Hack Reactor

Great curriculum to learn JavaScript and web development concepts with strong support for finding a job in tech. By the end if you work through all the material, you'll have a solid understanding of JavaScript, React, building an Express web server, deployment,... Read More database interaction, testing, working as a team with git/GitHub, and how to learn autonomously. These concepts are all important to working as a software engineer so the material seems well curated.

I graduated from Hack Reactor in late January 2020. For context for this review, I came into the program with 8 years of work experience in a STEM field. But basically no code experience outside one intro class in college a decade prior. My classmates... Read More had a large spectrum of past experience, from those with months or years of exposure to people without college degrees who had never coded before. Curriculum: The curriculum is broken down into two halves - "junior" and "senior". In the "junior" half, we pair-programmed in 2-day sprints. Looking back, I think the topics of the sprints were spot-on for learning the important topics in the job market. The structure of the sprints also emphasized the right mindset - figuring things out yourself (being autonomous without spoonfed instructions/answers) and working collaboratively with a partner. On the "senior" side, we worked on 3 meaty projects that served as most people's resume centerpieces upon graduation. Instructors: The instruction in the program included Zoom conferences by very experienced senior staff that we did not interact with outside of those lectures, as well as occasional workshops by the cohort's Technical Mentor(s) who were the assigned staff for our cohort. I found most of the Zoom lectures to be high quality though I found the electronic format less effective than in-person could have been. The cohort staff were supportive and really cared about students' success, but the philosophy of the bootcamp was to learn things on your own, so while I learned some from the cohort staff, it didn't become a centerpiece of my experience. I actually felt like a lot of learning was through interacting with my peers. So I would give 5 stars to our wonderful, hardworking staff but 4 stars for the program structure which I felt lacked direct interface with senior technical experts that could provide code review feedback (our cohort staff were recent graduates of the program and very sharp but lacked the battle scars to convey best practices from years of coding in industry). Job Assistance: They will not get you a job. That will be on you. But they will provide lots of support in the form of a job coach, support group, and active Slack community that posts resources and word-of-mouth job postings. The job hunt was grueling and in my opinion, in some ways harder than the program itself, because there were so many factors that were more about luck and timing than skill, and especially exacerbated due to the exceptional circumstances of trying to find a job amidst the COVID-19 global pandemic (hiring freezes, a flooded candidate pool due to recent layoffs, fully remote processes negating hard-earned whiteboarding practice/skills). Overall Experience: Overall, Hack Reactor was a great way to learn all I needed to pivot into Software Engineering. I personally would not have been able to get to where I am now without it. And one of the best parts for me was meeting a group of new lifelong friends.

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... Read More 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.

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... Read More amazing and supportive.

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... Read More 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.

I completed the SE Immersive last year in July. The 13 week program is intense and exhaustive. The faculty provides amazing support and are incredibly encouraging towards those eager to learn. But be prepared to put in a lot of work. You get out of this... Read More Immersive exactly how much you put in to it. Over the course of the program you'll be taught a variety of technologies with a significant focus on the fundamentals of computer science that made me feel very prepared for the job search. There is also a focus on being self sufficiency as you progress through the program which prepares you for your job environment. Every aspect of this immersive if meant to prepare for both your job search and your actual job as well. I highly recommend this Immersive if you're looking to start a career in Software Engineering and are genuinely passionate about Computer Science.

Hack Reactor was the perfect environment to learn as much as possible in the shortest amount of time. It is a bootcamp in every sense of the word. You will be pushed to your limits, given assignments that seem impossible, and come out transformed. I have... Read More nothing but positive things to say about the program. The course material is fantastics, the sprints are well designed, the tech stack is industry relevant and the projects teach real world development methodologies.

Hack Reactor sets a high bar for all prospective and incoming students, they will only take in the students that they believe will succeed once you have a job. With a bar set high you'll be surrounded by others that are motivate to be there and excited... Read More to grow. People come into the program with all different backgrounds and experiences and each of them have the ability to prosper and become software engineers. The staff will always go above and beyond to help with what you need, but they won't hold your hand through the process. You will need to be able to work with your classmates to solve the problems that you are tasked with solving. One of the biggest advantages I found was that I got to see how other people solved problems, how they approached them, the mistakes that they made, and ultimately the final solution they have. It's an excellent program that I'm happy to have gone through.

