I thoroughly enjoyed my time at hack reactor! It was a really intense experience but one I think was worth the money and time. The first half is overall well structured and prepared me technically for working autonomously and in groups, even when working with technologies not covered in the curriculum. The people there are great. It was wonderful to work with diverse yet like minded peers, and the staff try their best to make you feel as comfortable as possible in 3 hectic months. There are a few aspects of the schedule and curriculum that were not optimal, but my overall experience here was very positive. read more

I spent 3 months here. Going to Hack Reactor was one of the best decisions I have ever made. The curriculum was well thought out and executed with precision. It was a great way for me to learn. And learn I did, I went in knowing a small amount and came out proficient in JavaScript, Node, Backbone, Test Driven Development ... and many other frameworks, ideas and coding practices. The teachers were great, helpful and easy to work with. I had 3 job offers right out of class and got exactly the type job that I wanted in software development. read more

Exceeded my expectations. Sure it's a lot of money and you have to basically dedicate your life to the duration of the program but for me it was worth it. It's not just learning to program. To name a few things... - It's working with a partner and a team. - The process of how companies interview and preparing for that. - How and where to search for jobs. - Salary negotiation. - Going to tech meetups and hackathons. - Practicing hard algorithm problems. - Best practices and web standards. - Talks from some of the best people in the industry. - Not just memorizing how to use a framework but learning the fundamentals so you can use any framework. It's not for everyone but if your ready for a pivot in your life this may be it. read more

Attending Hack Reactor may be the best decision I've ever made. I feel like my life is on a completely different trajectory than it was 6 months ago. I learned more about Javascript and computer science fundamentals from Hack Reactor's pre-course curriculum then I did in the months of self study I had done before during nights after my old job ended. Hack Reactor's curriculum is very well thought out. Some of the lectures are beautifully crafted; I would love to crash them again! I have a huge amount of respect for lead instructors Marcus, Fred, and Phillip. Hack Reactor not only teaches tools like node.js, backbone, and angular or computer science concepts like data structures and time complexity. Hack Reactor immediately put those lessons in practice by letting students grapple with the concepts through pair projects. The ultimate goal is not just to give students book smarts, but to transform them into autonomous software engineers. After only 5 weeks, I went from completing assigned requirements in 2 day sprints, to composing my own chrome extension with 3 classmates and building a Javascript IDE at a startup named Famous. Since Hack Reactor ended, I have built my own machine learning library named product-recommender, which I have published on npm. In Hack Reactor, I was forced to dive in to new technologies every couple of days. Now, I have full confidence in my ability to grow and adapt. Before Hack Reactor, I was nervous about how I would handle the long hours. I was scared I would be walking in to an environment of stone cold engineers, where I may get lost in the grind and shuffle of the 800 hours of class time. My prior educational experience in university lecture classes made me question how I would handle working from 9am to 8pm, Monday to Saturday. But Hack Reactor's care for student experience more than addressed those fears. They often checked in to see how we felt about our time in the program. Whether our concerns were how material was presented technically, or even how we were handling the rigors of the course emotionally, the great instructors and staff at Hack Reactor really cared about making our experience as good as possible. They changed procedures, sometimes within days, to make our experience better. Because of this constant thirst for improvement, I'm certain Hack Reactor is better now than when I attended. Hack Reactor treated us all not just as customers, but people and friends. I also feel highly lucky to have met my fellow classmates. Working with them, the 800 hours of class time were not enough. I nearly always stayed late! Hack Reactor also has embraced keeping their alumni connected. I hope I can stay involved in the Hack Reactor community for years to come. If you decide to attend Hack Reactor, I would be excited to meet you some day :) read more

Attending Hack Reactor is one of the best decisions I've ever made. Being immersed in a community of the best and brightest has been a transformative experience. The school is very serious about producing quality software engineers. Not only do we develop a mastery of JavaScript (to the point that after the first few weeks we find conceptual mistakes in MDN documentation!), but we also dug into computer science fundamentals like data structures, algorithmic design and efficiency and database design. Our lead instructors are simply amazing. They are capable of clearly distilling complicated concepts into short, concise lectures with a clarity and finesse I've never seen before. I spent hours of self-study time trying to understand JavaScript inheritance and instantiation patterns, but it led to a shaky understanding at best. After a single one hour lecture, I walked away with a clear understanding of the topic. In addition to a world class instructional curriculum, Hack Reactor's real magic is the progression from guided instruction to autonomous work. At the 6-week mark, we start building our own projects from scratch. Over the remaining 6 weeks, we develop a confidence and autonomy that no problem is unsolvable. Today, I am 100% confident that I can pick up any technology I need to solve real engineering problems. If you want to become a software engineer - apply to Hack Reactor. If you want to be a part of a thriving community of passionate, driven, and fun people - apply to Hack Reactor. If you want to experience a world-class education - apply to Hack Reactor. read more

