I went through hack reactor a while back and am leaving a review. This part of the review is in hopes that hack reactor addresses some of their issues: During the cohort, there was a student that was expelled due to inappropriate jokes during a show and tell. However there were many other instances of inappropriate behavior never addressed. 1. There was a male student that had at the same time of the show and tell repeatedly walked around behind the audience checking out female staff and students backsides. He never faced any issues. 2. The male students had at points discussed female students and rated them based on looks and date-ability. 3. There were lunch trips that weren't appropriate. 4. Female students were judged differently based on their behaviors aligning with certain gender norms than male students. This directly did affect some of the ways their career paths developed. To hack reactor, stop enabling sexism even at the entry level to the field. Be more aware of biases within the instructors and have some training. In terms of the course merits based on their ability to help land a job: 1. I think the lead instructor at the time was good. The instructors for the actual cohorts varied in their experience and their ability to help students. The progress, results, and the cohort's feeling of togetherness (which does play a huge part in final team projects) depended in part on the cohort's instructors participation or willingness to be a leader. I think in general the cohort instructor I had was not as helpful nor as experienced to really be effective in teaching others. So while the overall course was decent at giving barebones fundamentals to some of the concepts in software engineering and structure to those that need it, the impact varied based on your cohort instructor. 2. The course is really geared to be successful for certain people. The prereqs does filter a lot of people out. The financial cost filters even more out. I think that for a lot of people trying to enter the field, it's not the best option available. Especially since the job market entry rate is more reflective of the individual's ability to ace interviews and the current job market availability and not the boot camps ability to necessarily train people. read more

Hack reactor was an amazing program, and I can attribute my success in the field to it. It was fun, and intense, and I distinctly remember it being a work hard, get rewarded type of scenario. The instructors were fantastic, and the curriculum really taught you what you needed to know to succeed as an engineer in the valley. As grateful to the program as I am for what I learned there, what really amazes me is the support I continue to get from its Alumni Director, Marlene Tang. Marlene is truly a lighthouse in the dark when it comes to actually functioning as a software engineer in the industry. Sure, Hack Reactor had gotten me in the door, but Marlene not only keeps me in the building, she pushes me to climb to the top. She gives support in working, learning, growing, promoting... you name it, she's there. Recently, I left my previous company and started looking for my next home. I brought it up, and as usual, without hesitation, she dove right in, set up meetings with companies, reviewed resumes, emails, and made sure I stayed on track. I just signed my offer, and she was a huge part of it. All I had to do was study! I honestly don't know how she does it all with an ever growing network of Alumni. In addition to being a tremendous resource when you reach out to her, Marlene actively reaches out to the Alumni network to collect feedback and make it even better. She is ever present and if for some reason a HR graduate forgot about the immense support system available to them, it won't be long before Marlene is there to offer her precious time and energy. All in all, Hack Reactor was an amazing experience and I'll never forget it. The real start of the show, and the one thing that continues to provide immense value on a consistent basis is its extremely dedicated Alumni Director, Marlene, and her superhuman program. I can't emphasize enough that this is the one thing that puts Hack Reactor leaps and bounds ahead competition. Whether you're thinking about which boot camp to go to, or are currently a student, or have graduated long ago, you can rest assured that Marlene will take care of you. read more

When I first heard about Hack Reactor, I was skeptical of how a 3 month program could actually help land me a career in software engineering. But now having gone through the program, I can say that it has helped me reach my goals. The thing with Hack Reactor is that it gives back to you exactly the effort that you put into it. It provides you with amazing mentors which are the cornerstone of the success of the program. Without them, the program would not be as successful. The curriculum is excellent as well. Without the tech mentor, you could have found other decent resources online, but the guidance from the dedicated staff makes an incredible difference. Along with that, the skills you develop socially when working with the counselor help to develop what you need to succeed at the interview and on the job. The main draw of what you are paying for is a well designed curriculum, strong peers, mentors who care and the ability to market yourself in interviews. read more

This review is specifically about the alumni services/job search support. I graduated in August 2018 from the part-time-program. I entered in my second job search in April 2019 feeling uncertain because my first job out of Hack Reactor was not pure software engineering. The alumni team was really helpful in ensuring my resume and experience would be enough to interest recruiters, and they connected me with a number of companies off the bat which was hugely helpful in building my job search pipeline. The alumni team checked in with me regularly on my progress, always offering helpful advice and guidance. Negotiation help at the end was hugely helpful in not getting myself stuck with low offers and bad deals. Overall, the biggest thing that helped me was just having someone who understood the industry and job market really well. Quite a bit was different with my preferences from the first job search to the second. I can say with confidence that the Hack Reactor alumni team can and will adequately prepare you for both and beyond. read more

I was definitely skeptical about Hack Reactor and I did countless hours of research on Course Review, Reddit, and other sites for honest reviews of the program and the experiences of those going through it. I came from a background in biomedical science, I had wanted to build my skillset to expand my options in my field. After learning JS for a few months, I decided that this was the field for me and made the plunge into Hack Reactor. Hack Reactor did not disappoint, the coursework is top notch, but ultimately it depends on your drive to learn. I took the Remote course, and I spent close to 15 hours a day 6 days a week for 12 weeks building my skills. When I graduated, I applied to one of their Corporate Sponsorship companies and got invited for an interview. Showing off my preparation, I was told that I had so far been the top candidate for the job, and as of January, I've been working as a software developer at a startup. With all the hats that workers at startups have to wear, I feel extremely prepared not just in how to use the technology required for the job, but also to learn new technologies and expand my skillset and what I can contribute to the development team. I highly recommend Hack Reactor if you have discovered a love for programming and have the drive to really sink in and make the most of it. Don't expect to have your hand held, but you will be exposed to some of the newest technologies and brightest and determined colleagues going through the same process. Also, one of the most understated benefits is the value of the HR alumni network for those of us not so good at networking (The Slack group is awesome) read more

Easily the best decision of my life. I really believe this is how CS program should be done, even that I already finished one just before Hack Reactor. While lots of alumni have commented on the well-structured curriculum. I would like to highlight more about how the environment and people here can really help you succeed on your software engineering career development. Instructors, mentors, Hacker in Residence...etc. There are so various resources and routes you may approach when there is any doubts. Students make immediately impact to the curriculum and the experience. Feedback sessions were held every other day. Issues usually would be solved several hours after them being addressed. The admissions team done a great job on finding the right fit for the program. Every single person in Hack Reactor I worked with was super bright and thirst for knowledge. If you have an opportunity to do this, you are very fortunate and don't hesitate. Happy hacking! read more

Hack Reactor - Thesis project idea brainstorming - Vocational & Technical School Near Me - San Francisco, California

I've never been so engaged, for so long, in my life. Hack Reactor has an exceptional approach to education that keeps you constantly learning on your feet, throwing multiple new challenges and technologies at you simultaneously. Prepare to be thrown in the deep end, in the best way possible. And it's not just web tech - Hack Reactor also teaches strong CS fundamentals. I've already surprised a few close friends in the industry with the depth of knowledge they teach about data structures and algorithms. In addition to learning at an insane pace, in the latter half of the program (and beyond) we also receive great support in perfecting our portfolios, working on fantastic projects, and interview practice. Best of all, the people in my cohort are fantastic - everyone is intelligent and effective, yet fun and supportive. read more

