Hack Reactor

I was coming from a career in non-profit affordable housing. I needed to update my skills and prove that I could be a success in tech. Hack Reactor seemed to be the most rigorous, advanced, outcome based program there is and that proved true in every... Read More sense. The program directly taught full stack javascript, but really was teaching us how to learn and adapt to an ever changing field. I had an amazing cohort, that I still keep in touch with and have reaped the benefits ever since. During my time there, I have to mention that they added a counselor to help with the job search. This was not only invaluable, but Marlene Tang went on to become the Alumni Director for Hack Reactor's program. Even post job search, post job 1, in consideration of next moves and career growth, Marlene has been a constant source of invaluable advice and support. She builds a network and has even helped me by referring folks when I was looking to hire. People like this make the program what is is. No regrets, Hack Reactor was one of the best decisions I've ever made and it can be for you too. www.zdlopez.com to read all about my experience at HR.

Back when I had my mid-20s career crisis, I decided to narrow down the industries I was interested in to Tech and Real Estate. Discovered Tech was far easier to enter and earn high pay in, and it dominated the area that I live in, SF, so I chose Tech.... Read More I figured the most valuable skillset in Tech is programming, and the best coding bootcamp was HR, so I went to Hack Reactor. Google even paid for 2/3 of the cost due to our educational benefit, and the fact that I didn't leave long enough to lose my benefits, and then I came back to do a rotation as an engineer. HR had a great curriculum, teachers (Alan and Frank), impressive peers, and an extremely valuable outcomes team that taught me how to job search before and after my rotation was over. After my rotation was over and long after I graduated, I still got support from Marlene Tang on the outcomes team, even though she wasn't assigned to assist alumni, in order to find my new job at Adobe. HR is one big family in the end, and I'm so grateful to everyone I encountered along this journey for making my life possible.

Going in, I had set the parameters of my expectations somewhat strictly. I simply wanted to learn what it takes to become an employable software engineer- some who removes, rather than contributes to, technical debt.

Hack Reactor was so much more than... Read More just that.

Of course, the curriculum gave me enough experience that I could figure my way around any web development projects. The junior phase strengthened my confidence with various specific technologies through challenging sprints. The senior phase allowed me to consolidate my understanding of web frameworks + database technologies into viable products, as well as flesh out communication skills by coordinating development with peers, who at this point were working with me as partners.

But it takes much more than only technical expertise to excel in the tech industry. Hack Reactor provided networking opportunities and informative talks from experienced software engineers that grants new grads with the assurance of mentorship and community, making even life-changing transformations far less scary.

Something I deeply appreciated about the organization of the cohorts was the stimulating diversity of my peers. People truly came from all walks of life. This aspect of the program sets it apart from traditional university programs in that you are no longer immersed in your same age stratum. I was the youngest in my cohort, so I went through the program with the mindset that I'll have the most to learn from the life experiences of others. This made Hack Reactor more than just an education. It was a life experience.

So let me give you some context. Before attending Hack Reactor in 2017, I was unemployed for an extended period of time. And before then, I was employed in a job that wasn't satisfying. During my employed tenure, I was doing simple HTML and CSS copy pasting,... Read More but I knew I could do better and wanted to take my game to the next level. So I left my job and for the next few years, I tried learning software engineering all on my own. I learned a lot by myself because I have that tenacious growth mindset, but it wasn't enough. While I learned bits and pieces here and there, I didn't have the high level overview and understanding of how you build a piece of software both from the frontend and the backend. So I made the decision to attend Hack Reactor. I felt that by applying, I could actually get to the next phase of my career, up my skillset, and be better prepared in the job search. There's no secret to the tech stack that they teach you at Hack Reactor and you could probably get the same info without having to attend. BUT... getting accepted and going through the program is one of the most valuable and rewarding experiences because for 13+ intensive weeks: -You're learning about software engineering and computer science fundamentals by implementing full stack applications using JavaScript and Node.js; -You get a higher level understanding of building full stack applications (both the front and backend); -Get a great baseline for computer science fundamentals; -Build a portfolio of projects you can showcase to future employers; and -Learn the soft skills of partner and team collaboration. One thing I never took for granted are the 36-hour sprints where we're required to learn a new technology or computer science concept on the fly without any prior training or experience. As a Hack Reactor graduate, we're trained to learn new skills and technologies in a pressurized and time sensitive environment to the point it develops into a growth and learning mindset. Once you graduate, that mindset never leaves you and only serves you well in the job search and later in your career. After graduating Hack Reactor, the job search is the HARDEST thing you'll ever do. It's a long and arduous process filled with studying, filling applications, getting rejected, learning from your rejections/mistakes, and passing the coding challenges and interviews before you get an offer. Everyone's job search is different, but I was lucky enough to leverage the wonderful and amazing career counseling services Hack Reactor has to offer post graduation. My outcomes coach deserves special praise and lots of credit for teaching me to be methodical and tenacious about my job search, as well as being a good friend for all the rejections that almost resulted in a job offer. And the alumni community is nothing short of supportive and caring. All you have to do is ask for help, and somebody is always willing to answer your question or give you a heads up about a job opportunity at their current company. Looking back on my time and what I can look forward to in my career, I can honestly say that attending Hack Reactor was one of the best decisions I ever made, and I'd do it again.