As other reviews have suggested, Hack Reactor was one of the most intense experiences of my life. 13 weeks flew by and I learned more here than I ever thought I could. I was rather skeptical of Hack Reactor when I first heard about it. I couldn't believe that you could learn to be a software engineer within 13 weeks. However, after reading positive articles and many blogs on the Hack Reactor experience, I bit the bullet. And I am very glad I did. Hack Reactor teaches you a lot of things about computer science (focused exclusively in JavaScript) in a short amount of time. But you need to have the right attitude going into this. There's no magic happening here. If you're in it for the salary expectations as opposed to a love of programming, Hack Reactor won't transform you into a highly paid software engineer. However, Hack Reactor does place you in an environment where you have the resources and guidance needed to make the most out of your time. I occasionally worked for over 12 hours a day but it never felt like work. Also, the curriculum carefully transitions from teaching you a lot of material to teaching you how to teach yourself. By the end of Hack Reactor, I was able to teach myself new frameworks almost as quickly as the carefully crafted lessons for the frameworks that Hack Reactor taught us. If you're looking into a software engineering career accelerator, you should go to Hack Reactor if you can get into Hack Reactor. read more

Hack Reactor saved me. And it can save you too. In 2013, I was a wedding caterer working for $10 / hour on weekends, attending community college during the day, doing odd jobs and computer repairs for extra cash, trying to figure out how to "get back on the right track." It's early 2015, and I have the most wonderful job in the world. I have my own apartment, walking distance from work. I have a car with AC and a Radio. I'm planning on taking my girlfriend to Hawaii this summer. It will be my first time outside of the continental United States. I eat three times a day, two meals of which are provided by my company. I have health insurance. I have never in my life been happier, and I wouldn't be here without Hack Reactor. The education they provide is twofold. First, they give you certain skills which you need to do the job you will have on day one. Second, they force you to grow the meta-skills which you need to evolve the job you have into the job you want, always staying in front of the curve, dancing on the bleeding edge. Their community is expansive and full of top notch engineers, working on all sorts of interesting and difficult problems. The instructors and staff are some of the most caring people you will ever meet. My lifelong friends number has doubled. And I couldn't be more thankful. These other reviews focus on bits and pieces. I've tried to share the overall impact of this program and this experience on my life. If you can figure out some way to make Hack Reactor work for you, do it. It's hard. It takes ~300 hours of hard, painful work before you even set foot in the building. But you can do it. And it will change your life. read more

The question is: does Hack Reactor live up to the hype? The answer: a resounding yes! Hack Reactor really is the vanguard of a new type of education. Taking people from a relative beginner status to the point of being able to apply for jobs that require 2 or more years experience in 3 months time is an incredible feat on its own, in any field. Doing it in a way that is fun, encouraging, and extremely inspiring is an added bonus. As strong as the curriculum is, the best part of Hack Reactor is the people - students and faculty alike. Spending 3 months surrounded by some of the nicest, smartest, and most interesting people I've ever met was definitely one of the highlights of my time at Hack Reactor. If you're serious about becoming a software engineer, you'd be hard pressed to find a better path to that goal. With that said, you need to be SERIOUS about becoming a software engineer before you apply, because while HR provides tons of support, in the end, your success at Hack Reactor is completely up to you - and it is definitely difficult! It's repeated in every review, but do not make other plans during your 3 months at Hack Reactor. You really won't have any free time - and any you do, you'll likely spend catching up on coding. Learning so much in 3 months is an incredible feat, and it can take a toll mentally, physically, and emotionally. This is not to discourage anyone from applying, but keep in mind that there's a very good chance you've never worked this hard before! There are times when the curriculum seems too fast or some material seems too difficult, but learning to deal with those challenges is part of becoming a strong, autonomous engineer. Also, as others have said, there's no magic here - it's an incredible curriculum with tons of support, but you need to put in some serious time and effort to get the most out of it. It's not perfect*. Some non-technical parts of the curriculum are extremely fun, but others can feel unnecessary, especially when you have tons of code to write and projects with deadlines approaching. The elevators are broken a decent amount of the time. The rapid iteration style has growing pains - constant experimentation with all the facets of the program is one of the reasons the school has been so successful, but not every new idea works. Overall though, these are very minor issues compared to the enormous value that Hack Reactor provides. The value extends far beyond the technical skills you learn here, too - the connections you make at Hack Reactor are arguably as valuable as the education itself. It can be a roller coaster at times between exhilaration and frustration, but in the end it's all worth it! *It's close. read more

Hack Reactor is an amazing place. If you're reading this review, I'm sure you've already done your research and are well aware of Hack Reactor's reputation as the premier JavaScript immersive program in the country. I would like to reiterate that sentiment. Hack Reactor is absolutely the best. The instructors are world class, the atmosphere is hard-working but always upbeat and positive, and the people I've met at HR are some of the smartest and most talented people I've ever been around. In addition to learning technical skills, you'll forge some incredible relationships and strong bonds with your cohort-mates, and will be introduced to a community of engineers who are passionate about what they do, and who are usually willing to help fellow HR grads. I would absolutely recommend Hack Reactor to anyone who knows that they want to get in to programming and is ready to put in the time to become the best engineer he or she can possibly be. One caveat: Hack Reactor is a catalyst for learning and will push you to excel in the quickest amount of time possible, but don't expect HR to do the work for you. Getting into the program is just the first step. While there are an incredible amount of resources to help you along the way, the responsibility of learning, building projects, broadening your network, and especially, getting a job after graduation, ultimately falls on you. Although there is a lot of guidance if you seek it out, do not expect HR to hold your hand the entire way. This is a place where you will make exponential gains in your skills and in your career, but only if you buy in to HR's method of teaching, and invest the necessary time and effort. read more