Hack Reactor - Getting in some practice with interview questions - Vocational & Technical School Near Me - San Francisco, California

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I have been at Hack Reactor both as a student and as a staff (Hacker in Residence), and after having seen the program from multiple angles, I can confidently say that this is a fantastic place to become a software engineer. As a student, I had an incredible experience. The curriculum is fantastic. It's very obvious that a large amount of thought and effort went into the lectures and assignments, and the program even uses learning techniques found in teaching literature (i.e. spaced repetition and allowing students to struggle with problems rather than giving answers). Also, the Hack Reactor culture and community is amazing, which made it very easy to meet new people to network with, study with, and even become friends with. As a staff, I was always blown away by how much everyone cared. They were there with the intention of helping people become software engineers, and would go above and beyond to try and make that happen. They don't work at Hack Reactor because it's a job, they work there because they want to make a difference in people's lives. I was also there during the transition to Hack Reactor @ Galvanize, having been there both at the old building and the new one at 44 Tehama. There were a few bumps during the transition (lots of stuff had to be moved, furniture had to be rearranged, etc.), but at the end of it all, things turned out great! Galvanize provides lots of opportunities to network with people (there are lots of hosted events, and people working there who are from outside Hack Reactor). Also, Galvanize has a lot more amenities than the old Hack Reactor building, which makes it nice to spend time here as a student and also afterwards, during the job search. I would highly recommend Hack Reactor to anyone who wants to get into software engineering. read more

When people ask me what Hack Reactor was like, I always tell them it's like a mix between pledging a fraternity (for software engineers, where you are mentally hazed by the tough curriculum) and summer camp (because you spend all your waking hours there for 3 months, and it's still somehow kind of fun). My journey to entering the engineering field started exactly a year ago, when I first got accepted into the program. Before picking up programming, I was as non-technical as they come. This experience will be easier for those who come from a related field, but for me it was the most difficult course I've ever taken, and I've never learned so much in such a short period of time. The program is well thought out, and constantly iterating upon each cohort to become more effective and keep up with the ever-changing tech landscape. The staff is beyond amazing -- from the extremely knowledgable tech mentors, to the overly enthusiastic class coordinators/counselors (shout out to Lizzy!!!), to the surprisingly available and personable founders. A core and indispensable part of my time as a HR student was Allen Price, our main lecturer, who made learning computer science truly fun and engaging (and that's saying a lot, coming from someone like me). And the STUDENTS!!! I was so humbled to work with my cohort mates, who were each brilliant in their own way. I strived to emulate the best part of each classmate's learning style, part of which makes me the programmer I am today. I think the biggest misconception is that this program will magically grant you a job after graduation. "Oh, that's the one that guarantees you a job after, right?" -- the most common response I got when telling people I'm going to Hack Reactor. No, none of these bootcamps guarantee job security, and it will only get more difficult as there are an exponential amount of bootcamp grads being churned out as time goes on. To HR's credit, they do their best to dispel this myth in the first week, and instill it in each student's mind that anything that happens is a direct result of the individual's efforts, and HR is just there to guide you along the way. And it's true -- after graduation I spent 5 months on the job hunt, and as difficult as HR was, it was nothing compared to the grueling interview process and wondering if all my time and effort in the past year would pay off. But today, as I sign my first offer letter as an engineer, I can honestly say I would not have been able to make a career change in 1 year without HR. I think out of all the benefits the program offered, I've always underestimated the Hack Reactor network, until I began the job search and so many of my leads came from people associated with the program. The offer I'm accepting is due to my career coach introducing me to my referral, an HR alum. And I was able to negotiate my salary up more than I ever thought possible, or was ever brave enough to ask for, thanks to the expertise of the career staff. So do you get what you pay for with Hack Reactor? I say it depends on how much you put into it, and it also depends on if you're doing it for the right reasons. Signing up to be a software engineer entails a lifetime of learning, so make sure you are passionate about programming before quitting your day job. But if you're ready to take the plunge and are deciding between bootcamps, I firmly believe HR is one of the best and has something quite special brewing here. read more

I went to Hack Reactor because I was ready for a radical change in my life. Hack Reactor helped me to leave my previous field and become a competent software engineer in about 3 months. From the very beginning, it's clear that Hack Reactor is a great school. When I applied, I was initially rejected because my coding skills weren't up to par; I wasn't yet ready for as intense of a program as Hack Reactor. The amazing thing is that they told me what I needed to learn and helped me to get to where I needed to be. You can tell the staff truly care about your success before you even begin. During the program, I began learning programming fundamentals while applying them right away. I worked hands-on with other students, learning not only to become an effective coder but an effective communicator and team player as well. I was absolutely amazed by the Outcomes and Careers teams. I knew that Hack Reactor was going to prepare me for the job search, but I didn't realize just how much. They help with resumes, interviews, negotiations, and beyond. I've always been someone who gets extremely nervous when interviewing, but after graduating I was able to go into the most intense interviews of my life feeling confident, and eventually landed the job of my dreams! Yes, Hack Reactor is difficult. You will learn materials in two days what might have taken weeks or months to learn on your own. But you will leave with the most satisfying knowledge that you overcame it and that you're ready for any challenge that comes your way in the future. If you want to change your life and become a software engineer in just 3 months, you owe it to yourself to attend. read more

Hack Reactor was an absolutely amazing and life-changing experience. I know it sounds corny and overused, but it 100% changed my life for the better. Echoing what many others have said about this program, you get out of it what you put in. The program provides you the environment and extra nudge of motivation to help you put in the work. The program drove home the idea that the opportunity to attend the program is a rare one, and I should respect that opportunity and take full advantage of it. With that opportunity, I am expected to work HARD, and that hard work WILL pay off. In the first few weeks, the lecturers reinforced and made relatable a very common saying, that success is 90% hard work. That really stuck with me, and pushed me. One of the best things about the program is that the program itself, aka the journey, is also the prize, as the journey is the learning that will allow us to pass tough interviews, showcase learned skills, and ultimately land a good paying job in software engineering. That mentality helped me stay motivated for the duration of the program. One key differentiator between Hack Reactor and traditional colleges is motivation. I attended college because of expectations, not because of my own desire. I attended Hack Reactor after attending college, a graduate program, and after working for a few years and feeling extremely unhappy and stuck. This situation added a ton of motivation for me to work my hardest and to do my best, to have a successful outcome of finding a full time software engineering job. The curriculum was also fantastic. The day is broken up into bite sized chunks of lecture, exercise, and deeper dive small projects. This structure helped me stay focused and helped me work for longer, especially compared against the long monotony of self-study and test-prep of traditional schooling. Combined with the long hours of 9AM - 8PM Monday - Saturday, I learned so much so quickly, and was able to apply the learnings immediately. One of the best aspects of the program in my opinion is the section on writing better resumes. I found it immensely helpful. It clarified for me what was important, what was unnecessary, and more importantly gave me a good formula for better resumes. Post-graduation, the job search support I received was absolutely top notch. The outcomes team told me exactly what I needed to hear to stay motivated, to avoid imposter syndrome, to keep applying, and to stay organized and on top of my interviews. They were extremely transparent with aggregate previous student outcomes, like average number of jobs applied before offer, average number of technical interviews, on-sites, etc. And that again set the tone that the market is huge, and through perseverance, I WILL land a job. Most importantly for me, they demystified and simplified the job search process to a math problem: x% of applications gets to a phone screen, y% of phone screens get to an on-site, z% of on-site interviews lead to an offer. Or the other way to think about it: assuming one is just as likely as any other candidate to get a job, and there are x average applicants per job opening, then an average applicant needs to apply to at least x jobs to receive an offer, on average. One of the amazing services the outcomes team provided was helping us and consistently reminding us to keep track of every single application, phone screen, and interview through a work tracker. This helped me stay organized, and helped me to continue working even when I felt like stopping because I hadn't done enough that day. One of the outcomes team members, Marlene, also helped me navigate the negotiation process. She was completely amazing. Armed with the knowledge of thousands of other offers and industry norms, Marlene helped me understand what was likely, what was reasonable, and that it never hurts to ask for more. She helped me get a lot more than my initial offers. During my second job search Marlene continued to help me, acting as the Alumni Director. She helped me navigate the simultaneous job search process as well as multiple offer negotiation process. She's so knowledgeable and experienced, I don't even know how to talk about it. read more

