| | Michael Scanza | I recently attended the Hack Reactor Extended Immersive program in fall of 2019. (HRR41) Prior to this, I have been and still am a professional musician and teacher. Originally I was set to attend the onsite program in Los Angeles, but the commute was rough and I had already met some awesome people in the initial extended portion who were doing remote, so I took the plunge. I decided quite late and the cohort was already full, but the remote team was willing to accept me. I met the counselor, Annah, and right away I knew I had made a good decision. She was so welcoming along with the whole team and I felt like I was in good hands. When we met Robin, the lead tech mentor, we all were immediately blown away. This guy is smart. He doesn't just know code. He knows right away the weaknesses in YOUR code. He knows how to push you to learn the hard parts that you may be struggling with. In this way, the program felt very tailored to ME. In addition, Annah was right there to push me on my soft skills. I tend to be a perfectionist, and she made me realize that coding can be a challenge, but it is about the long haul. She taught me to pace myself and to keep calm and centered. Hack Reactor is not an easy program. But if you find you have a passion for coding, or you just find it fun, you can succeed. In addition, the career services are amazing at Hack Reactor. I consider myself to be a self-motivated learner, but I would never have had the confidence to enter the field if not for this amazing part of the program. Shout out to Lena, she is so amazing. She helped with my resume, confidence, and gives you the tools to succeed in your job search. She really imparted a "make them say no" approach which I believe helped me land my first job. I was fortunate enough to stumble upon a coding challenge for a position at Amazon Game Studios. Immediately it felt like a Hack Reactor sprint, and even though I didn't really know how to start, the feeling was familiar. I worked hard, got through the interview process, and ultimately got the position. It has been such a rewarding career and I love what I get to do for a living. If you have a passion for coding and are considering a bootcamp, Hack Reactor is amazing. It literally changed my life. Big thank you to Robin, Annah, Lena, and Hack Reactor for helping me reach my goals. |
| | Anonymous | Pros :
Supportive, made new friends, tough curriculum, near boba shops, got plenty of play time and had some pizza parties.
Cons:
NONE.
Had a great time. I'd recommend this program to anyone. It was tough and I felt challenged. But instructional staff was amazing and supportive. |
| | Emily | Going to hack reactor was one of the best decisions I’ve made. It was a ton of hard work, fast learning and difficult concepts, but the way they teach you does work. I was never the top of my class, am not the smartest algorithmically. Hack reactor still got me where I needed to be and cared every step of the way. Sooo many skills I learned in HR are skills I’m using today in my job. I think I’ve earned respect quickly. My teammates know if I have a problem I can be very self sufficient, but also I know because of HR I can explain my issue well and pair program to figure it out. Only cons are the price, which is worth it to me because I’m making more $$ than I ever have, and the other is the amount of time it may take you to find a job. For most in my cohort it was at least 6 months. I know it isn’t only HR that has long job search times. The important part for that is to network like crazy and understand how much work it is to find a job. It’s worth it though! HR has helped me get a job I genuinely love, and a great future. |