Is there any other place in the world where you can spend 13 weeks and become a LEGIT software engineer? None but Hack Reactor. Prior to Hack Reactor, I had ZERO technical background. I brought myself up to speed and earned my spot in the HR13 cohort. In 40-ish days Hack Reactor turned me into the guy who barely knew how to work around git and text editors into a powerhouse of an engineer capable of creating full stack applications with the latest technologies. With the rest of my time I was able to create four applications, one of which was mobile. It sounds too good to be true, I know. To the outside world they see me as someone who's only been programming three months, but what they won't initially see is the amount of hours that went into learning everything. MINIMUM, you'd spend 800 hours out of 2,160 (90 days). I on the other hand, spent 90 hours on average. The brogrammers and I stayed until past 10:30PM most nights and came in on Sundays because we loved what we did. If you're on the fence, just get on it already! HR RULES! Will update after job search ^_^ read more

I wouldn't think twice about recommending a close friend to Hack Reactor, and here's why: The people: My fellow cohort-mates, and virtual every other HR alum I've ever met are all phenomenal people. Extremely intelligent, enthusiastic, motivated, and just a lot of fun to be around. Furthermore, the instruction team at Hack Reactor are constantly going above and beyond to improve the quality of the experience. The program: The course is not about learning everything there is to know about software engineering. This would be impossible in a traditional 4 year CS program, let alone a 3 month intensive course. Instead it focuses on creating competent and autonomous engineers, capable of finding the relevant information quickly, synthesizing it, and using it effectively. The reputation: Hack Reactor is increasingly well regarded and trusted in the industry, with alumni working in highly desirable roles for the top companies, big and small. For those interested in beginning a career as a software engineer, HR is an amazing stepping stone. read more

I've been checking out the code bootcamps in SF and just wanted to add this as a counterpoint to Mark C's experience. So, my rating only covers the investigation process as a prospective student. I met with Tony in person and found him to be very warm and genuine as a person. He was extremely thorough in detailing the intensity of the program and was generous with his time. He answered my questions for almost two hours on a Saturday evening. On a subsequent visit, I met with Shawn to see if my technical understanding was up to speed for their program and he also offered a lot of time and made sure all my questions were answered. No sense of being rushed at all. I do really like the space and the location is well-located when it comes to public transit. I've met great people at each of the bootcamp programs I've looked at and, overall, I think it easily fits in with the better options in SF's coding accelerator space. read more

I've just finished an amazing 3 months at Hack Reactor. I wish I didn't have to leave! I chose Hack Reactor because I value high quality education. I wanted to come out feeling confident and able to take on challenging projects. I have extremely high expectations of what I want to achieve, and wanted to get to a point at which I could start implementing the kind of things I've been trying to build for years. I previously worked as a UI designer and wanted to learn how to implement the features that I was designing within the browser. I new how to build sites using HTML and CSS and tried to learn JavaScript using online tutorials for about 1 year before joining Hack Reactor. I used to struggle to implement anything that wasn't an easy method provided by JQuery. Now I can build large interactive applications with a rich feature set. I was employed by an awesome company that I got in touch with at Hack Reactors hiring day. I'm now working as a Core Engineer, building the type of product that I've dreamed of building for years. read more

I went through this program as a student from Nov '13-Feb '13 and I cannot speak highly enough about the program. Here's my breakdown: The staff - The staff and founders here care deeply about the students and are fully invested in your well-being and success. You're not just a number to them and they want to do everything they can to help you, even long after the program is over. The students - The quality of the students is remarkable. I've never been in a room full of so many smart and driven people. Everyone comes from different backgrounds and is so excited to write code. The curriculum - This program teaches full-stack Javascript engineering. Each sprint is well-structured and designed to pack in an enormous amount of learning into a very short amount of time. You will learn more in the first week than in an entire semester of college. This program is intense. It is hands down the hardest thing I have ever done, but it has been an incredibly positive experience. I wish I could do Hack Reactor all year. The results - The numbers speak for themselves. Reach out to any student or alumnus of the program (which I strongly encourage you to do) and the quality of this school is instantly apparent. If you can get in, do it. You won't regret it. read more

Just finished Hack Reactor (Cohort 19)! Because I already had a masters degree in music, going back to school was not an option for me. I needed some kind of career accelerator/boot camp to transition into a software engineering role, since I had no programming or technical background. I spent a long time researching different boot camps in SF, and Hack Reactor stood out as the best. It has lived up to every expectation and more. If I could, I would rate it an 11 out of 10, because the school REALLY strives to make every single aspect better and better. Hack Reactor has created an amazing community, and I feel very luck to be a part of it. I feel very confident, having just finished and taken a few phone/on-site interviews, that I will be able to get a software engineering job that I'm proud of and happy to be at. I learned so much during the program, and Hack Reactor does an excellent job at making you learn through struggle. They design the curriculum to challenge you in ways that you aren't even aware of, and the end result speaks for itself. If you love programming, and you are interested in Hack Reactor, my only advice is to study and apply as soon as you possibly can. It is WELL worth the money, and I hope that other institutions learn from how well Hack Reactor educates, creates a community, and strives to be better. read more

Best three month decision of my life. Rapid Immersion Teaching is really the educational wave of the future. With an intensive like HackReactor, you can achieve expert status in months, rather than years. Hack Reactor also has enough to teach people with less experience, and resources available to challenge those who want to take their skills to the next level. While the course might seem a little rough around the edges to some, this is by design -- it is quickly iterating and improving. Feedback is acted on quickly, unlike a traditional educational system. I enjoyed the HackReactor culture so much, I decided to stay an extra three months and contribute part time! So TLDR...if you want to get good at Javascript/web programming as fast as possible, this is the most effective route I've personally found. If the thought of achieving expertise through diving in head first into 3 intense months of long hours and challenging projects excites you, then you'd probably love it here! read more

