Hack Reactor

This is an effective program that will get you into the software engineering field. As a former teacher, I took action over the summer studying in June 2017, applying for acceptance through Oct 2017, and completing the program by the end of 2017. I stayed... Read More on as a TA for the program to better solidify my understanding of the bootcamp content. By May 2018, I had two offers and I switched into software engineering in less than 1 year. Keep in mind, none of this captures the first rejection into the program, the long hours studying, and the countless times you might want to throw a keyboard across the way. Those are all part of the experience and getting into software IMO, but you are well prepared as an effective software engineer when you exit Hack Reactor. The network of alumni is great, with people often able to refer other grads to companies, and the support as an alumni in job searching continues throughout alumni life.

Hack Reactor was unlike any education I've experienced: it teaches you autonomous learning and you still get support after graduating!

Hack Reactor provided the foundational work and community necessary to learn at a faster rate than before. When picking... Read More up a breadth of technical concepts in a short period of time, this is key!

The meta-skill of learning that will quickly outpace the utility of whatever library/technology you learn when you attend.

Post-graduation support! I've always gotten help from Marlene whenever transitioning roles. More than that, she knows and anticipates your needs on the job search. Whether it's connecting you for algorithm practice, finding the right warm intro to make, or giving you the right negotiation move, she is out to guide you for career success.

Consider how many offer letters she has helped secure and negotiate: she's becoming AlphaGo for job market/support.

I graduated from Hack Reactor in 2015 and have worked with the alumni team there -- most prominently Marlene -- for all of my job searches. They've been incredibly helpful with introducing me to partner companeis and helping coach me through the negotiation... Read More process.

Thanks to their guidance, I've been fortunate enough to negotiate up an extra ~50k during the four years that I've been working and know that I can always count on them to help out for my future job searches.

Nearly four years later, attending Hack Reactor has proven to be one of the best decisions I could have made for my career and personal life.  As time passes, I get to see the immense value of what the Hack Reactor community provides to its members and... Read More the marketplace of employers. I went to Hack Reactor to level-up in my software engineering career.  As a junior developer and someone that benefits from a classroom environment, it was the perfect springboard to understanding programming concepts that eluded me during my year and half of 'on-the-job' training. Upon graduating with a combination of industry experience,  technical training, and job search support, Side, Inc. hired me as one of its founding engineers.  Within three and a half years, the company grew from four to nearly 125 people; from barely seed-funded, to well-funded series C. Fast-forward nearly four years.  I hadn't interviewed. I am back on the job market for the first time since I graduated.   I let my interviewing skills and algorithm design skills atrophy.   I had been all in on the startup life and didn't invest time in my ability to re-enter the job market. I scarcely even updated my résume.  I didn't notice that I was making progress on developing an application for a company without at the same time keeping my tools sharp. The time came to find another job.  Frankly, it was daunting.  It was at this moment that I called on my Hack Reactor network.  I reached out to cohort-mates, but more importantly, I reached out to the Alumni network through the Alumni director, Marlene Tang.  She was by far the most supportive resource available to get oriented in the job search.  I was able to reconnect with fellow grads who had recently returned to the job market.  I was even able to receive mentorship from another grad to help me with algorithms and whiteboarding, a skill which feels like it had all but disappeared. I received in-network leads of opportunities for which I could apply.  The Alumni director had a keen sense of who was where and could essentially facilitate matchmaking with companies that were looking. In the end, I found a new opportunity that really is a dream job.  It so happens that it turned out to be one of the companies where another Hack Reactor grad was working.  I can't tell you how grateful I am for the ongoing perks of being part of the Hack Reactor community.  This next move is a big step in my career, unlocking doors to tracks that didn't exist before. Interviewing is grueling, even if you are experienced and well-connected.  The interviewing process for engineers involves all sorts of assessments.  There are short, automated, timed coding challenges.  I have experienced technical trivia questionnaire and odd thought experiments.  I have spent hours on takehomes; I have devoted days to multi-session technical interviews; it is as though the list goes on.  It is tiring and discouraging.  I cannot overstate the privilege of having a support system like the Hack Reactor Alumni Network, and being able to work with someone like Marlene. This relationship I invested in four years ago has made all the difference for me. The success I have experienced is in no small part due to the support of a fantastic community, led by a passionate, competent leader, Marlene Tang.  Thank you, Hack Reactor. Thank you, fellow grads, for being awesome people and making the community what it is.

