Hackbright Academy

I came to the program looking to fill in some gaps as well as get support for the job search. I would say that this community is incredible and that everything learned is what is needed to be successful in the job search. Our Demo night had great recruiters... Read More and the network from Hackbright is incredible. Cons: it is extremely fast-paced. I came with a fair amount of self-taught learning for programming and it kept me on my toes. Highly recommend if you want to learn Python, Javascript, and React.

pros : -a positive environment to thrive. -relevant content - 1:1 weekly Mentor Experience - various events for networking with members of the industry - 1:1 weekly advisor sessions cons: - level of technical expertise among instructors won't be the same... Read More - last min schedule changes - less java script course work and react implementation as optional hence not covered in depth .

I decided to test the waters before jumping into a bootcamp by completing the prep course. I went into it kind of nervous, and having a lot of self-doubt about my abilities. But the positive environment, instructors, and community feeling really boosted... Read More my confidence tremendously. The prep course has a great balance of giving you a steady flow of appropriately challenging material without being overwhelming. When you do get stuck, instructors are easy to reach and happy to help. The other students in the course are a great resource as well, and pair-programming every class is a good way to get to know everyone. I look forward to moving on to their software engineering program soon.

I joined Hackbright Academy as a career-changer going from zero tech/corporate/project management/anything-related-to-the-tech-industry experience to now, as a graduate, feeling confident in owning the Software Engineer title. There are a few things that... Read More I believe set Hackbright apart from other coding bootcamps: the community, the support and the full-stack curriculum. The community that you become a part of by going through Hackbright gets you started on this new career path with the best kind of foundation. It's no secret that the majority of individuals working in this field are not women, and becoming part of a community of women that are going through the same experience and supporting your mission to becoming a software engineer, right off the bat, is priceless. If that is something that's important to you, this is the best place to find it. Additionally, the support that is in place to ensure your success in this program is strong and effective. This program will be overwhelming and challenging, but the staff is well aware and prepared to help you through that. They will help make sure you get to graduation feeling confident and ready to keep going. Lastly, one of the things that I really believe sets Hackbright apart, is the full-stack curriculum. Many bootcamps focus on front-end web-development because it is one of the more common ways to break into the industry. Hackbright will teach you the front-end, as well as connecting and setting up the back-end, which I believe sets you up for greater success in the industry. I am so grateful to have gone through this program and would recommend it to anyone who is considering taking the leap. I did the full-time program and made sacrifices to make that possible, but it was completely worth it, and the long-term returns will continue to make it worth it.

I was in Hackbright's first fully remote cohort, so there was definitely some room for improvement but overall I had a terrific experience. I had never taken any programming classes before Hackbright, so coding was a completely new environment and learning... Read More journey for me. I'm so glad I was in such a supportive learning environment filled with bright women. Given the cohort is fully remote , the price is very reasonable. However I will say it is easier to slack off (sometimes I caught myself falling asleep during lectures from staying up the night before). I definitely took advantage of the fact that I didn't have to commute on Bart, especially the late night right home. Overall I'd highly recommend this program - learned a ton and got a lot of hands on support.

Pros: Great teachers and very supportive environment. Everyone wants you to succeed and its not cut-throat like other bootcamps you hear about. Fast-paced but curriculum is very organized and easy to use. You get a great project at the end of it, which... Read More is helpful for answering most interview questions, showcasing experience, portfolio etc. Price is fair.

Cons: The last month slows down a lot and I felt like there were a lot of just filler lectures. It would have been nice to add a simple project to the curriculum that was not optional.

When looking at Hackbright's full-time offerings, I wasn't sure if I should wait for the next in-person offering or take a chance on the fully remote program. Now that I've graduated, I'm glad I chose to do the program remotely because there's no knowing... Read More how long shelter in place will drag on for, and I feel I was able to get everything out of Hackbright's curriculum, minus the time and expense of commuting into the city for in-person classes. There are lots of bootcamps out there, but I think learning alongside a community of women is such a powerful and unique experience that will change and set you up in ways that will influence the rest of your career. The women in my cohort and Hackbright's fun, approachable curriculum are what made my experience.