I attended Hack Reactor Los Angeles in summer of 18 and I had a very mixed and eye-opening experience. First off, id like to say that the educational portion of the corriculum is only done in the first half of the program. I dropped out after the first half, receieved half my money back (almost 9k), and finished the second half at home. I even managed to finish it faster than if I had stayed in the program thanks to most of the material being availabe on websites like Udemy for $10 (my cohort-mates filled me in on every topic I needed to cover to finish my front-end and back-end capstones). Many of my ex-cohort mates complained that the majority of their time was wasted in the second half, and because it was mostly unsupervised, some even played LAN video games all day instead of coding because they were "stuck" and were just waiting for the smartest kids in the cohort to figure it out for everyone else (which is usually what happened). What I believe is most important to say, is that the numbers they adverties are completely false. It is not as exclusive as you might think, and the number of students who get jobs afterwards is far fewer than they say. During my time there, the head of oporations told us that 25%, not 3% of applicants are accepted, demeaning the exclusivity of the entire experience. Next, Id like to say that at the time that I had been accepted (around early May 2018), Hack Reactor LA official stats stated that 53% of graduates got jobs in the first 3 months, and that number went up to the mid-70's at 6 months. It has been 5 months since my cohort (LA23, about 17 ppl) graduated (not including me obv) and only 2 have secured jobs so far. The cohort after me (LA24, about 19 ppl) graduated in Oct 2018 and as of writing this, only about 4 people have found jobs. I actually met a graduate from LA20 at a job interview in October and he still hadnt found a job yet, meaning he had been looking for somewhere around a year. This is mostly due to what appears to be a severe lack in junior level and mid-level jobs in the LA area, but it also proves that now-a-days, going to an expensive coding bootcamp will not increase your chances of getting a job. They do well to tell you that when you sign up -- "dont think you're guatenteed a job", and in fact, sometimes they tell you not to even mention that you ever attended a coding bootcamp. Employers are weary of bootcampers now, and with another 20 engineers being pumped out every 3 months, the market for fresh engineers seems to be pretty much at capacity in LA. It seems to be more about who you already know that what your skillset is. Most of the smartest kids still dont have jobs. I will say that, if you have the money to spend, that attending Hack Reactor will be the fastest way to get a broad range of skills and a general understanding of how to work with a basic MEAN/MERN stack. Before I attended Hack Reactor, my main problem was simply managing to code through projects autonomaously. meaning, If i ran into a big enough problem, I had no idea where to turn to solve it. After hack reactor, I can say that I was mostly autonomous and could finally start to figure out tough issues by myself. Hack Reactor gave me confidence, but unfortunately, it seems like the resume is what counts in this game. No job experience means no job. For this reason, many people in the cohorts I was familiar with are now turning to searching for unpaid internships... read more

Overview: Hack Reactor did a great job of jumpstarting my learning in software engineering; it's an ever-changing program always trying to make itself better. I hope this review helps prospective students to get a feel of what life at HR is like. Me: Recently graduated with degree in biochemistry; so no software! Life at HR: - The Schedule The schedule: Mon-Fri 9am-8pm, Sat 9am-5pm; there's time for lunch, dinner, and every-other-day gym. However, the schedule is not strictly enforced; HR trusts its students to get stuff done. That being said, some of my peers came in at 9AM and left at midnight every day. Others left earlier; I personally left around 9PM every night. Leaving "early" did not affect my success negatively. I thought it was important to take care of myself, and 9PM was the "I need to get some rest" time for me. - The Space HR has two floors used as dedicated workspaces. Half of a floor is dedicated to newer students (e.g. cohort #19): computer stations with dual-monitors used for pair-programming; the other half is dedicated to older students (i.e. cohort #17): empty clear desks. There are also lecture areas, where students sit on lawn chairs. HR also has a sink to wash dishes, a dishwasher, dining tables, and a refrigerator for student use. The Ops team does a fantastic job of keeping everything clean; keeping an area clean is difficult with 60+ people using it. They clean out and wipe down the fridge every Saturday--wow! - The Curriculum The first half of HR is dedicated to 2-day sprints (day 1 - introduction lecture, work work work; day 2 - solution lecture, work work work). We learn a new JavaScript technology or framework each sprint-- it's fast. Warning: the first WEEK of HR has ~30 (I think) lectures alone prepping you for what comes ahead -- it was tough, but don't worry, there aren't that many lectures per week moving forward. HR staff also practices 2-day sprints; after every 2 days, the staff gathers feedback from students to know what worked and what didn't and apply that feedback to the next cohort. It's nice to know the staff is always trying to improve the curriculum! The second half of HR is a project period, where students can use the knowledge and skills they gained from the first half of HR and make cool projects! HR was helpful with this, e.g. we had weekly project mentoring sessions. Every morning we had a toy problem, with a solution the next morning. And an obvious reality is: don't expect to learn as much CS fundamentals as you would for a 4-year degree at HR. I think HR is more focused on making its students more well-rounded software engineers i.e. we know some CS fundamentals, but we also know how to use cool technologies and frameworks, can plan and build our own projects, use source-control like Git, etc. I learned a lot during my 3 months, much more than I would teaching myself in my own time.  - My Peers I met some wonderful people at HR; they have a great impact on my positive experience at HR. There were a lot of laughs while working, coffee breaks to Blue Bottle, etc. They are great people AND hard workers. I would not have minded working with any of them; everyone pulled his/her own weight, is collaborative, open-minded, encouraging. -Job Search HR provides support for your job search-- lectures, a couple mock interviews, toy problems, etc. but that doesn't mean you won't be putting in a lot of work either. You're the one applying for jobs, asking questions if something bothers you, etc. My first job offer came a couple weeks after graduation, I accepted an offer about 1.5 months after graduation. I also have classmates who received and accepted great offers a week or two into their job search. It's all circumstantial. Just don't give up :) Concerns: - Occasional Disorganization There was occasional miscommunication. There were times when some relatively important things were miscommunicated among staff and thus to students (e.g. we were told we could choose our own groups for our thesis projects, but at the last minute we discovered we couldn't.) - Not much feedback I wish I received more feedback from staff on my code, but may be too much to ask for considering the number of students. Code review was lacking from staff to students, but code review among students was encouraged. - Less time with founders/instructors This is a given considering HR's expansion, introduction of HR Remote, etc. I barely interacted with the staff, specifically the founders and instructors. During the first week at HR, we were told to "not ambush the staff because they're all very busy", which gave me a negative impression. As a result, I didn't want to even try to speak with the instructors, scared I would be interrupting their work. That being said, Hackers in Residence and certain staff were all very accommodating and helpful when I had questions. Feel free to message if you have questions. read more

