Hack Reactor

The Hack Reactor software engineering immersive is a really great program for someone who is committed to learning the skills necessary of becoming a javascript software developer. You will be required to devote 12 weeks and won't really have time to... Read More do anything else, such as spending time with friends, working a job, etc., but if you can do it then it’s totally worth the effort. (there is also a 36-week program, which I imagine is less demanding) During my time at Hack Reactor, I learned about a variety of concepts and technologies that I still use at my current position as a full-stack software engineer. The topics covered in the course include, but are not limited to, Javascript, Node.js, React.js, SQL/NoSQL databases, Express, API design, and Object-Oriented Programming. You will develop your ability to learn new technologies, which is very important to have as a software developer. From my experience, the culture at hack reactor was super supportive. All the staff was very approachable and friendly, and due to the nature of the course, a sense of Camaraderie formed between most of the students. Any issues that might have arisen were often quickly handled in order to keep everything running smoothly for everyone. After completion of the course, there is not a guarantee of a job at some company, but you will be provided with a lot of other support, such as mock interviews, resume building advice, and regular check-ins to see how your search is doing. Overall I think that if you are willing to put in the time, you will learn a lot of skills to help get your foot in the software development industry. You will have a lot of support from staff both during and after completion of the course, and the culture among students is super supportive. Would definitely recommend it.

Having so many different options on which bootcamp to attend, I am so happy I went with Hack Reactor. In the 12 weeks I learned so much and felt very prepared to enter the work force. The entire time I felt very supported and never felt alone in my journey.... Read More Their curriculum is very well made and I loved working on my projects.

Switching careers is always scary especially when you need to take 4 months out of your life to learn a new skill. Having a few friends that went through the program before me, made it easy for me to decide on this bootcamp. Like everything, you will... Read More get as much out of this program as you choose to put in. There was not an opportunity to go to either campus by my house so I had to take the class online. I was very much NOT looking forward to this but it turned out amazing. I have life long friends from it and one even visited the day after graduation. I absolutely love my new job and career and I couldnt have made this transition without Hack Reactor. They even got me the interview that landed me the job. Having been working as a software engineer for over a year now I can say this program is worth every penny.

Hack Reactor's software engineering immersive program was exactly what I had in mind when deciding to attend a boot camp and make a career change. The curriculum left me fully equipped for a career in software engineering upon graduation. Alongside javascript... Read More you learn the entirety of the MERN stack and are exposed to a number of other current technologies. The free prep program and technical assessment prior to enrollment were instrumental in introducing me to basic software engineering principles and ensured that I really got a great bang for my buck when the program began. Pros: A very professional well structured environment. Building of a portfolio through the development of multiple full stack projects. Constantly updated curriculum to encapsulate new technologies. A dedicated Career Services team to assist with job search prep as well as post-graduation job search guidance. Cons: This program is full time 11hr/day, 6 days/week. Having a part time job or other obligations are highly discouraged and nearly impossible.

I graduated from Hack Reactor's San Francisco campus (held entirely online due to COVID-19) in February 2021, and I strongly recommend this program for anyone looking to break into software engineering. Before Hack Reactor, I worked in the Pharmaceutical... Read More industry and had no coding experience. When I became interested in making a career change, I researched Hack Reactor, having heard good things about it through a friend who had made a similar career change a couple of years prior. What stands out to me about the program are two things: First, the curriculum is carefully curated and iterated upon endlessly to expose you to all of the relevant and essential concepts in software engineering and full-stack web development. Second, the staff are top-notch and provide excellent support in guiding you to be a professional and autonomous software engineer. The team understands the program's difficulty, monitors everyone's progress, checks in regularly, and provides support as needed. Overall, I believe the program was well worth the time, money, and effort spent. I would not have been able to get up to speed as quickly as I did without Hack Reactor and the excellent staff. Pros: I learned a lot in such a short time and met great people. Cons: To get the most out of the course requires your complete attention and dedication for a few months.

An amazing, whirlwind experience that is unique to itself. The first half of the program was a mixture of pair and solo work and lectures on JavaScript fundamentals, data structures, and then into the 3 main sections of web development, front-end, server,... Read More and databases. As an introvert, the idea of pair-programing was distressing at first, but I tried to embrace it once I was in it. I found it was immensely beneficial for building my technical communication skills while in a friendly environment. This was a great way to get to know my cohort mates as well. The program had great structure that guided my focus and energy. Progressing further into the course, it became less "handholding" and more autonomy, such as independently finding and reading through documentation to understand how something works or to do something. It was a bit overwhelming, but it helped me build confidence in my own abilities to figure out a solution. Even though autonomy was encouraged, help was always available. Throughout the course, I felt completely supported by the faculty and my fellow cohort mates. If I was stuck on a particular coding challenge, I was able to request help through "Help Desk" and the response was within 5 minutes through a Zoom call. From my experience, the course is designed to be challenging, but it's not intended for anyone to suffer alone and I believe the program does its best to prevent that from happening. The second half of the program has 4 projects from solo work, to small groups, and then to the entire cohort. Time frees up with less lectures and more self-study and project work. This helped me understand how to build an application as part of a team and how to contribute code in a shared development environment, which is great real world experience. Each project had its own challenges and difficulties, but it was just incredibly rewarding to see everyone's hard work and effort in the final products. Now, I have these projects on my resume to show future employers of my abilities. Don't feel like you have to be "100%" ready to sign up, but you don't want to be unprepared either. Make sure you are comfortable with solving the pre-course material as the pace ramps up significantly once you are in the main program. When you are ready, I hope you choose to attend Hack Reactor. It won't be a decision you regret.

