| | Adrian M. | 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 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. |
| | Anonymous | It’s been almost four years since I’ve graduated from the program (SF onsite, June - September 2016), but enough people have reached out to me since then that I felt like it was worth the time to summarize my thoughts and experiences for others.
Hack Reactor was, by far, one of the best decisions I’ve made to jumpstart my career. I did pretty extensive research beforehand to try to figure out which bootcamp was right for me, and HR stood out immediately because of how structured and intense it was. I was serious about making the career pivot as quickly as possible, and I wanted to be surrounded by people who would push me to be my best.
The curriculum (and industry) changes enough that it’s probably not worth me focusing on the education side of it, so instead, I want to talk about the job placement support afterwards. Both jobs that I’ve gotten since graduating are due to the Hack Reactor network, and specifically, the alumni support program. I truly believe that the resources available after graduation is worth the entire financial investment and more. I was assigned Marlene as my career coach, and I seriously lucked out. She truly goes above and beyond the scope of her duties to ensure that she is accessible at all hours and under all circumstances. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve reached out minutes before phone interviews for last-minute pep talks, or spent hours of her time getting her help to draft the perfect response during salary negotiations. When I started my second job search, I reached out to Marlene on a whim to see if she might be able to give some job search advice, but she went even further to connect me with other alumni, the corporate partnership program, and personally coached me through each one of the offers I landed. I was one and a half years past my graduation date, and she wasn’t even a full-time career coach anymore, but it didn’t matter to her. However, it truly made a huge difference for me to not have to go through the job search and interview process on my own.
Everyone’s post-graduation experience is different, but what I truly think makes Hack Reactor stand out is that they actually have dedicated resources to make sure your successes don’t end after you finish your classes. Having Marlene by my side during the most life-altering job search of my career is something that I will be forever grateful for and why I consistently recommend Hack Reactor to others who are seriously considering coding bootcamps to make the career shift. It’s worth the investment a thousand times over. |