The only aspect that were frustrating was the career services portion. The career services team was not as detail-oriented, prepared, or responsive in their student communications or lectures. I didn't feel comfortable expressing my frustration during my time at Hackbright, but hope that the career services team will be responsive and helpful during my career search.

I attended the first fully remote bootcamp. You need to pass a technical interview to get accepted. The program was setup so that for the first five weeks, we had two lectures a day with two lab sections. We had career lectures once a week as well that... Read More helped orient us to finding a job as a SWE. It was very intense but looking back, the progression was thoughtful and the pace was very doable. The instructors varied in experience. There was a teaching style for everyone. Because we were the first remote cohort, there were still some things that were being worked out - for example, we never got into a good rhythm with pair programming.

The next 4 weeks were focused on completing our solo projects. We had an advisor as well as a group that we would report our progress to and a queue that was basically a help line to get technical assistance from instructors.

The program culminates in a demo-night where some prospective employers come to see students show their projects. This really went pretty well overall. Events like these get a little weird over zoom but it was pretty seamless overall. This was one of the coolest nights because we really got to see each other's projects for the first time and it truly was amazing to see the results!

For the duration of the program, students get assigned to two mentors and in my experience, it was really helpful to have working SWEs to talk to every week, to ask for help. A lot of alumni also come back to volunteer so it's really nice to get that perspective.

The job search after Hackbright is largely your own but the I've found that having a cohort to go through the process with really helps. It's really encouraging to start seeing cohort-mates land positions. Towards the end of the bootcamp, we had a Q&A panels or Whiteboarding sessions with different companies and that was really helpful. If I have a criticism, it would be that career services can be disorganized and unresponsive at times. Perhaps the staff is getting stretched thin over multiple cohorts so I hope that in the future, they can ensure that there is enough staffing to support current students and alumni.

Overall, I definitely recommend Hackbright! I had a great experience and even through the remote program, was able to make genuine connections. It truly is a warm and supportive community and that really helps when you're making a big transition.

I was part of the first fully remote cohort. By the end, I was really blown away by the non-competitive and supportive atmosphere that I felt with my cohort. It's a safe space to be honest about your struggles and not feel alone, which I think is an important... Read More part of such an intensive experience. I definitely confronted my fear of failure, resistance to asking for help, perfectionism, all the things. They actively try to cultivate a culture of empathy.

People are very willing to help each other with project stuff and share job opportunities. The alumni network is really great - I often find someone working at a company that I'm interested in and they're very willing to chat with me about their experience and provide referrals.

The curriculum is very methodical, but you will need to do a good amount of interview prep when it's over to be able to pass the technical interviews. I also tell people to be prepared for this to be your life for 3 months. The class time is 40 hours a week and then there are weekend assessments (which are reasonable in length and useful), homeworks, mentor meetings, and project season (where I worked a lot on the weekends, partly because I enjoyed my project and wanted to keep progressing). They also recognize that it's not useful for you to learn and code all day and then do hours of work outside of class, and encourage balance and self-care.

Pros:
- see above
- labs help you to solidify concepts each day in a practical and engaging way (sometimes a little spoon fed)
- instructors were engaging and usually humorous, answer questions well, definitely want students to succeed
- matched with mentors who are in the field who commit 1 hour each week to talk about whatever you want - class concepts, project scoping/struggles, whiteboarding
- Hackbright is a good name with a proven curriculum that produces good engineers

Cons:
- Career services curriculum is a little repetitive if you already have a good handle on behavioral interviews and networking practices
- I think that I had some unrealistic expectations about job assistance - I sort of thought that part of what you are paying for is access to their network of company partners, which is not really true. While there are good resources, like alumni groups, Slack channels, career fairs, etc, I felt mostly on my own with finding a job.

I just completed Hackbright Academy's three month full-time coding bootcamp through a remote learning environment. It was a great experience and I definitely recommend it to anyone that is interested. I was hesitant to take this leap being that it is... Read More a remote learning environment and as a learner I need a lot of support/guidance when I am stuck. With that said, after these three months I thought that Hackbright Instructors and Career Staff did a great job at still offering an amazing amount of support. The reason I am giving the overall rating four stars rather than five is because I felt that throughout my cohort there was slight disorganization in the curriculum. Other than that I would 100% recommend attending Hackbright.