Joining Hack Reactor was hands-down one of the best decisions that I could have made for myself. The program does an extraordinary job of providing students with the tools they need to be successful, both technically and professionally. In-depth lectures,... Read More supportive campus staff, exciting challenges and projects, and all-around amazing people. The environment is fast-paced - expect to learn something completely new every couple of days for the first six weeks. It will be up to you to reach out for help or find additional resources if you’re not understanding something. But in return, expect a fantastic support group from both local and program-wide staff, a powerful network of alumni for you to connect with, your own Career Services Manager that will push you through the job search, and friends that will last a lifetime!

Joining Hack Reactor was hands-down one of the best decisions that I could have made for myself. The program does an extraordinary job of providing students with the tools they need to be successful, both technically and professionally. In-depth lectures,... Read More supportive campus staff, exciting challenges and projects, and all-around amazing people. I came into the program with a decent amount of coding experience and was surprised to learn much more than I was expecting to. The program is dedicated to the success of each student and will do everything they can to help you land your first job as a software engineer. With that said, be prepared to put in the work. As helpful and dedicated as the staff members are, nothing is going to be handed to you on a silver platter. The assignments are tough and it’s not uncommon for students to be coding late nights. The environment is fast-paced - expect to learn something completely new every couple of days for the first six weeks. It will be up to you to reach out for help or find additional resources if you’re not understanding something. But in return, expect a fantastic support group from both local and program-wide staff, a powerful network of alumni for you to connect with, your own Career Services Manager that will push you through the job search, and friends that will last a lifetime! 

I came in with high expectations and my experience far exceeded those expectations. I have never learned so much in such a short period of time. The culture was very healthy in that in pushed us to the limits of our abilities, and often beyond those abilities,... Read More but was always there to catch us and help us grow.

I am a strong believer in disrupting our traditional education system. Hack Reactor fills an important niche. It is rigorously designed; staff care, but hold you accountable. If you are serious about making a switch to software engineering, then this... Read More will be a great, structured springboard to a new skill and potentially a new career. IF you are ***insanely*** self-motivated and already build your own applications, this course is probably not for you. Everybody else, consider it after doing some research. Don't go anywhere but a top tier program (HR, App Academy, and a few others). Although the program overall is great I worry that bootcamps in general have gone downhill. I have many friends that went through bootcamps in their early days, who are now engineers. Instructors at these early stages were all highly qualified engineers, with many years of experience, that had a deep interest in teaching. However, instructors for Hack Reactor now are almost universally former graduates, MANY OF WHOM HAVE SPENT LITTLE OR NO TIME IN INDUSTRY. Whether this is due to limited teaching talent and an excess of demand with too many bootcamps, I do not know, but the result is a much less experienced staff. You must go into the program realizing that the lion's share of learning will be done by you, yourself, and your cohort mates. Commitment to quality education is high at the very top. Marcus, the co-founder is stellar. You will learn from him personally, but those experiences are limited, and the excellent pedagogical skills he possesses are not well-distributed throughout the organization. In a similar vein, the curriculum is a few years old. Updates come slowly, if at all. The organization seems to have developed quite a bit of inertia, and its educational content is still running on the momentum of absolutely superstar instructors from the early days like Fred Zirdung. You will see quite a few videos from him explaining concepts. But in an industry that is so fast-paced, it is disconcerting to see videos that are so old. At the end of the day, these are challenges I assume many bootcamps have to wrestle. However, if the best value adds of the program are that it creates an environment for self-directed learning and provides a proven rigorous (albeit aging) curriculum, you really have to ask yourself, 'will I bring relentless focus and a commitment to explore and internalized outside resources to the table?' If so, then this is probably the right place for you, and it will change your life despite its limited drawbacks. If not, then keep studying coding on the side via free resources. The rest of the staff is incredibly supportive and committed to your success. Especially if you have not had a job, there is some good basic career advice most people never receive in high school or college. Finally the program is technically stable. Few changes and high throughput means few errors and a high degree of stability for all materials and resources you utilize. Finally, HR does a great job of ensuring quality via remote learning. So if you are worried the pandemic or distance learning will and asterisk to your degree here, don't.