| | Alex Leo | Like you, I was extremely skeptical of attending a programming bootcamp. The thought of it just seemed way to good to be true, there had to be a catch, and there is one. The catch is hard work. The only way to achieve success at a bootcamp is the same way you achieve success anywhere else: putting in 100% effort and persevering. I was unsure of the remote experience and whether I would like the structure of the class or not, so I attended the remote prep program. The prep course was worth the money and gave me a great preview of what the Hack Reactor environment felt like and I loved it. I wasn't sure if the full program would be worth the money (spoiler alert it TOTALLY was) or that it would really be enough education to get me a job with zero experience. I read dozens of reviews from alumni saying that Hack Reactor was the best choice they ever made. Finally, I decided to go for it, got accepted, and never looked back.
Even in a remote environment the staff finds ways to bring the class together for an unrivaled sense of comradery and collaboration. All of the staff and students I encountered during my time in the course were, without exaggeration, the nicest and most intelligent group of people I have ever met. I didn't have a single negative interaction. Prior to Hack Reactor, I didn't have any professional programming experience. All of the material covered in the curriculum is accurate and relevant, containing all of the most in demand skills in the Javascript ecosystem and delivered in an effective (but really rapid) manner. After graduating Hack Reactor in December of 2016, I got a job offer in January of 2017 for a Full Stack Software Engineer role that has gone above and beyond my expectations.
I got an amazing job, thanks to the skills I picked up during my time at Hack Reactor. Some of these non-technical skills include writing a resume, how to ace job interviews, and tips on how to be effecting during the job search. I was able to get an amazing job, that I still love, at a very reputable company. Hack Reactor prepared me extremely well for the path that lay ahead after I left the program. I still tell everyone I meet how much I love Hack Reactor and what a great experience it was. The education that Hack Reactor provides is so impressive and it was doubly as apparent once I was on the job able to keep up with experienced engineers.
All of the team members and management I interact with at my current job are honestly quite amazed at the efficacy of the program and the amount I was able to learn in 3 months.
Hack Reactor is by far an amazing overall experience, and I would go back and do it all over again if I could. |
| | Wes Young | I went through the Hack Reactor Remote program last fall and it was by far the best educational experience I have ever had. It was a rigorous 12 weeks and took a good deal of preparation leading up to it but overall it was definitely worth it. Everyone I went through the program with along with all of the instructors and staff members went above and beyond to make the program the best that it could be. The job support team upon graduating was amazing as well and provided excellent resources to guide me through the job search. I was able to get an awesome job as a Full Stack Software Engineer within 4 weeks of graduating and I love what I do.
If you are willing to put in the work and love code, Hack Reactor is definitely worth the investment! |
| | Emily JOnes | I graduated in September from the Hack Reactor Remote program. Since then I’ve been an HiR doing personal tech coaching and interviews, and I recently accepted a fantastic offer from a really cool company.
I really can’t recommend HR enough. What really stood out to me early and often was the amount and quality of the career education and support. I attended a reasonably good 4-year public university and never received anything near the quality or quantity of fantastic career support as I have at Hack Reactor. Even early in the course, there are lectures going over the qualities that make a successful software engineer, what to expect, how to navigate the job market, how to market yourself, etc. Then, once you’ve graduated you’ll receive amazing continued job support. When I got my offer, I took it to my fantastic career coach and she helped me with the negotiation process. Negotiating is really hard for me, but she coached me through it, helping me script questions and responses so that my nerves wouldn’t overtake me during the negotiation. We did mock negotiations with role-playing so I could get used to phrasing the sentences correctly. Ultimately I negotiated an already great offer up a bit, and I was happy to accept at that point. I cannot put into words how valuable this is, what’s the good of learning the skills if you can’t get past the application process? Hack Reactor gets people’s butts in jobs, and that’s partly due to the fantastic career coaching and outcomes team who help you put the cherry on top.
They’ll also help you A LOT with resume writing. That’s also the bane of my existence, but with their coaching and help I produced a fantastic resume that got me in to a phone screen easily with several companies. I didn’t even need to attend the last week of the program (since I got a job :D) that goes really intensely over writing cover letters, resume review, job application support and white boarding practice.
Ok, aside from the job stuff, the quality of the course is amazing. You’re working on functioning code bases, mostly to add new features or implement required ones. You’re building web apps from day 1 (Ok, maybe not until day 7 when the sprints start). You are really plunged into the deep end from day one and forced to swim. Be warned: you must be an autonomous person who is goal oriented to take this course. Yes, there is guidance and structure, but it’s ultimately up to you to get what you need done to succeed in the course. There will invariably be extra work you need to do outside of class in order to keep up since it is so fast-paced.