DO NOT apply to this bootcamp if you aren't already coding or committing most of your day to learn. As a recent alum, I found that the people around me who were most successful were those who were motivated to come in early and stay late -- the first part was easy a la free bagels, but the latter was near impossible as you were expected to learn a lot in a short amount of time. EXPERIENCE: My favorite lectures were the initial ones about CS theory (algorithms, language theory, etc.) and another lecture about how everything works behind the iron curtain of servers and databases. I felt like Marcus (the main lecturer), had a way with teaching new learners. My colleagues in my cohort all gained employment weeks after graduating and a handful of them didn't have any experience with coding prior to the course. The curriculum has probably changed since my time there, but I know the staff continues to spend more brain power adapting the curriculum to post-grad success. BACKGROUND: I had some professional experience coming in doing frontend UI work in HTML/CSS and some OOP courses via Java at my university; but what kept me going was the desire to want to build cool things that might actually help people. Upon joining the course, I probably had a solid 6 months of self-studying 8 hours a day and 6 days a week (resting on the Sabbath). Luckily the course caught me at the right time and right place to help propel me into a career as a full stack developer working at a great startup called VSCO. I recommend this course to anyone who is serious about transitioning into a new career. Note that this course in particular has gained a lot of traction due to it's success and entry to barrier will be that much more competitive -- try your best to have some code pushed up to Github and or a blog about your thoughts on learning code. read more

Your goals for going through Hack Reactor are: A) to learn software engineering or B) to get a job in tech ... or both. Hack Reactor does an excellent job on delivering on both of these goals. I'll break down my experience into the two areas. A) LEARNING SOFTWARE ENGINEERING PROS: The curriculum at Hack Reactor is very well thought out, tested, and true. You're introduced to ideas and concepts in a well thought out, guided way to maximize your learning. If I were to go at it myself, I would have struggled with the same concepts a whole lot more and made far less progress. Now, don't get me wrong, you're mostly likely still going to struggle with the material presented in the Hack Reactor curriculum; however, know that the struggle you experience is constructive struggle. You're struggling to wrap your head around difficult concepts, learn new things, and move forward. There's an boatload of learning jammed into these short 3 months! You'll come out with a solid set of skills to take an idea and actually build out a working application. CONS: The program is very intense and you won't have time for much else during those 3 months. This is the thing that bothered me the most while going through the program: you sometimes get the feeling that Hack Reactor is a giant machine and you're a cog. It didn't interfere with the results they delivered, but it just didn't feel good sometimes. Yes, Hack Reactor is working to optimize the aggregate outcome of its students; however, that focus on optimizing for the big picture can sometimes feel impersonal. Room to improve here. Given the fact that for most students, Hack Reactor is one of the largest investments they've made in their lives, a bit more of a human touch would be appreciated. Since it's impossible to teach everything you'll ever need to know about software engineering in 3 months, you'll need to keep learning after Hack Reactor. Based on the curriculum I went through, two areas where you'll need to spend more time learning are scalability (e.g. when you need to support lots and lots of users) and good code patterns (e.g. not just writing code that works, but writing it in a pattern that's modular, logical, and easy to maintain) B) GETTING A JOB IN TECH PROS: The stats speak for themselves and based on the outcomes of the students in my cohort, the stats are holding up in real life. The outcomes team at Hack Reactor does a great job supporting you with the job hunt. CONS: Be mentally prepared for the job hunt, which in and of itself is like another bootcamp of sorts. It's a mentally and emotionally challenging process: phone screens, coding challenges, technical interviews & the like. Don't expect to graduate from Hack Reactor and just have job offers thrown at you (a select few graduates will get lucky). You're going to need to work for it! But know that in the end it'll all be alright. All the previous graduates have done well for themselves. SUMMARY: I'd definitely recommend Hack Reactor if your goals are to A) learn software engineering or B) get a job in tech... or both. read more

I am a recent graduate of this course and let me cut straight to the chase: if you've been accepted to this program and you are having any reservations as to whether or not you should attend, I encourage you to take a leap of faith and go for it. After I had been accepted I was very skeptical if this program was worth leaving my job and moving to SF for 3 months to try and make it as an engineer. The thought of writing an 18 thousand dollar check to cover the tuition made me want to vomit, and I had a hard time believing Hack Reactor was any different from the hundreds of for-profit colleges or vocational schools that you read about where the graduates end up building up a bunch of debt and ultimately end up being worse off for having invested the time and money into attending. I can assure you this is not the case. Hack Reactor is an amazing experience, and while it's very hard to appreciate the sophistication of the program until you've gone through it yourself, here is my attempt: 1) The best thing Hack Reactor does is they do a good job of keeping out the riff-raff. This is very important because you're going to be around your cohort for well over 800 hours, and my cohort was nothing short of awesome. No posers, no arrogant clowns, just down to earth people who only had the goal of being awesome engineers. I cannot emphasize how important this is. 2) The instructors are ballers. Seriously, you can sense they love teaching this stuff. I didn't get the impression that they're here because they just got burned out at the startups they were working at, or fell into the "those who can't do, teach" stereotype. They absolutely love what they do. 3) These people really know what they're doing, and they're committed to making everything better all the time. Feedback is solicited pretty much daily, and everything is iterated on and made better as a result. They're open to criticism and they don't get defensive, they actually really want to improve anything that you feel could be better. 4) The program is very sophisticated. Technical content aside, they look out for your emotional wellbeing, which is crucial. A number of times I felt very overwhelmed and needed help getting back on track, especially towards the end when it came to the job search. There was always someone there to get me back on track, no matter when I needed it. (One time someone came in on Sunday night to speak to me for 2 hours because I was panicking about an interview I had the next morning) I'll admit Hack Reactor is not some utopia that doesn't have its flaws. The facility could be better. The elevators break frequently and walking up 6 flights of stairs can be a nuisance (to put it politely...). The surrounding area is also a little more raw than I'd like, and marijuana and urine are the 2 dominant smells you'll just need to get used to if you walk around the Tenderloin. But these are petty complaints compared to what you get for the program. I encourage you to message me if you have any questions, I'd be happy to talk more to you about my experience. read more

Hack Reactor - Staff introducing themselves on the first day of class. - Vocational & Technical School Near Me - San Francisco, California