HR11 here, graduated over 2 years ago. Hack Reactor was definitely the right choice from a financial and social perspective. It's for sure possible to learn web dev yourself but you wouldn't get the support network, feedback, and comradery that comes with being cooped up with 30 people, 11 hours a day for months. It also worked out great for everyone in my cohort and easily paid for itself. A++ would do business with again. read more

Hack Reactor is an incredible place to learn to code and to grow as an individual. I consider myself very fortunate to have had the opportunity to be a student, and would highly recommend it to anyone that is accepted. I've listed a few reasons below: 1. Become a capable software engineer. Over twenty weeks (8 in pre-course, 12 on-site), I grew from coding static webpages in HTML/CSS to contributing to codebases with single page app functionality (built using libraries like Backbone, React, and Angular), Node.js/Express servers, and MySQL/Postgres databases. 2. Empower yourself to solve problems. Hack Reactor's philosophy is to turn students into autonomous learners, and they do a great job facilitating this mindset. I realized that I am capable of learning anything, and that by taking personal responsibility for my learning, I could accelerate my growth and overcome technical challenges. 3. Surround yourself with brilliant and motivated people. Hack Reactor's admissions process is rigorous, and the end result is that all of my cohort mates were brilliant, motivated, great people to be around. 4. Attend school at a place that truly invests in you. The cost of the program is justified in longer hours (6 days/week, 11 hours/day), incredible job search support, pre-course mentoring, and alumni career services into perpetuity. read more

If you're checking out these reviews for Hack Reactor, you've probably already done some research. As a recent graduate (I graduated today), I can honestly say this is the most influential and impacting twelve weeks of my life. Sure, Hack Reactor teaches you Javascript and a crap ton of other technologies, but what it really teaches you is how to be a critical thinker, a master debugger, and it gives you the ability to tackle new problems with confidence. Aside from the fact that Hack Reactor will turn you into a true Javascript Ninja, a real difference between Hack Reactor and a traditional four year institution is that they practice iterative development. Tapout sessions, and Sprint Reviews (which happen roughly every two days) are times for Hack Reactor to receive real feedback from its students. They take all student concerns into real consideration and make adjustments/improvements to their offering extremely quickly. They make it a point to take care of their students both emotionally and mentally. Hack Reactor is an extremely intensive program, and they understand that everyone here had to give up a big part of their life to dedicate themselves to becoming a proficient developer. read more

Hack Reactor was the single most beneficial thing I have ever done for myself. I have a Bachelor's Degree from a four year college, and I would have taken the 12 weeks spent at Hack Reactor over my four years in college in a hearbeat, even if I still had to pay the $100k+ to Hack Reactor that I paid in college tuition. I could wax eloquent about Hack Reactor for pages, but to keep the review short, everything everyone else has said is true. I was a huge skeptic of the metrics that Hack Rector says they keep for hiring stats, and I was already employed full-time with a family I had to take care of. Since I was offered a job two weeks before even graduating for twice what I was making before leaving to attend Hack Reactor, and pretty much all of the people who went through the program with me are getting great offers, I can say the metrics are true. Hack Reactor changed my life, and I am left with the feeling that I owe them more. I was worried about the tuition beforehand, since it is the most expensive program, but after going through it and seeing the changes it allowed me to make in my life, I feel like I underpaid by quite a bit. Opportunities like this come around once in a lifetime, if you are considering it, just go for it, I can't imagine your life not being improved many times over by the knowledge and experience that you will get going through this program. read more