I was coming from a career in non-profit affordable housing. I needed to update my skills and prove that I could be a success in tech. Hack Reactor seemed to be the most rigorous, advanced, outcome based program there is and that proved true in every... Read More sense. The program directly taught full stack javascript, but really was teaching us how to learn and adapt to an ever changing field. I had an amazing cohort, that I still keep in touch with and have reaped the benefits ever since. During my time there, I have to mention that they added a counselor to help with the job search. This was not only invaluable, but Marlene Tang went on to become the Alumni Director for Hack Reactor's program. Even post job search, post job 1, in consideration of next moves and career growth, Marlene has been a constant source of invaluable advice and support. She builds a network and has even helped me by referring folks when I was looking to hire. People like this make the program what is is. No regrets, Hack Reactor was one of the best decisions I've ever made and it can be for you too. www.zdlopez.com to read all about my experience at HR.

Back when I had my mid-20s career crisis, I decided to narrow down the industries I was interested in to Tech and Real Estate. Discovered Tech was far easier to enter and earn high pay in, and it dominated the area that I live in, SF, so I chose Tech.... Read More I figured the most valuable skillset in Tech is programming, and the best coding bootcamp was HR, so I went to Hack Reactor. Google even paid for 2/3 of the cost due to our educational benefit, and the fact that I didn't leave long enough to lose my benefits, and then I came back to do a rotation as an engineer. HR had a great curriculum, teachers (Alan and Frank), impressive peers, and an extremely valuable outcomes team that taught me how to job search before and after my rotation was over. After my rotation was over and long after I graduated, I still got support from Marlene Tang on the outcomes team, even though she wasn't assigned to assist alumni, in order to find my new job at Adobe. HR is one big family in the end, and I'm so grateful to everyone I encountered along this journey for making my life possible.

Going in, I had set the parameters of my expectations somewhat strictly. I simply wanted to learn what it takes to become an employable software engineer- some who removes, rather than contributes to, technical debt.

Hack Reactor was so much more than... Read More just that.

Of course, the curriculum gave me enough experience that I could figure my way around any web development projects. The junior phase strengthened my confidence with various specific technologies through challenging sprints. The senior phase allowed me to consolidate my understanding of web frameworks + database technologies into viable products, as well as flesh out communication skills by coordinating development with peers, who at this point were working with me as partners.

But it takes much more than only technical expertise to excel in the tech industry. Hack Reactor provided networking opportunities and informative talks from experienced software engineers that grants new grads with the assurance of mentorship and community, making even life-changing transformations far less scary.

Something I deeply appreciated about the organization of the cohorts was the stimulating diversity of my peers. People truly came from all walks of life. This aspect of the program sets it apart from traditional university programs in that you are no longer immersed in your same age stratum. I was the youngest in my cohort, so I went through the program with the mindset that I'll have the most to learn from the life experiences of others. This made Hack Reactor more than just an education. It was a life experience.

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,... Read More 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 actually get to the next phase of my career, up my skillset, and be better prepared in the job search. There's no secret to the tech stack that they teach you at Hack Reactor and you could probably get the same info without having to attend. BUT... getting accepted and going through the program is one of the most valuable and rewarding experiences because for 13+ intensive weeks: -You're learning about software engineering and computer science fundamentals by implementing full stack applications using JavaScript and Node.js; -You get a higher level understanding of building full stack applications (both the front and backend); -Get a great baseline for computer science fundamentals; -Build a portfolio of projects you can showcase to future employers; and -Learn the soft skills of partner and team collaboration. One thing I never took for granted are the 36-hour sprints where we're required to learn a new technology or computer science concept on the fly without any prior training or experience. As a Hack Reactor graduate, we're trained to learn new skills and technologies in a pressurized and time sensitive environment to the point it develops into a growth and learning mindset. Once you graduate, that mindset never leaves you and only serves you well in the job search and later in your career. After graduating Hack Reactor, the job search is the HARDEST thing you'll ever do. It's a long and arduous process filled with studying, filling applications, getting rejected, learning from your rejections/mistakes, and passing the coding challenges and interviews before you get an offer. Everyone's job search is different, but I was lucky enough to leverage the wonderful and amazing career counseling services Hack Reactor has to offer post graduation. My outcomes coach deserves special praise and lots of credit for teaching me to be methodical and tenacious about my job search, as well as being a good friend for all the rejections that almost resulted in a job offer. And the alumni community is nothing short of supportive and caring. All you have to do is ask for help, and somebody is always willing to answer your question or give you a heads up about a job opportunity at their current company. Looking back on my time and what I can look forward to in my career, I can honestly say that attending Hack Reactor was one of the best decisions I ever made, and I'd do it again.