Hack Reactor changed my life. Prior to this program, I was a Scuba Instructor with zero corporate work experience and zero programming experience. I started the program on March 23 of 2015, I graduated on June 25th. I got my first job as a mid-level Engineer at a start up in San Francisco on August 15, 2015, and on March 23, 2016, exactly one year after I started the program, I got a promotion to Lead Software Engineer at my company. This organization is for everyone, from newbies to people with CS degrees who want a sharper edge. It is the fastest way to attain the skills necessary to make it as a software engineer. Beyond that, Hack Reactor offers an incredible community, lifetime alumni/career support, and a lot of incredible initiatives to give back to the community, from the Last Mile Program that teaches inmates how to code, Telegraph Academy for women and minorities, and other initiatives and volunteer opportunities, such as coding bootcamps for Syrian refugees. There is simply no comparison between Hack Reactor and other programs. read more

I had reservations and doubts before I started Hack Reactor... but seeing as I've received 3 great offers (6 figure salaries, title: Software Engineer) within a week of graduating, I don't have any more doubts. And no, I did not have any real experience as an engineer beforehand--I majored in English. Hack Reactor is literally a life-changing program. If your ultimate goal is to get a job as a software engineer at the end of it, then I would highly recommend it. The soft/hard skills you learn and the people you meet make it an experience I wish I could go back and do it again 5x over. P.S. My group project also turned out to be pretty successful...10k users in a few weeks. Google FitRPG or download it on iOS/Android ;) read more

I graduated from the fourth Hack Reactor class several weeks ago. The curriculum is well thought out and tested, as students we gave a lot of feedback, almost all of it was acted on in some shape or form (this was in the form of one on ones with the staff and also as a class). Compared to other schools hack reactor is just full of love, love for the code and for each other. The mentality is what's good for one of us is good for all and we all taught each other things which in turn helped us cement the ideas in our own head. Very few people from my class are still looking for a job. Upon graduating about half of the class had offers, myself included ( I had two at that time). Most of the people still looking are only doing so because they are in the process with larger companies (twitter, apple) and those tend to take time. If you couldn't tell already I would definitely do hack reactor again. I think everyone in my class would say the same (we had no one drop out). If you're looking for a place where you won't be on your own working through learning to code and enjoy being around people who are motivated and excited hack reactor is the place for you. read more

Here's what you want to know: yes, it's worth it. This program will beat the hell out of you and you'll love every second of it. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll wish there were special hours in the night that only appeared when you were sleeping so you could actually get enough to feel like a human instead of a walking JavaScript-spewing robot. You will literally dream of code. Or have nightmares. That's if you can sleep at all--I kept myself up several nights, unable to tear my mind off a particularly vexing problem. But at the end, you'll know more than you thought possible, you'll have made a boatload of amazing friends, and you'll have a great job in an awesome field making incredible money. Do it. Now. read more

I attended Hack Reactor from August through October 2013, and it was the most useful educational experience I've ever had. I don't say that lightly, as I've attended two highly ranked universities. Hack Reactor's value stems from both the sheer amount of knowledge they stuff into your head and the "how to solve problems like a programmer" ethos they distill into you. On the knowledge side, I'd say there are five distinct phases of the course: Precourse work, structured learning, individual projects, group projects, and the hiring phase. The precourse work is intense and ramps you up to a speed at which you could probably go ahead an get hired as a junior developer (!!!). You learn the basics of the distributed git workflow, reimplement the wildly popular Underscore.js library, build a twitter clone, and master recursion in a way that makes you familiar with the DOM. The structured learning phase lasts for the first five weeks of Hack Reactor. You're implementing JavaScript inheritance patterns and data structures by the end of the first week. The four weeks after that are a marathon run through jQuery, a couple of different frameworks, algorithmic thinking, and complexity analysis. After that, there's an individual project phase - at this point, you're turned loose to work on a personal passion project (which they must approve). There are also paid client projects available for those who want them. This is a great time for people to work out kinks and learn how to hack on their own. Once you've had this experience, students form groups and unleash their combined brain power on creating apps. Some really impressive stuff has come out of this, e.g. redditInsight.com. After that is the hiring phase. Hack Reactor hosts a hiring day at the start of the 11th week of the program and then provides interview support until, well, everyone gets a job... which doesn't usually take very long! Most people in my class got multiple six-figure offers. Interestingly, a massive amount of learning seems to take place during those two weeks, too, as people all go nuts solving ridiculous toy problems that interviewers threw in front of them together. I'm giving Hack Reactor 5 stars. The 3 months I spent there have launched me into a more productive, high-paying, and satisfying job than I could have ever gotten otherwise. read more

SHOULD YOU TAKE THE PLUNGE? If you know you want to be an engineer... If you get in... ... you should definitely go. KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: - 11 hours a day (at least), 6 days a week (at least), for 13 weeks - No personal space or free time - Say goodbye to your social life - Exhilarating and joyous - Exhausting and frustrating - So glad I did it - So glad it's over PROGRAM SUMMARY You only work alone once for two days in 13 weeks. Otherwise you're paired up or in a group. Not only do you learn on a technical level, but you learn to navigate relationships in a very intense and intimate environment. 6 weeks worth of two-day sprints covering the topics and lessons necessary to develop full-stack JavaScript applications. 7 weeks worth of developing a handful of full-stack applications, preparing for technical interviews and the job search. MY PERSONAL FEELINGS I feel equipped with the knowledge and tools to do well in a professional environment as a software engineer. I feel empowered after this experience and look forward to whatever challenges may come next. The people I've met in the program are motivated, generous, ambitious, and tenacious. It can feel a little cultish, but is a cult I'd be glad to be a part of. This community is one in which I want to be a part of long after the program ends. The staff are lovely, and they're hard asses. They make it their job to know you and care about you personally. It can at times feel paternalistic, but if you're responsible, accountable to yourself and to the people in your cohort, you'll be fine. It's 3 months of incredibly hard work. It's incredibly rewarding. It will be hard on your relationships because you won't physically be there for them all the time and it may be hard to be emotionally supportive when you're so emotionally and mentally drained yourself. It's a marathon, not a sprint. Take care of your physical, emotional, and mental heath. Take breaks. Get to know the people in your cohort--you're with them all day everyday for the duration of the program. Don't forget to laugh and have fun. You'll need it after a long day of working. read more

I chose hack reactor because I was interested in learning from the ground up, and working my buns off while doing it. The focus on JavaScript and good development practices was a big winner for me. I was a cs major at uw-madison, and still was going to be until a month or so into this class. This class will undoubtably get me farther in my pursuits. I'm not sure what you specifically mean by workflow, but whatever you're referring to, it probably became something totally different. Most things have over the last 8 weeks. Lectures cover a variety of topics, all designed to set you up to do most of the discovery by yourself, all the while teaching you necessary fundamentals that applies to broader topics than whatever the library or language of the sprint is. Personally my favorite sprint (series of lectures and class work) was one that the instructors helped a number of interested students create. Some of us are super interested in data science and machine learning, so we skipped an optional sprint and developed a few day curriculum for ourselves, did pretty well in a quora contest, learned some python, did some pretty surprising things... Of the various projects we've done here, my favorite project is my current one, where we're making a server-less Skype for the browser using webRTC. The atmosphere is pretty incredible here. I was pretty intimidated by their comments beforehand about how the best students stayed late after a 11 hour day, but this place makes it super easy. Instructors are pretty approachable, there's a system for getting help here that makes classroom approachability a non-issue, and the guest speakers are always pretty keen on helping out. They're almost always industry guys with a friend in the class or on staff and usually stick around to help out after hours. Also, almost all of the graduates make 6 figures. FYI. read more