Best decision I ever made: Difficult, but worth it! I studied Finance in undergrad, but fell in love with Computer science when I took my first programming course called Financial Engineering. I first learned about Coding Bootcamps back in 2015 and finally made the decision to go in 2017. During those two years, I studied on the weekends, researched my options and saved up for 9 months of unemployment (3 month immersive + 6 months of runway for the job search). When it came down to choosing a bootcamp, I was between App Academy and Hack Reactor. I ultimately chose Hack Reactor for one reason: I met somebody with a very similar background to me (same degree in Finance from the same University) and his testimony gave me the comfort I needed. At the end of the day, there are many outstanding bootcamps (Hack Reactor, AA, Rithm, GA, etc...), but success in these programs, in my opinion, will ultimately come down to your grit and interest in the subject matter. There are three things I loved about Hack Reactor: 1) Attention to student development 2) Method of teaching 3) Relevance of curriculum Every cohort will comprise of students with varying intellects and backgrounds. I had 10 cohort mates who had just graduated with a computer science degree from a four year university and others who taught 6th grade math and drilled into eyeballs. Every single one of these students got jobs. Regardless of your background, when it comes to succeeding in the program, you must be proactive in asking for help. I started off knowing a lot less than many of my cohort mates. I had to compensate by consistently and proactively asking for help by either scheduling 1:1 sessions with my Tech Mentor or connecting with other cohort mates after hours for further instruction. Hack Reactor's Tech Mentor team is truly unique and represent the proprietary value the bootcamp offers. These are former students who have mastered the curriculum and can teach it to you like you were a 3 year old kid. They've been in your shoes and they're patient. I can't speak for the current group of Tech Mentors, but while I was there, they were the shoulder that many of the students leaned on. This bridges into my second point: Hack Reactor teaches you how to learn. After several iterations of bothering the kid next to you, you'll realize you can't keep bombarding people with questions every time you're stuck. You learn to work through bugs by yourself and with your partner before raising any alarms. I learned how to learn again at Hack Reactor and although I felt like there could be more structure at times, I also feel like I wouldn't have honed my learning abilities without that particular ratio of instruction to 'greenfield'. Lastly, the curriculum lead (Fred-ness) works very hard to iterate over the current curriculum every 6 weeks to ensure that they cover relevant material. I was hired on to be a 'Hacker In Residence' directly after my graduation so I stayed onboard for another 3 months and over the course of 6 months, 4 cohorts, I saw the curriculum change every time. The Thesis involved a microservice backend that would impress any fullstack employer. New sprints building mini-apps. 'Expired' sprints were taken out. By the time I left, the graduating class had a toolbox ready to kill any interview (so long as you put in the work). Hack Reactor isn't perfect, but no bootcamp is. It's a relatively new industry servicing hundreds of new students every 6 weeks (in SF alone). I wasn't the smartest kid in the room so I compensated by putting in the hours. I came in at 9am and left around 12am everyday, Monday to Saturday. It was normal for me to close up the school and that was okay because I had students there with me, grinding and studying. The camaraderie was real and the environment is truly unique. I was able to turn my life around in 3-6 months for a fraction of what I paid for college. I got multiple offers before finishing my Hacker In Residence program. I love what I do and for 3 months of hell, it was worth it. read more

Hack Reactor is a great place to learn how to be a software engineer. Even as a CS graduate (I have a B.S. in C.S.), it's my opinion that Hack Reactor provides a lot of value. There's a good amount of focus on soft skills, which believe it or not, is pretty necessary for a successful career as a software engineer. For those that aren't coming from a C.S. background, Hack Reactor does a good enough job teaching the C.S. fundamentals to get you up to speed. There's one thing I would like readers of this review to keep in mind. Hack Reactor is only as good as you make it. The more effort you put into absorbing the information and being a member of your community (cohort), the more you will get out of it. Yes, Hack Reactor provides a lot of the necessary structure, but you'll more often find more learning experiences through your peers, which Hack Reactor does a great job of vetting. I really loved my cohort-mates. HR23. read more

Hack Reactor is creating the future of education. I wrote my first lines of code when I was 20. Going from complete noob status to a competent engineer was a big mountain to climb. Hack Reactor is the jet pack with landing gear that got me where I needed to be. I'm going to describe my experience. This won't be an accurate representation of what Hack Reactor is currently like because they're constantly, methodically improving everything about the program. It's also a bit of a blur to me. Time has no meaning at Hack Reactor. Everyone there is spending all of their waking hours working insanely hard so the days blend together. Before my technical interview they gave me suggestions for concepts to understand. I didn't get in the first time, but that fueled me to work harder and level up my understanding so that I was ready to rock on my next interview. Once I did get accepted, I joined my cohort's Slack group where everyone was helping each other study and sharing resources. It's an amazing group of people and I'm lucky to have them as friends and allies in the industry. The pre-course work is no joke. We immersed ourselves in the world of JavaScript, becoming intimately familiar with composing functions, recursion and manipulating the DOM. By the time we actually got to Hack Reactor we were ready to start implementing data structures like hash tables, linked lists and graphs. After building a solid base of knowledge around data structures and algorithms (which we continued to practice at least 1 hour a day for the rest of the 3 months), we moved on to the practical skills required for building web applications. Creating client-side interaction (with and without frameworks), making HTTP requests to a server, writing the server in raw Node, creating separate background processes, setting up and interacting with databases, implementing user authentication, all the while using git, npm and industry practices like pair programming and test driven development. The second half of the course is less structured, which really puts you to the test as an engineer. You end up unexpectedly learning a lot more about the "soft skills" required to be an effective team player: precise communication, managing feature scope, dividing up the work, developing a consistent workflow, etc. You also get to explore the technologies that interest you. For me those included React, React Native, WebSockets, WebGL (using Three.js), Gulp, and embedded microcontrollers. While the second half was less structured, it was still insanely structured by most standards. The staff holds you accountable to a high level of performance while giving you as much support as they can. Everything runs on schedule like a German train station. You don't have to think about anything but building your projects and being an awesome engineer. You also end up learning a lot about teaching from the instructors, the structure of the course and the way it's rapidly iterated. Towards the end you're coached through creating your new resume, curating your online presence and getting ready for the job search. The staff is insanely committed to doing everything in their power to help you find the right job. I could ramble on about Hack Reactor for a long time but I think that's enough for now. If you're serious about leveling up your skills quickly, and you have the resources to attend, just do it. read more