Hack Reactor provides just enough guidance while still allowing students to be curious and autonomous. You will learn certain concepts by completing two-day projects/sprints during the junior phase. During the senior phase you are put into teams and are... Read More tasked with completing 3 capstone projects. These projects put you in a simulated work environment that allows students to self-organize and get hands on experience with agile software development with limited guidance. I made the decision to switch careers and started learning JavaScript about 6 months before I started the immersive and I'm amazed at how much I've learned from the program. They did a great job of covering not only technical skills, but soft skills as well. The staff are wonderful and very much invested in your development and success.

I had a decade-long career in teaching before I decided to pivot to software engineering. I had a lot of friends (and a family member) go through Hack Reactor, so I was already familiar with its content, expectations, outcomes, etc. That familiarity did... Read More NOT diminish the difficulty of the program. You will likely hit wall after wall after wall. Each time you fail, you have to pick yourself up and try a difference approach. Basically, you have to learn to deal well with failure and not allow yourself to cave in. This is by design, as Hack Reactor stresses autonomy its benchmark skill. They attempt to simulate a workplace as best they can, and this strategy proves itself effective in the results of the percentage of Hack Reactor grads that gain employment as software engineers. Additionally, you get out of the program exactly what you put into it. You can skirt by and do a whole lot and still complete the program, but you will be essentially unemployable. You have to approach this program with the mindset that your success is up to you, your effort, and that the program itself intrinsically owes you nothing beyond serving as a competent guide. Pros: • The staff and instructors take student feedback seriously. When things aren't working, they care about what you have to say and will do their best to improve things. • Feedback is constant. If you are not doing well, the support is there immediately for you. You can also elect to have office hours (private one-on-one sessions) with instructors and instructional assistants (SEIRs) as much as you want, even outside instructional hours, to reinforce concepts you don't fully understand. • The focus is on becoming employable literally the whole time. You don't just become a better coder, you receive soft skills training as its relevant to the industry. You face not only technical challenges, but they rip off the bandaid of having to deal with interpersonal conflicts in a constructive, professional way when they inevitably arise. • The emotional support is there. The instructors know the program is hard as hell and extremely taxing both intellectually and emotionally. There are weekly check-ins and elective office hours with someone whose job it is specifically deal with student-wellness issues. • The vast majority of what is taught is still industry relevant. They don't just teach the bleeding, cutting edge, but also slightly older technology as well because you will inevitably deal with refactoring or working with legacy code in your job. • The senior phase focus on building full-stack apps was great, and those apps are meant to go on your resume. As of right now, October 2020, they are also currently re-tooling that aspect of the course to be more enriching, so that's nice. Cons • Especially during the junior phase, the solution lectures to sprints (two-day cram sessions where you are introduced to a concept or a technology and then work on a project relevant to that concept/tech with another student) are often six-year-old videos during which you don't get to ask questions. The implementations discussed are often above the level of understanding of someone who has just been exposed to a certain technology. And because they're presented in video format, you don't get to ask your own questions like the students in the recording made six years ago did. • Contact with instructors was surprisingly low. I did enter at a unique time of transition on my campus where the instructors were short handed, but that did impact my experience. • There is currently no professional code review. You write a lot of code and not one line of it was ever reviewed by someone who has had a job in the industry. Logistically this would be difficult, and that concern was addressed when I complete the program. Those cons being said, I know those things are on the minds of the program designers. They aren't stagnant, they have a growth mindset, and I do know they are constantly working to improve things. So by the time you read this, those cons might not exist anymore or they've at least been addressed to some extent.