Complete scam. If you can get into Hack Reactor, you don't need Hack Reactor. They make sweet promises about all you'll learn during their course, and you will learn a ton, but you have to teach yourself, and could therefore learn the same content on your own for FREE! The instructors tell you to find the answers yourself by looking them up, asking in forums, discussing with other coders/students of coding that you know, etc. This is intended to mirror real world scenarios, which is fair, but leaves me wondering - what exactly do you get for the tuition fee? All of the above learning strategies are available to everyone on the Internet, so Hack Reactor's fee must be for the instruction itself... Problem with that is, you can find better instructional videos on YouTube that cover any and all topics Hack Reactor covers. So, again, what the hell is the insane tuition for? Hack Reactor makes sense for you if you fit all of the below: 1. You have lots of extra money and don't mind giving it to someone for nothing in return. 2. You only have to take care of yourself (no family to support). 3. You have no self discipline. Save yourself the obscene tuition fee, and teach yourself to code using the countless free online resources. read more

Hack Reactor was one of the best decisions I've ever made. The program is both insanely rigorous and somewhat rough around the edges, and this is by design. Browse through a handful of the reviews posted here and you'll get a pretty good sense as to what I mean by this. You leave the program with a bunch of really smart new friends and skills that rightfully warrant a really cool new level of employability--no doubt. But here are two other very important things I feel like I developed: -An extreme degree of intellectual and emotional tenacity. -An ability to deal confidently with very high levels of complexity. Just a year and a half ago, it was unfathomable to me that I'd be capable of solving the kinds of problems I'm solving at my job today. From day one, Hack Reactor challenges you to solve problems you'll have to solve on the job (and the fact that they really don't hold your hand during the process will be a huge asset to you--trust me on this). The program stretches your brain like taffy, and it's exhausting. But if you apply and are accepted, you're almost certainly a member of that self-selecting group who can in fact succeed here in spite of any impostor syndrome you may confront. You can do it. And you'll absolutely thrive as an engineer after you do. read more

Growing up I always gravitated to computers. I was part of the 'computer club' growing up. I built computers, and I programmed. For one reason or the other I felt that it would be impossible for me to complete my dream of becoming a Software Engineer. Hack Reactor helped me complete my goal. I went through Hack Reactor Prep, I interviewed, I got accepted, I went through pre-course, I went through the immersive, and I spent time as an Hacker in Residence. Now I am working as a Software Engineer. Hack Reactor works. Remember Hack Reactor is in the business of creating Software Engineers. Traditional 4 year institutions are in the business of giving you a diploma. If your goal is to become a Software Engineer then you should go through Hack Reactor. The Hack Reactor staff is dedicated to student growth. Your colleagues will be some of the most dedicated, and passionate folks that you will ever meet. All of them will come from different walks of life. All of them as crazy as you. All of them crazy as you about becoming a Software Engineer. It will be one of the most challenging things that you will ever go through. I worked very long hours to not fall behind during the immersive program. Having said that, it was worth it. Hack Reactor has given me a second chance at life. read more

I was SUPER skeptical of Hack Reactor from the beginning. The idea of attending such an intensive program was very intimidating, and I couldn't imagine how, after just 3 months, I could walk out of the program with the great career prospects that were being promised. But I decided to give it a shot, so I applied, and I haven't regretted a single moment since. It was absolutely one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life, but it definitely beats grinding in the same position for years with no chance of movement. The staff at HR are incredible. They treat you like a human being rather than some kind of liability or investment, and they really do care about your education. I couldn't have imagined just how much there is to learn, but despite how quickly the tech industry is growing, HR does a phenomenal job of remaining current and teaching the most relevant technologies. Even more importantly, they show you how to keep *yourself* current as well. They teach you how to continue your education and how to identify and follow the newest technologies, which explains why HR grads are always such hot contenders for tech jobs. And even now that I'm an alumnus, HR still impresses me every day. Their open door policy really does feel like a safety net that will help me with the rest of my career, which is such a great feeling. For anyone starting the program, the best advice I can give is to not be your own worst enemy. You will be better with some technologies than with others, and there will be some technologies that will make no sense to you at first. The schedule is so hectic that it's easy to let yourself get frustrated when something doesn't make sense right away. But no one here expects anyone to become an expert immediately, so just learn to relax. Sleep well, don't skip breakfast, learn at your own pace, and seriously, don't be afraid to ask questions. read more

I made a deal with myself that I would not make a yelp review for Hack Reactor until I received an offer. This way I can confidently say that the process worked. Here is my experience: I come from a technical background, having studied Electrical Engineering in undergrad and also having had software engineering experience through my previous job. I think everyone has different reasons to join Hack Reactor. For me, I wanted to affect more than just my immediate team. I wanted to build things that everyone would use. At the same time, a large reason was motivation. I had grown so comfortable at my previous job it was difficult to find the willpower to enrich myself rather than just chill. This is what we call inertia. So I made a risky decision and left my position to attend Hack Reactor. Absolutely no regrets. Hack Reactor offers so much more than just an education. If I were to look back and say, "Would I pay $18,000 for the 7 weeks of programming instruction?", I would say "No". That's a ton of money to pay for a bunch of material that I know I could have learned on my own had I known what to study. The caliber of education is great, don't get me wrong, but is it justified by that price? For me, I cannot say it was. I mean, compare that to a year in grad school at a top university. So come around week 2, I am sitting in class and thinking to myself, "I have learned this material already in school, is this really worth it?". After I had finished the program I now realize just where my money went into. You see, it's not just the education you are paying for. It's the network of people that surround you, who encourage you to work till the late hours of the evening; who encourage you to learn new things and challenge yourself; who give you confidence in your ability when you doubt yourself; who teach you just how little you actually know; who are just as invested as you are in finding a job. You're paying for the exceptional guidance provided by the teams responsible for maximizing the efficiency of your job search. You're paying for a place you can call home even after you are done. A place and a network of people who you can really call family and rely on to help you work through your future problems. I also picked up some better habits along the way such as exercising regularly and eating healthier. I got more experience working in a team and collaborating with others. You will meet so many kinds of people. Some will be smarter than you, and some will have less experience. However, each person has something else to offer. You will find that when you take all these talented people and place them into a space where they can all collaborate, theres this wealth of knowledge just sitting at your disposal. It is just up to you to take advantage of it. So if you are the kind of person who wants to just do a program, finish it, and then expect results, well I don't know if I can recommend it to you. You will learn the most by interacting with your peers. Fast forward to now. I graduated about 3 weeks ago. I was ready for a 3 month long process until I received an offer. First 2 weeks, I was applying through the front door. 0 replies. But, you see, Hack Reactor does this awesome thing called Hiring Day, basically the career fair at the end. It's like a speedway into a company. I seriously lucked out and a few of them were interested in me. I managed to do well enough in the interviews such that I received offers. And that statistic you probably read about $$$, lets just say there is a ridiculous amount of money in tech. So the pull that Hack Reactor (or rather anyone who can get you in the front door) has is incredible. Everyone will have a different experience but overall, I think most of us were confident about finding a job after graduating. For me, I can say without Hack Reactor, I don't think I would have been given the opportunity to interview at some of these companies. And I am so glad that the instruction was strong such that when I was placed in those on-sites, I was able to prove my ability. Is the program perfect? No, but what is? As with anything in life, you will have times where you will feel like Hack Reactor can improve upon. But it's growing and constantly being iterated on. Everyone will get different things out of Hack Reactor, and this is what I got. I would highly recommend it to anyone thinking about making the leap to attend. You may think you know what you'll get out of this. But you really don't until you have gone through it. (Also, you get this hoodie for writing a review so...) read more