I just finished my 13 week program and am thoroughly pleased with both the time and money I invested in this program (yes it's pricey, and yes, it was an investment for me). Some simple answers to common questions for those trying to choose between different programs: Why I chose Hack Reactor (HR): 98% Hiring Rate + $110k avg starting salary (first-hand experience verifies these stats). What I liked about HR: The environment. Smart instructors, smart support staff, but most importantly, incredibly smart classmates. More on this below. What I disliked about HR: Long days meant less time with my family (wife and son). But you have long days for a reason, how else do you expect to learn so much content in just 3 months. What surprised me about HR: Classmates. Incredibly bright. ALL of them. That's what most made me feel like it was the right decision (applied to 3 other programs as well). Other thoughts on my decision to choose HR: I had already been accepted to what I thought would be my first choice before my first interview for HR. HR's cost and time commitment seemed highly undesirable to me at first. Tony (co-founder) led my first interview, and right off the bat it felt more like an educational experience (the interview) than a test. Even after the second interview with Nathan (instructor) I felt strangely comfortable. My instincts told me that HR would be my best opportunity, and best fit. Maybe for someone else the fit might be better at a different program. Thoughts after the program: 13 weeks is a long time, but looking back it seems like very little. Given the amount of effort, I'm not quite sure how much I would have been able to learn had the program been any shorter. Sure, there are things that could have been skipped, but not to the point of cutting out 3-4 weeks of curriculum. Don't let the time commitment discourage you, after the first week you'll find it's a non-issue (the problem becomes forcing yourself to leave at a reasonable hour). read more

I chose Hack Reactor because of its reputation and clout in the industry and it hands down lived up to my expectations! The quality of the students and curriculum is unrivaled and it has become the school's biggest asset. If you can get in, past the interview, you 100% should go! About me: I needed a way to pivot from my uninteresting programming job and update my industry knowledge in the shortest amount of time that would be reasonable. I also had this insecurity about what the difference in my mind between a programmer and a software engineer and whether I qualify as the latter. Hack Reactor offers an immersive program that dives deep into the areas I needed to build my understanding, JavaScript fundamentals & Comp Sci, in preparation to land a kickass job as a software engineer in any tech hub in the world! So worth it. read more

UPDATE: I promised I'd update my review after my job search, so that experience could be factored in as well (and because I know that's what most people are curious about after all!). Well, I have to say that Hack Reactor came through with flying colors on that aspect as well. Toward the end of the program, we had a "hiring day" where interested companies came by and we had a sort-of speed dating 10 min screening with the companies that interested us. It was a great way to learn a little bit about each company and for them to learn a bit about us. Well, after just the hiring day, most of my class had a very packed next week lined up of onsite interviews with the hiring day companies and with other companies that we found on our own. The week after meeting on-site with the hiring day companies that interested me, I was lucky enough to have multiple good offers to choose from, as I know many of my peers did as well. So all told, with the preparation that Hack Reactor provided, only a couple of weeks after finishing at Hack Reactor, I - along with a several of my classmates - had already accepted a software engineer job with a nationally recognized organization. Before starting Hack Reactor, I was very skeptical that it was possible to land a job so quickly after finishing, but it is very much possible and I couldn't be more thankful to Hack Reactor for all the help they provided. So yeah... best career decision I've ever made. I'd do it again in a heartbeat! read more

Attending and graduating from Hack Reactor was easily the best decision I ever made. Not only do they tackle the trivial task of teaching you to program, but they also do a fantastic job of life coaching, job interview preparation and making Hack Reactor into an awesome community source. I'd almost go so far to say Hack Reactor is a way of life, and definitely is for the three months you are there. With such an intense program and hours, you'll find yourself spending more time with your cohort than you've ever spent most of your friends. You'll meet some of the most amazing people in the world and be connected to many more in the community. As far as coding boot camps go, I'd be willing to bet that Hack Reactor is the most intensive program out there right now and easily the greatest opportunity to optimize your future. read more

I recently graduated from Hack Reactor as part of the April cohort. In short, Hack Reactor is one of the hardest, most rewarding things I have ever done, and I would recommend it to anyone who is serious about becoming a better programmer. I have spent the last 2 weeks interviewing with companies for software engineering jobs in Utah, and I have been impressed at every turn with how well I was prepared for obtaining a development job. I currently have 4 offers on the table, which is an incredible spot to be in. The most impressive part of my Hack Reactor experience was the incredibly smart, ambitious people I was surrounded with every day. This cannot be stressed enough. The learning environment the team at HR has put together is like nothing else I have experienced. The instructors, mentors, and fellow students will give you everything they've got to help you learn. The curriculum is fast-paced and it is designed to make you feel overwhelmed at times. It is all a part of training you for life as a working software engineer. Marcus, Shawn and the rest of the staff will teach you "how to learn", so that you are comfortable working with technologies or frameworks you haven't used before. Hack Reactor is a major commitment, and it's not something to be entered into lightly. You will be working very hard, all day, 6 days per week. That means you pretty much have to give up most everything else in your life for 3 months. Most days I would arrive around 8:30am, and I wouldn't leave until 10 or 11pm. I also spent most of my days off writing code or working on side projects. If you have the passion and drive to be completely immersed in code for 12 weeks, then the payoff will be worth all of the hard work. Most all of my classmates have accepted lucrative offers, and we are all on our way in new software engineering careers. I can't wait to see where they all will be in the next couple years! read more

There are a lot of stats around the webs proclaiming Hack Reactor's excellence, it can be pretty overwhelming to imagine that that much praise could hold up in actuality. I am here to say that it very much does. All the research I did before making the plunge came out 100% accurate. I want to make it clear that I did not attend Hack Reactor to become a graduate, nor to get a job, nor to build my network. I attended Hack Reactor to become a killer software engineer, the rest was just gravy. read more