I found the sprints challenging, but not overly-so. I found week 4 to be particularly challenging, and really doubted my skills, but the counseling and tech mentors helped me get where I needed to be. It seems crazy that 12 weeks is enough to get people all the skills they need to succeed, but I found that it was more than sufficient to get me into a job. I was even a bit over-prepared. I barely sent out applications; I applied for one, and was asked to interview for a second that I met at a job fair who had seen my resume. I received an offer from both, and ultimately went with the first one that I had applied to. I’m still completely astounded at how easy, painless and quick the job search was, but that’s because I was impeccably prepared and supported throughout (mix some dumb luck in there too). Granted, the jobs I applied for were both to startups, who value more practical skills to get you in the door. I didn’t have to do any white boarding or algorithm problems, just really practical stuff that I found (frankly) really easy.
By and large, your classmates will be fantastic. Hack Reactor goes to great lengths to make sure it admits people who are not only intellectually capable of the rigorous pace and difficult concepts, but those who will be enjoyable to collaborate with. I had so many helpful classmates that made a huge impact on my success in the course.
I would recommend that if you take the course, you set up after-hours study groups early and often. They were instrumental in helping me understand the material.
I’m a female in tech which isn’t always easy, but the support I received from Hack Reactor makes that much easier. I’ll be the first female engineer at my new job. If you’re wondering if you’ll be a good fit for Hack Reactor specifically because you’re a woman/unconfident about your skills or your ability, don’t worry. If you can get into Hack Reactor and get past the pre-course work, you’ve got what it takes to succeed in the program and on the job. You might be judged by dumb guys from time to time, but that just helps you build up a thick skin. For the most part everyone has been great.
This course is HARD and it will kick your ass. But (at least in my case) you might go from zero coding knowledge, to teaching yourself coding, to Hack Reactor, to an amazing job in less than a year. I can confidently say it was the absolute best decision I have ever made in my life, as well as the hardest thing I have ever done. I am incredibly grateful not only to the founders for starting the school, but to all the tech mentors, counselors, coordinators and cohort mates who put in so much hard work and care to make the program amazing.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll do my best to respond.
TL;DR:
Unbeatable job support, insane value for the money, challenging but doable sprints, awesome cohort mates, fantastic tech and morale support/mentoring, insane outcomes (yes, those numbers are accurate). The most difficult thing I have ever done, and the best decision I have ever made. DOOO IIIT! IT WORKS! Regarding a few negative reviews I have read... really? 98% employment after 6 months is not impressive? Do you have any idea what the rate is for a 4 year college? I went to college and NEVER got a job in what I studied, let alone 6 months later.
And yes, there's a lot of self-teaching during the program -- they're trying not to set you up to need your hand held through every bit of code you have to work with. I've been working as professional frontend engineer for 6 months now, and I can say that the real world is very similar to how life feels at hack reactor -- you're thrown into an unfamiliar situation, without any expertise about the code, and you need to figure out how to find your way out of the problem. I'm grateful that they didn't hold my hand through the course-- it would have been a rude awakening to move into the job and suddenly have little support and no skills to figure things out by myself. |
| | Daniel Chang | I recently graduated from Hack Reactor Remote. I will say, I didn’t expect to learn so much through the process. If I had known, I would have made the jump instead of letting life situations somewhat force me into it.
Background
I was an Applied Math major at UC Berkeley, but ended up going down a more business oriented route. I got into online and mobiles games at an early stage and was able to progress pretty decently in my career through that. Still, I always had a passion for building things and if a few things had gone a bit differently would probably have ended up being an engineer down a different path.
Unfortunately that didn’t happen, but I kept wanting to make the switch. Of course I gave myself the same excuses; switching careers is a pretty big risk, I’m too old (mid 30’s), etc.
Fast forward many years, many things happen but I find myself in a position where I’m considering some bootcamps. After a lot of research, I narrowed down my choices to App Academy and Hack Reactor.
Why Hack Reactor
I got accepted to both App Academy and Hack Reactor Remote (didn’t actually finish the application to Hack Reactor onsite because of scheduling). Ultimately I chose Hack Reactor Remote for two reasons (keep in mind this is before starting the program). (1) It was remote and (2) six days a week.
I was initially concerned that I wouldn’t feel as connected with my cohort mates because it was remote, but Hack Reactor does a great job of providing an awesome space to build connections and friendships with others you’re learning with. Also for me personally I’m super open to moving away from the SF Bay Area in the future, so it’s nice to have built relationships with people in other regions.
On top of that, by being remote I saved a good 2 hours a day on commuting. Now, if you are moving to a new city to go do a bootcamp, this probably isn’t a concern for you but it was a realistic concern for me.
When I first heard that Hack Reactor was 6 days a week, I was honestly kind of turned off. As I thought more about it though, If I’m paying for this opportunity (and you are paying even with bootcamps that take a percentage later on), I best get the most out of it. The entire course is only 12 weeks long to begin with, that extra day per week does come in handy.