Hack Reactor is the best. I was in the second class to go through the program and I couldn't be happier with the experience I had in the class. It's an awesome community of talented and interesting people, starting with the staff. Marcus and Shawn are some of the best instructors I've even been able to learn from and are willing to do whatever it takes on an individual level to make sure you're getting it. Hack Reactor is becoming among the most selective of the development programs out there with their rigorous interview and admissions process. As a result, the students are all amazingly smart, interesting and fun. The alumni network is already becoming filled with some very successful people. The client-side technologies taught at HR are universally applicable at almost any company. After finishing the program and working full-time in development, I was able to contribute from day one, every project has javascript. Since then, I've been deep in the stack of a mostly server side MVC framework, but the concepts and debugging/problem solving strategies I developed at Hack Reactor have enabled me to pick up the new framework quickly. The placement rates of the graduates has been phenomenal. I personally know everyone that has graduated from HR so far, and the vast majority of them have amazing high-paying jobs that would have likely been impossible to attain without the experience and network of HR. read more

Hack Reactor is NOT an institution or some program where one learns the arcane skill of programming. Hack Reactor is a safe haven for smart & eccentric nerds to collaborate on various things, it's a beacon of wisdom for programming newbies, it's like a second home for current students & graduates alike, and most of all it's a community of people whom actually care about your success. I am lucky enough to call myself both a graduate and former employee of this amazing community. I knew from the moment that I first met the founders in person that I had found the place where I could truly flourish and the right people to help me along the way. Before Hack Reactor, I was attending community college for CS and it would have been another 4 years from that point before I saw a "precious" bachelor's degree. During my time in college I was constantly bored by the plethora of busy work, annoyed by the countless hordes of unmotivated & disengaged peers, and each day I spent there seemed to slowly pick away at my optimism & joy for the bits & bytes that I love to create. First day in the classroom was so much better than what I had known prior, it felt almost dreamlike. Being surrounded by peers as motivated or more than yourself, working with extremely well-crafted curriculum projects, and being able to call over an instructor whenever a wall seems too thick creates an environment where expedited learning becomes the norm. That very same environment I loved about the first day has only gotten better and every time I think it can't get better, I'm shown a new batch of HackRs that prove me wrong :D I would not trade anything in the world for my time spent there or the large network of friendships I've made and will continue to make from Hack Reactor. read more

Hack Reactor provides a great educational experience that not only produces solid software engineers, but also provides educational opportunities to people who aren't satisfied by the traditional educational programs. There is a focus on constantly refining the program to provide the maximum benefits to the students who go through the program, and there is no other program out there that does this as well as Hack Reactor does. The experience of being surrounded by a mix of the most amazing people in my cohort for the past 12 weeks has been life changing, and what I took away from meeting and getting to work with them is just as important as the technical skills that I picked up. Where Hack Reactor as an institution still needs to improve, and the reason for the 4 star review, is in how it handles supporting students emotionally, and in maintaining appropriate communication with students when crises do arise. There were times where our cohort had crises come up, and we had to rely on each other for support to make up for the inadequacies in support and communication from the staff. Based on the organization's responsiveness to feedback, and its focus on constant refinement of the program, I'm confident that things will improve for future cohorts, but currently this is an area for improvement. The bottom line is that as long as the program continues to improve its communications with and support of its students then Hack Reactor is still the best educational opportunity available to become a good software engineer, and the experience of going there can be life changing. read more

I'm a pretty big fan of this space and the folks who run this shop! I'm not a student, so won't get into the program, but I can say the space is large and very chill (like you'd expect from a coding school). More importantly, the people who work here and students who study here are kind, dedicated to learning, and very friendly to the community. read more

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I was a member of the August '13 Hack Reactor cohort, and while it's almost unbelievable to me, I am finishing up my first month of work as a front-end engineer. For anyone who doubts that this program delivers on its promise, I'll say that I had extremely high expectations and Hack Reactor completely blew them out of the water. I have an undergrad degree in Philosophy, but no prior engineering-related education or experience. The dedication of the instructors and staff is unlike anything I've seen in an educational setting, to the point that the 12+ hour days would just fly by. The energy of the place is contagious. Nowhere is this more on display than in the ever-evolving curriculum, which manages to throw every student into the deep end of a given topic and still provide meaningful challenges to students who work through core concepts more quickly. There was never a chance to feel bored or unmotivated, the pace is just too fast. The instructors are also eager to get students' feedback, and are open to constructive suggestions for improvement. To me, the most valuable trait of the program (if I had to choose) is the relentless emphasis on Learn By Doing. Every student undergoes a transformation from thinking "I don't know enough to do this" to "I know how to figure this out." Yes, I gained the particular web development skills necessary to land this great job, but much more valuably, I learned how to identify the gaps in my knowledge and fill them in as effectively as possible. The icing on the cake here is that the people you meet at Hack Reactor (students, staff, and instructors alike) are all A+ people -- sincere, dedicated, intelligent, funny, hard-working people, all with interesting backgrounds, stories, and connections. My network has exploded with incredible contacts, as well as amazing friends. In short, attending Hack Reactor was the best decision I've ever made. If you really love programming (whatever you've done so far) and think you're the type to thrive in a highly accelerated immersive environment, DO IT. read more