I had an amazing experience for many reasons, but mainly: the people, the curriculum, and a personal touch. Yes, it is super intense but I think that was something I expected. I did not expect to be immersed in such a way that made me truly feel like I can tackle a lot of various software engineering problems. And that was a nice surprise! I had great classmates, which largely ended up being great motivators and it was great to get experience working in a more real-life environment. I'm not going to babble on about the rest of the specifics because it looks like a lot of people break it down fairly well, but if you are looking for a place to learn programming + learn how to "learn effectively" on your own, it's a fantastic place to be. Plus, the guidance given to you for searching for jobs as well as if you need any help while there, is top notch. Even after you land your first job, Hack Reactor is still there to guide you to your next one and I find that to be very valuable. read more

Some of the best lectures I've ever had in my life. Marcus is a true master educator, and the rest of the staff is tremendous. I feel fully prepared for the job search, and it's going very well so far. I came here because they promised to make me a JavaScript ninja. Now I just need to figure out where to keep my nunchucks. read more

Based on all the research I did before applying, I entered Hack Reactor expecting to stay up late, work hard, and come out the other side of 12 weeks with all the knowledge and skill necessary to land a software engineering job in the SF Bay area. What I didn't expect, was to find myself immediately welcomed into an ever growing community of individuals who are incredibly passionate about constantly deepening their own technical knowledge and sharing that knowledge with the Hack Reactor, JavaScript, and greater Open Source communities. To be sure, Hack Reactor's instructors and curriculum delivered all of the technical content I expected to learn, and then some. However, I think that 'how' they teach is so much more important than 'what' they teach. Hack Reactor's methodology empowers students to collaboratively find and create solutions to problems which, in turn, allows them to make meaningful contributions to major open source projects and build innovative new apps in a matter of days or weeks. I guess you could say that the single greatest thing Hack Reactor has to offer is confidence. Confidence in yourself. Confidence in the community. Confidence that you can build what you want to. Confidence that you now know how and where to turn for help when you've hit a wall. read more

My recommendation is to join Hack Reactor if you're lucky enough to get accepted. Here's a bit more about my experience... Breaking down the 5-star review: Overall quality of education. ******** (8 stars): There are many opportunities out there to learn, but few have such high caliber and quality. Experience ***** (5 stars): It's like being a college student again. Cost *** (3 stars): It does incur risk, but it's quite worth it. read more

INTENSE. That's most accurate and concise way to describe Hack Reactor. Material: You will cover a seemingly insane amount of material in about six weeks and then get to flex your new found programming muscle creating some awesome projects. Commitment: For three months you will be required to attend AT MINIMUM six days a week and 11 hours a day. Many (if not the majority) stay late to work on various things and get assistance from others. This place is no joke and if you aren't willing to give at least 100% you will end up just wasting your time because you won't be able to catch up if you feel like taking a day off here or there to do your own thing. Background: I was not a CS major but had a little bit of programming under my belt before I came but made sure to devote myself and not let myself get left in the dust by the other amazing people that I was learning beside. PC or Mac: All the computers at Hack Reactor are Macs and just about all your peers will have a Macbook. If you're a PC person don't sweat it, you will become quite familiar with Macs very quickly. I stuck out with my Dell laptop (and was one of only two heathens without a Mac), but in the end I not only came out like a boss with JavaScript skills but I got extremely comfortable with using that squiggly pound key :) Cost: Hack Reactor is pricey, but it seems to be a good way to make sure you're only surrounded by people that are fully committed. I feel it was one of the best investments I could have made and would do it again in a heart beat. One last thing, even more than the knowledge you gain, the assistance from the hiring staff surely makes the price tag worth it. It is really astounding how they were able to get such dedicated and talented people. The work they do for you and guidance they offer is a HUGE factor in why I am glad I chose to go through the program and would recommend it to anyone interested. read more

Hack Reactor has changed my life. This is the most inspirational group of people I have ever had the opportunity to get to know. I have made lifelong friends, learned more than I could have ever imagined possible over the duration of the program, and have come away with an experience that will continue to provide value for many years to come. This is so much more than a place where you learn how to code, though you will come away with a serious set of skills by the time you have completed the program. Before Hack Reactor, I was working as a front end web developer, but I knew that I needed to take my skills to the next level to become more versed throughout the stack. I ended up finding out about Hack Reactor and knew that the focus on JavaScript was the path that I was looking for in accelerating my career as a software engineer. Some of the most impressive facets about the program, however, are the ways that Hack Reactor teaches you how to approach a problem, communicate, learn, and teach others. All of these are extremely valuable and marketable skills that I would argue are equally as important in the long run as the coding skills you develop during your time here. Through pair programming, encouraging a growth mindset, and establishing good communication practices, Hack Reactor prepares you for the challenges that you will inevitably face in the real world as a software engineer. And after you finish the program, Hack Reactor provides a lifetime of job search support and a huge family of alumni. HR truly went above and beyond my expectations, and I would recommend the program to anyone looking to accelerate their learning as a software engineer. read more

Hack Reactor provides an environment where I've been able to grow and work with some of the most intelligent and loveable people I've ever met. As Hack Reactor continues to expand at such a rapid rate, there are some things that need to get ironed out such as the internal student tools, lecture/sprint consistency, and general communication between staff and students. Aside from that, Hack Reactor has given me the experience to truly excel in whatever challenge is thrown at me. read more