Overall Pros and Cons:
Pros:
- Surrounded by like minded individuals who want to learn and grow.
- Very little hand holding throughout the program. You'll need to solve problems like you would in a work environment by researching, reading, asking for help from classmates.
- Intensive. You will learn a lot in a short amount of time. When you look back you will be surprised at how much you've learned.
- Instruction staff are all wonderful who go above and beyond for students.
- Large alumni network that can help you in the job search.
- Staff open to changing curriculum to best fit needs of the students.
- Technical and soft skills will improve.
- You get to learn algorithms that will help in the job search.
- Get to work on projects.
- Career Support.

Cons:
- Expensive.
- Long days. 6 days a week will wear on you by the end of the program.

The program isn't for everyone it isn't easy and you need to be focused, motivated, and fully dedicated to the program. But if you put in the time and effort you can succeed.

Before HR, I took the traditional route by attending a four year university for Computer Science but quickly became unamused and unmotivated because of its poor atmosphere. After a few years, I decided to look into Hack Reactor and I can confidently say... Read More this was easily one of the best decisions that I’ve made in my career! I am so grateful for this program however it is not for everyone, the curriculum is tough and can be very demanding. It aims to challenge your skills and your passion for programming. HR provides a very supportive and friendly atmosphere. You are often engaging with your peers and the instructors are always willing to help. I came into this boot camp with zero to minimal knowledge in programming but with the three months that HR provided me, I can genuinely say that I am leaving with the skills that I need to become a successful Software Engineer. Two months after graduation, I got a job offer from IBM as a Cloud Developer. Before I end this review, I want to thank my instructor Zubair, Linden, Christina and all the friends I’ve made through Hack Reactor for going on this journey with me because without their patience and knowledge, I wouldn’t have the skill sets that I have today.

I started the Hack Reactor prep program (then called Structured Study Program) in November of 2018, entered the full-time immersive in February of 2019, graduated that May, stayed on in an associate instructor role until August, and started my position... Read More as a full stack engineer in September. I hadn't touched or read about code before November of 2018 (unless a few lines of HTML in middle school counts). If your plan is to put everything else on pause and give the program and job search 100% of you, it works.

I think the critical pieces to the success of the program are: its emphasis on both hard and soft skills, its focus on community-building around shared goals, and the pivot into career readiness and support as students approach graduation.

Students spend as much time and energy leveling up their ability to communicate and collaborate with others, verbalize their technical work with accessible language, and iterate on their workflow and project planning as they do on leveling up their technical abilities. This is huge for both nailing technical interviews and performing on the job as a software engineer (which are two different beasts). It's not enough to be great at coding or communicating; both are necessary. Students are guided by technical instructors and counselors, each of who are passionate, dedicated people who genuinely care about their students' success. They do a great job of fostering a community, which certainly helps with motivation/morale, but also improves technical growth through collaborative approaches to the material. It also translates to professional networking. You're likely to meet amazing people going through such a rigorous program that places such high value on people skills. I certainly did.

The curriculum is iterative; both students and instructors are in tight feedback loops, and schedules and assignments are flexible to match the needs of students and industry trends. Side note: I think it's important to view the curriculum as a tool rather than a transformative environment-- you won't move through it and level up into a software engineer. You'll use it, along with Google and your peers, to figure out how to solve a million tiny problems and a few big ones. It (the curriculum) has some shortcomings, but I think the overall system works, and I think it serves its purpose.

The career support is huge. The career counselors meet with you regularly after graduation to coach you through the job hunt, working on/vetting doc's like resumes, covers, emails, etc., and practicing interview talking points, compensation deflection and negotiation, and general mental model/strategy work. I found this critical to my success in the job hunt. Special shout out to Lena Johnson in the Remote campus.

Overall, the program provides what it says it will: the environment, tools, resources, and people for you to figure out how to software engineer.