Hack Reactor has a reputation for being the "ivy league of bootcamps" for a reason--it's intense, the expectations are high, and if you put in the work you will absolutely graduate with invaluable skills. I'll keep my comments on the curriculum brief:... Read More HR opts for depth rather than breadth, which means you will REALLY understand Javascript, rather than having a basic understanding of 4 separate languages. This makes you a more useful and more valuable engineer. HR's top-notch quality for attendees is well-known--but I want to focus on another aspect, the part that comes after graduation. Because once you have the skills, you still have to get employers to listen to you, you still have to convince them you can hang, and you still have to get paid as much as possible. Hack Reactor's career coaches are unmatched in their ability to bring these things to pass--both for new grads, and for alumni on their second or third job searches. My veteran dev friends are utterly shocked at the jobs I've been able to land, and even more so at the salaries I've been able to negotiate--all of which was possible only because of the stellar advice, support, and coaching from my career counselors. In my first job search, Lena Johnson was an invaluable asset and helped me set my initial salary $20k+ over the average for my city. I just completed my second job search, and was surprised and delighted to see that, even over a year after graduation, I still have access to these world-class career resources. Marlene Tang was an indispensable part of my job search at every stage, and helped me land exactly the job I wanted at a salary far above my initial hopes. HR and its entire alumni network are extremely fortunate to have access to the skills of both these incomparable women. I have recommended HR highly to many friends and family members (3 of whom have graduated or are currently attending!), and I'll continue to do so in the loudest tones. If you're looking for a truly excellent bootcamp experience (now and beyond), Hack Reactor is the best choice.

I have done a lot of educational programs, but this was by far the best educational experience of my life. The program is so hands on and concrete--there's no extra stuff that you can just coast through. Instead, you learn actionable skills and apply... Read More them immediately on projects. Staff is brilliant and very good at what they do, curriculum is well-tailored for anyone trying to get into the coding field, and facility was clean and well-maintained. You graduate with a body of work that you can use to start applying immediately. It's all full-stack JavaScript, which is good for applying to start-ups and more "high tech" (Google, Paypal, etc) but they teach you fundamentals well enough that I actually ended up with two Java developer job offers in the middle of the pandemic! Best part of the program is the people though--just incredible and smart people who you get really close to. Can't wait to see what they end up doing!

I went to Hack Reactor Remote Beta in the fall of 2015. I had no coding background and it was one of the hardest, and most rewarding things I've done. We worked 6 days a week, 11+ hours a day (a lot more during project phase). I graduated in December... Read More of 2015 and became a Hacker in Residence for a few months before starting my job search. I was able to land a job in about 2 months.

When I came on the job, I expected it to be just like Hack Reactor, long days, very heads down. What I realized though, was that Hack Reactor made doing my job very easy. Since I was used to working so hard and having to solve unknown issues quickly to make it through, getting in on my first corporate job was pretty smooth sailing. I felt confident that whatever they gave me, I could figure out. It is still like that to this day. The skills I learned at Hack Reactor have translated into every area of my life!

I went from working menial jobs to a high paid software career extremely quickly and I'm so grateful. My career coach was amazing, the community of alumni is amazing, and I would recommend to anyone looking to get into the field quickly. You can absolutely learn on your own, but I found that the instruction and community was top notch and gave me a leg up on the job.

I am so proud to have been a part of this program, and recommend it without any hesitation to anyone considering a transition into software development. It's hard to pinpoint what about Hack Reactor is so amazing, but I think the word that encapsulates... Read More it all for me is quality. Quality people, quality instruction, quality program approach (to learn how to learn this stuff on your own). It is HARD and you have to be ready and willing to put in more work than you maybe even ever have before. But you'll be going through the experience with people just as dedicated to this as you are, and a supportive staff that cares about ensuring student success — it's clear that they are truly committed to making sure you have the resources and support you need to be successful. It's also clear that they take great care in admitting students who are great to work with. There is a certain type of student there and certain things my cohort-mates all shared. They were all not only really smart and hardworking, but also helpful and collaborative, with no ego and a self-improvement mindset. It made it easy to ask questions, and everyone was really rooting for each other to succeed even though we were all at different points in our software development journey. From the admissions process to the job search and every step in between— even on the hardest days of the program—I was really impressed, and truly valued my experience. I'm excited about my career opportunities, and am enormously grateful to the dream team at Hack Reactor Remote for making that possible for me. If you're considering Hack Reactor for your career transition, get ready for a wild ride that will be enjoyable, overwhelming, all of it — but know that you're starting a new amazing chapter in your career journey and it will be so worth it!