Hack Reactor is a great coding school. Their custom curriculum was the most effective that I've experienced. While the first half can be grueling, the knowledge and the ability to pick up any new thing is amazing. There is definitely a certain bar required to be able to survive Hack Reactor so do take caution when deciding to go here. Hack Reactor is a place that will take you form 20-100, not 0-60 so you need to come prepared. While there is support at Hack Reactor, it is largely up to you to make sure you succeed. If you are looking for a place to spoon feed you information for 3 months this is not the place for you. If you are looking to be an autonomous software engineer by the time you graduate, then Hack Reactor is the best place for you. Not only is the education amazing, the community and the network you gain are invaluable. I've met so many great people here that my main worry is how to maintain contact with all of them. Hack Reactor should be at the top of your list if you are considering going to any coding school. read more

TLDR: It's awesome. Just do it. Also it's a shame there isn't a six-star option... I spent three years doing what's supposed to be one of the most challenging and rewarding undergraduate degrees at what calls itself the best, most challenging university in the world. Those three years were a ludicrous waste of time compared to the last three months at Hack Reactor. It's difficult to summarise just why this is so, and this response is necessarily skewed towards my opinion. Here's my attempt at it: 1. The curriculum--This is something that the team at HR clearly spend a stupendous amount of time working on and is constantly in flux. The curriculum is designed to be as information-dense as possible and is an amazingly effective scaffolding upon which student's learning experiences are based. 2. The quality of instruction is first class. Marcus, Phillip and Fred are, without a shadow of doubt, just world-class instructors. Marcus gives the impression of being someone who was just born to be a technical instructor, and is really just an anthropomorphic, laser-sharp distillery for complex code concepts. Philip has a sense of virally infectious enthusiasm for javascript concepts that he spreads around like anthrax. Fred appears to live to show students how to parse and formulate the most elegant code possible that has the effect of setting of a chain reaction of light bulbs in our heads so we realise just how much better our code could be. Hack Reactor doesn't let just anyone up in front of it's students ;) 3. Your peers will be the cream of the crop. I spent most of the time feeling like the stupidest kid in the class. And that's fantastic. It meant that I was surrounded by people who were aces to hang out with and whom I could learn from. There's some genuine savant-level intellect floating around in each class and its an honour to work with them. That Hack Reactor has spent a lot of time filtering for niceness is an added plus. 4. The environment is all about learning. Something I appreciated a lot is that the school takes very seriously the idea that there are no stupid questions, and that nobody should feel intimidated by anything, or anyone. The culture is rabidly inclusive and anyone, from any background will find him or herself part of a family with one goal, and that's to take care of each other and nurture the collective technical wisdom of the crowd. 5. The alumni network has more potential than anything similar I've seen before. Mike has done an unreal job of assembling a cohesive network of Hack Reactor alumni and is the pivotal moment in the midst of it all. Alumni are privileged to a whole host of goodies, meetups and exclusive infrastructure, all with the goal of keeping the community as tightly-knit as possible. I'm not sure how much of this is under wraps, but suffice it to say that any true hacker would probably give a kidney for the stuff you get access to. You really do feel like part of a family, and joining the alumni network feels a lot like Christmas. 6. Lastly, but most importantly. Hack Reactor is aware of any and all flaws I'm about to mention, and they are incessantly working at improving themselves. Every cohort gets a better experience than the last and this happens so damn fast that I just can't imagine how any school could keep up. Yes, I think Hack Reactor is the best software engineering school there is right now, and I think it's setting and raising the bar so fast that it's very, very hard to beat. So what sucks about it? More petty things that you'd care to hear. The elevators don't always work, sometimes the microphones run out of batteries, one floor doesn't have a dishwasher, there's a lot of reply-all email. The magnitude of these should be clear. To me, it's negligible. They're all fixable and for all I know, they've already been fixed. To me, the fact is that when I look back on the last three months, they're front-runners in the competition for 'best months of my life'. The school, the environment and the experience have captured my mind and imagination like some sort of educational imperious curse. It's taught me how to teach myself things I never thought I'd be able to do and I'm immensely grateful for it. It's a shame there isn't a six star option... read more

It's hard to say any good things about this school that haven't already been said in the last 100+ reviews. Everything you've read is true: this is the best coding school out there. If you can get in, you should go. I'll add two other things that stood out to me about the Hack Reactor experience, that I didn't expect coming in. The first is how much they set you up for success in the job search. I went to a four-year college, and after that had a 5-year career in the tech industry, and never once did anyone sit me down and explain to me how to market myself to employers. Hack Reactor's Student Outcomes team gave us practical advice on how to craft a personal narrative, how to write resumes and cover letters, and how to interact with potential employers. There is literally someone on staff that reads all student resumes and gives personalized feedback. That's crazy! It's no wonder they have a 99% placement rate for graduates. The second thing I wanted to highlight is the exceptional care Hack Reactor takes of its alumni. Alumni are always welcome back at the school, and in fact there are two rooms set aside just for alumni to hang out and work. Hack Reactor continues to support alumni for their entire career, providing them with connections and advice if they ever decide to switch jobs in the future. To sum up, this was a great experience and I would recommend it to anyone who's serious about becoming a software engineer. read more

Best thing I've ever done ... ever. If you can get in here go here. Changed my life, it's one of the most unbelievably amazing experiences and communities I've ever been a part of. Not to mention that I learned more at Hack Reactor in the first week than I learned in a year and a half of a university Computer Science degree. read more