, Heather, Ma...

I benefited greatly from taking this structured prep course. Jacob and the TA's were expert at reviewing and teaching the fundamental concepts in javascript programming. As result I'm much more prepared for the technical interview.

Coach John did a fantastic job. He was always enthusiastic and willing lend and ear and a helping hand.

Though the SSP isn't a core component of Hack Reactor's immersive program, it does a pretty good job of preparing one for such an endeavor.

There were several times where problems were presented where the technique/technologies weren't covered until later in the course. This frustrated me, my peers, and my TAs on a few occasions. It's clear the creators of this curriculum encourage us to begin to think and behave like developers in the real world. A big component of that is being able to solve problems on our own and research if we haven't been taught how to solve the problem we're working on. As a result, I'm torn between feeling annoyed because we paid to be taught, and understanding that we need to FITFO (Figure it the f*** out). I know from talking with a few of my peers that th...

I've just finished my 4 weeks live online prep course for Hack Reactor SSP39. From what I understand this course uses the same material HR gives you on their site for free to do on your own. If you are good at learning on your own then I would recommend doing that way. The prep course is $250 which will be applied toward your tuition if you get in. You can retake the course if you didn't make it through. You will have 3 assessments along the way but it is not a pass or fails. The next day your course coach will go over the assessment with everyone. There is live support but it is not here to teach you. The support will just give you hints to unstick yourself. I was expected more like what a remote online course would be (i.e. pair programming) but you are pretty much on your ow...

There wasn't any cons that I can think of. I learned so much from this program and built a huge connection in software engineering field. I would recommend this program to anyone who come for suggestion.

The Good:
- Great coverage of JS fundamentals in the beginning. Also does a fairly good job of presenting data structures/algorithms, and although that is a fairly deep subject (I'd actually taken a semester course in the past), I still thought it was a solid practical run through the basics and important concepts
- Content in the junior phase is very thorough and well thought out. You move really quickly from one concept to the next as the curriculum builds from the fundamentals into modern platforms and frameworks. Having the ability to pick up a new technology and do something useful with it in a couple of days is a skill that's really valuable in the real world
- Good coaching from the staff and mentors, who usually had genuinely helpful answers to all of our questions through...

Great staff and curriculum. The community is incredible.
I also learned a lot from my peers - everyone admitted at Hack Reactor is extremely sharp.
For anyone interested in leveling up their web dev / software engineering skills, this program is great.
I highly recommend!

A life changing experience. I not only gained the technical skills I needed to change my career, but I also made great connections with the people I learned with. It's truly an experience different from a traditional higher education experience (in an amazing way). Everything is focused on your growth and being able to apply your learning immediately! It's fast-paced and challenging but definitely an investment I don't regret!

The staff are outstanding. The program is high accountability and high transparency. It's very conducive to people who feel initially out of place trying to cross over into the coding world. If you pay attention and lock into the program, the chances of you making it as a software engineer are very high, I believe. Would definitely recommend!

Awesome program. Great staff. Very friendly and willing to help with anything. Instructors always challenged us to try the latest technology, and did a great job of guiding us to a solution without just telling us. Got hired a few weeks after graduation, and formed some great memories with all my classmates.

Advice: I did the remote advanced software engineering immersive (HRR31 specifically). This is a very fast paced course that is 11 hours a day 6 days a week for 12 weeks. Well worth it, and very demanding. Make sure you can dedicate the time to this course.

Remote: Great if you don't live in a state with a Hack Reactor campus. Same challenging material. You are in a video conference with someone for most of the day (The entire class, or your coding pair). Lots of interactio...