Also Javascript
Finally, it’s Javascript. There are many other studies out there, but when I was doing my research Javascript clearly was the language to learn. On top of that, once you get into asynchronous calls and such, it just seems natural to be using Javascript.
Material & Learning
Hack Reactor doesn’t just teach you how to code, but they teach you how to become a Software Engineer others want to hire and work with. With that, they teach how you mindsets and mentality needed to grow as a Software Engineer for now just your first job afterwards, but second, third, etc.
Hands down, you are going to learn so much.
The Bad
This isn’t for everyone. Getting in itself a pretty decent challenge. Unless you already have a good backround, be prepared to put in work just to get in. Once you’re in, it continues to get hard. I’ve been in long hour, high stress work situations but nothing really compared to the mental challenge this program was. The plus side is when you come out of it, you know you can take anything on.
It isn’t for everyone. The only promise is you will get out of this what you put in. If you are not willing to put in the work before, during, AND after the program, it may not be for you. However if you are serious about moving into or leveling up your Software Engineering game then there is no better place. |
| | Ryo Wheatley | Hack Reactor is a daunting undertaking, to say the least. My experience was probably similar to many people out there - the novice programmer, the excitement of building and creating slowly budding in my chest as I explored the surface of programming, growing more enthralled with each new step I took into this marvelous new land until I finally decided to make that dreaded 66/hr a week/3 month plunge. It was exciting, but utterly terrifying, and I had no idea whether I was really going to be able to do it or not.
I've been out of Hack Reactor for 8 months (wow, that's a lot longer than I thought!) at the time of writing this review, and I can honestly say it was the best decision I have ever made. I am happily working in my preferred field, with my preferred techs, and I'm loving every minute of it. And I wouldn't have been able to do it without Hack Reactor.
Now, the school is not exactly what some might think. Those 3 months are not about cramming as many technologies into your head as they can manage, though they certainly do that. It's not about teaching the fundamentals of programming, or design, or data structures. It's about making you a good programmer.
Well, what the heck does that mean, right? Isn't a good programmer someone who knows the technologies?
Oh, it's so much more than that. What Hack Reactor does, better than any other school I've seen, is teach you to learn on the fly. This isn't some Business degree, where you learn the tools you're going to need for the rest of your career, and the rest is up to your own ingenuity. No. Programming is constantly changing, remolding itself, producing new tools and technologies that you need to learn at lightning speed. Just the other day I was handed a project to work on using a technology I had never touched before. And I knew I could do it.
Hack Reactor gave me confidence in my ability to grow and expand in whatever role I was given. Their teaching methods are rough, to be sure. This is not a school that you can float through on minimal effort. And you're not going to be spending just 66 hours a week on this, to be sure - not if you're going to truly experience the course. But that forced work ethic, the speed of the course, the amount of work that is asked of you - it drowns you in the material you're being taught. And if you're really trying, then it's impossible to not absorb it.
You have to be willing to put in the time and effort. You cannot expect the school to do everything for you, though they do everything they can to make sure you have no choice but to immerse yourself. If the idea of spending every waking moment on coding and learning and problem solving is tiring to you, if you cannot stand to be separate from your family for extended periods of time, if you cannot miss your weekly double movie nights out with your friends - then this is not the course for you.
If you are willing to put forth that effort, then you will be rewarded with the staff's unyielding patience and support. Every step of the way, I had support from numerous staff members, who were always there to offer help when I asked for it, and truly seemed to care about my success in the course.
Now there is a fair chance that I was simply lucky in the staff that I got. Every person is different, and it's entirely possible that some of the staff is not up to the standards that I experienced. But I can only write this review based off of what I went through, and the people I was lucky enough to be involed with.
As for other pluses of the school, the community was incredible. You will know everyone in your cohort by week 6, and many of these friendships can stay far beyond. I've made several very close friendships from my cohort, and I know that I can turn to them anytime I need them. Many of us work with fellow grads, with companies that were impressed after hiring their first Hack Reactor student and who decided to keep hiring. The staff does a great job of building a fun culture, with regular events to help ease the stress of the workload.
I would also say that the technologies they teach are fantastic choices for making any student an enticing job candidate. My company was ecstatic at my React knowledge, compounded with the other techs I had to back up my strength there. They know that if they have a problem anywhere in the stack, there's a good chance I could help them with it.
Above all, they gave me an experience that translated well into my new job. It wasn't like back in college, where I came out of my biology studies with no idea what my work would actually look like. Every thing they do is catered to the kind of pattern you'll be following in your everyday life in your new career, and though the job search, and starting a new job, are still daunting, it was incredibly easy to settle into my new role.
This may have come off as an overlong love poem to the school, but I honestly believe I could not have gotten where I am now without Hack Reactor. The support was incredible, and extends to this day. And I know if I need them, they'll still be there to help me. Not because their obligated to, but because they care.
So take this for what it's worth. If you're willing to stick with it, if you're willing to throw your all into this program, it can change your life. |