Hack Reactor provides just enough guidance while still allowing students to be curious and autonomous. You will learn certain concepts by completing two-day projects/sprints during the junior phase. During the senior phase you are put into teams and are... Read More tasked with completing 3 capstone projects. These projects put you in a simulated work environment that allows students to self-organize and get hands on experience with agile software development with limited guidance. I made the decision to switch careers and started learning JavaScript about 6 months before I started the immersive and I'm amazed at how much I've learned from the program. They did a great job of covering not only technical skills, but soft skills as well. The staff are wonderful and very much invested in your development and success.

I had a decade-long career in teaching before I decided to pivot to software engineering. I had a lot of friends (and a family member) go through Hack Reactor, so I was already familiar with its content, expectations, outcomes, etc. That familiarity did... Read More NOT diminish the difficulty of the program. You will likely hit wall after wall after wall. Each time you fail, you have to pick yourself up and try a difference approach. Basically, you have to learn to deal well with failure and not allow yourself to cave in. This is by design, as Hack Reactor stresses autonomy its benchmark skill. They attempt to simulate a workplace as best they can, and this strategy proves itself effective in the results of the percentage of Hack Reactor grads that gain employment as software engineers. Additionally, you get out of the program exactly what you put into it. You can skirt by and do a whole lot and still complete the program, but you will be essentially unemployable. You have to approach this program with the mindset that your success is up to you, your effort, and that the program itself intrinsically owes you nothing beyond serving as a competent guide. Pros: • The staff and instructors take student feedback seriously. When things aren't working, they care about what you have to say and will do their best to improve things. • Feedback is constant. If you are not doing well, the support is there immediately for you. You can also elect to have office hours (private one-on-one sessions) with instructors and instructional assistants (SEIRs) as much as you want, even outside instructional hours, to reinforce concepts you don't fully understand. • The focus is on becoming employable literally the whole time. You don't just become a better coder, you receive soft skills training as its relevant to the industry. You face not only technical challenges, but they rip off the bandaid of having to deal with interpersonal conflicts in a constructive, professional way when they inevitably arise. • The emotional support is there. The instructors know the program is hard as hell and extremely taxing both intellectually and emotionally. There are weekly check-ins and elective office hours with someone whose job it is specifically deal with student-wellness issues. • The vast majority of what is taught is still industry relevant. They don't just teach the bleeding, cutting edge, but also slightly older technology as well because you will inevitably deal with refactoring or working with legacy code in your job. • The senior phase focus on building full-stack apps was great, and those apps are meant to go on your resume. As of right now, October 2020, they are also currently re-tooling that aspect of the course to be more enriching, so that's nice. Cons • Especially during the junior phase, the solution lectures to sprints (two-day cram sessions where you are introduced to a concept or a technology and then work on a project relevant to that concept/tech with another student) are often six-year-old videos during which you don't get to ask questions. The implementations discussed are often above the level of understanding of someone who has just been exposed to a certain technology. And because they're presented in video format, you don't get to ask your own questions like the students in the recording made six years ago did. • Contact with instructors was surprisingly low. I did enter at a unique time of transition on my campus where the instructors were short handed, but that did impact my experience. • There is currently no professional code review. You write a lot of code and not one line of it was ever reviewed by someone who has had a job in the industry. Logistically this would be difficult, and that concern was addressed when I complete the program. Those cons being said, I know those things are on the minds of the program designers. They aren't stagnant, they have a growth mindset, and I do know they are constantly working to improve things. So by the time you read this, those cons might not exist anymore or they've at least been addressed to some extent.