The following will read like a commercial, but I promise it is from the heart. Today marks the 1 year anniversary of my HR cohort's graduation, and I couldn't be happier with the outcomes. Hack Reactor provided more of a solid foundation in 13 weeks for entering a new career in software engineering than I would have thought possible. Enumerating Hack Reactor's distinguishing features would be exhausting, but I can provide my main takeaways. Success after Hack Reactor is built on HR's solid foundation of CS fundamentals, which provides students a context for all the decisions they will make for the rest of their programming careers. Students leave Hack Reactor with more than the ability to write software instructions in code - they leave with the ability to reason about what their code (and code belonging to others that they will inevitably employ) will do under the hood - its memory and time constraints, efficiencies and trade-offs. Because of this, a Hack Reactor grad will fearlessly take on new technology (a full-stack web framework, native applications like ios and android, or machine learning and data science) and won't be happy to treat it like a black box. They have learned to design their own tools, and will want to investigate how to make all software better. And amazingly, I believe that because HR starts with those fundamentals, a student with no prior experience in the sciences can almost immediately start to see themselves in a new light, with a whole new set of abilities, given the gift of demystifying what they probably once thought was too low-level for their understanding. That is why in the year since graduating, I have watched many of my peers from my cohort go on to contribute to large open source projects, speak at premier conferences, and actively participate in the advancement of our craft. It's also why Hack Reactor grads, by and large, experience no trouble landing in great situations when entering the workforce. Very proudly, I found my home in a full-stack role on this very site. Having no college education, nor formal background in the sciences, this was truly a life-changer. Participating in HR comes with great sacrifices of time and money, no doubt - but I would consider this to have been the least risky investment I've ever made. If what you want is an outcome that sounds remotely like what HR provides, just do it. Hard work and HR will get you there. read more

I graduated from the second Hack Reactor class with no regrets. In fact, I was thrilled with the experience. Yes, I landed a great job working with exactly the technologies that I'm excited by and that made me choose Hack Reactor in the first place (JavaScript MVC frameworks, graphics and analytics libraries, and server-side programming with Node.js). I felt like I learned exactly what they promised, and so much more than I could have ever taught myself. More than anything else, it was the community of students, the full-time instructors, and the part-time teaching assistants, who made the course so enjoyable. I gained a bunch of new skills, but I also gained a growing community of amazing (and very talented) people. Hack Reactor, like all the hacker schools, is still young, and I was really appreciative of how the founders take a lot of care to respond to student feedback. They're constantly updating the program and the curriculum in response to what both students and employers tell them. I was pretty surprised to see the negative review, especially the jab at Tony. HR does a pretty thorough job of screening people based on personality as well as ability; if you're going to spend 12-16 hours a day with a group of people. that's important. I can't speak to that reviewer's experience, but I can say that I think Tony, Marcus and Shawn bent over backwards for everyone in my class, and I have yet to meet anyone who didn't enjoy the course. read more

Long story short: Hack Reactor is an incredibly well-crafted program, led by highly qualified teachers that care not just about the content, but also their ability to convey that content to the students. Your fellow students are as smart and driven (and in many cases smarter and more driven) as you are, which makes it very easy to show up at 8:30a and leave at 11p or later. Hack Reactor has been one of the single most useful things I've ever done, and I don't say that lightly. I spent a lot of time (mostly frustrated) working to learn the technologies that Hack Reactor taught so successfully in a compact period, and with nowhere near the degree of success. As with many others, I started the program because I enjoyed software engineering, but didn't have the requisite experience to do it as a full-time profession -- and three weeks after graduating, I had three offers from truly exceptional companies. Hack Reactor is the real deal. read more

Hack Reactor is an amazing educational experience, and I would wholeheartedly recommend going to anyone who is able to get in. I just finished Hack Reactor (cohort 19) and have learned more than I ever could have imagined, and I say that holding an Ivy League undergraduate degree. This is not a purely technical skills-based vocational school where you learn JavaScript and a handful of libraries / frameworks which happen to be in vogue right now in tech. You will learn practical life skills to aid you in your career, the kind of things that no academic degree (CS or otherwise) is teaching students today, as well as language-agnostic CS fundamentals (primarily data structures and algorithms) that give you a major leg up on other programmers (self-taught or otherwise) without CS degrees. Hack Reactor is truly the "CS degree of the 21st century". I had some initial skepticism around that claim since HR is not really a research institution either, though some elements of the Hacker in Residence program mimic research fellowships, with HIRs putting out really cool open source projects and startup ideas. But Hack Reactor to me has this culture of community, improvement, iteration, and seeking out the truth--the truth in this case meaning "how to be an awesome software engineer". If you can get in, just go! read more

Hack Reactor is not perfect. There might be something you see in a review that suddenly isn't around when you attend. Usually that means they're trying something new, adjusting some variables, and seeing whether they can improve the course. They are iterating constantly, and it is for your benefit. If you apply (which you should) and you get in, just keep in mind the end goal is having a job at an awesome company, with a solid salary, and huge potential for future growth. Hack Reactor does not guarantee you a job, but if you put in the hours, and make use of the support they give you, getting a great job is no longer a monumental task. It's hard to imagine a coding school coming close to what Hack Reactor ends up providing. As I said, it's not perfect, but they definitely strive for greatness, and they have definitely achieved it. The amount of support provided by the various teams at Hack Reactor is immense. Upon graduation you'll have a fuller grasp on this subject, as they will reveal just how much above and beyond they go to further your career, and keep you connected to the community. They strive extra hard to get the best peers you could hope for as you enter. I enjoyed the company of 30 other students who were kind, intelligent, and supportive throughout my time there, which made me work extra hard to help my fellow classmates grow on their journey as well. Hack Reactor does not tolerate sexist, divisive, or discriminatory behavior. If you have any of these character traits, it would be wise of you to eliminate them before applying. As a software engineer with 5 years of professional experience, and a degree in Computer Science, I am a bit of an outlier in terms of attending a coding camp. I was dissatisfied with the lack of preparedness and lack of portfolio upon graduation, only to begin work without any career guidance, and thus limited resources to grow and further my knowledge as a developer. Hack Reactor gave me the boost I needed to get back on track with some newer technologies and frameworks, and gave me the career support I needed to progress. The past 12 weeks have been grueling and long, and I've given up almost all of my social life to attend, but it's been worth every minute. I'm proud to be a part of it, and happy to be on my way to a fulfilling career. read more

I'm just finishing my last couple of days of the best decision I ever made. I'm one of those people who tried on several occasions to learn how to program myself. I always failed - too busy to keep it up, I'd sort of learn, but wouldn't actually be able to do anything. So I dropped everything for 3 months, and got way more value than i ever would have trying to learn this myself. What's great about Hack Reactor is that it's not just a coding school. It's not even just a computer science school (because we do learn a lot about CS fundamentals). Sure, you're becoming a bad-ass javascript engineer, but on top of that, there's career advice, all the mentorship you could possibly need, and a general focus on making awesome people be awesome engineers. It's definitely not for everyone. It's crazy intense, and you'll be surrounded by some pretty inspirational and wicked smart people, but if that's your thing I'd recommend it in a heartbeat. read more

If you want to work with the most well-rounded, intelligent, hard working, passionate people in the world, and are serious about becoming a software engineer, then Hack Reactor is the school for you. I've made lifelong friends in just 3 months and have grown as a person and as an engineer. I've never been challenged as intensely as I was during my time at Hack Reactor. The curriculum is top-notch, relevant, and intense. You will learn the necessary skills to build anything. The career services are top notch, you will leave this place prepared for technical interviews, whiteboarding, and every other hoop you have to jump through to land a job. I can confidently say that Hack Reactor is second to none, and the friends I have made will last a lifetime. My network is stronger than ever and doors will continue to open after having completed the program because of the bonds I have formed here. UPDATE: I landed a software engineering job within 2 weeks of graduating. I will be working with Python and Java, despite focusing on Javascript during my time as a student. read more