Hack Reactor

I quit my job as a healthcare consultant and enrolled in Hack Reactor with the goal of securing a job as a software engineer. While the cirriculum was only 3 months, I spent a few months preparing for the admissions interview before it started, and another month looking for a job after it ended. I didn't have a strong background in web development, and found that the in-person immersive program helped me learn the material faster than if I had done part-time or remote. The cirriculum is intense, but there's plenty of support from instructors, classmates, and career coaches to get you through the program if you're willing to put in the work.

I knew some folks that completed bootcamps around the same time, and I think what set my experience apart was the career support after the program had ended. Hack Reactor isn't just focused on teaching you software engineering fundamentals and web development best practices.They truly emphasize the job search process as another crucial part of the cirriculum.

My career coach Marlene helped me throughout every step of the way, from resume/linkedin review, to managing my application/interview metrics, and setting up mock interviews before phone screens and on-sites. She was available 24/7 to answer any questions, motivate me to send out applications, and help me negotiate a $10k salary increase for the offer I secured 4 weeks after graduation. What I appreciated the most, was that she made me apply to senior positions that I didn't believe I was qualified for (even though I was). She helped me land my dream job!

The outcomes team takes their job very seriously, and they'll expect you to do the same. I wasn't one of the strongest engineers in my cohort, but I had one of the best outcomes because of the incredible career support.

The experience at Hack Reactor @ Galvanize will be one that I will never forget. From the instructors to the course material, supporting staff members to the campus, every aspect of this program came together to offer a supportive, learning enironvment essential to building the skills needed to code and become future developers. 

On top of learning how to build apps, I've made life-long friendships/mentors, and developed soft skills that will help me in my journey. I am very grateful I was offered the opporunity to learn thru this program.

I was skeptical about coding bootcamps at first, but after Hack Reactor @ Galvanize, I saw for myself why it was such a highly-rated program.

One of my greatest personal takeaways from the program was how it fundamentally changed my outlook on learning, and really stretched the boundaries of what I previously thought was attainable. It still surprises me, up till today, how much I've managed to achieve in such a short amount of time. I can say with confidence that the curriculum preps you well in terms of technical skills, personal growth, and the job search that comes thereafter.

I think the outcomes of the program speak for themselves. I have finally secured a job I've only dreamed of in the past and my only regret is not taking the plunge sooner!

If you truly want to learn this stuff, are fully willing to put in the work and willing to give your life to HR for 13 weeks You will come out and be ahead of other boot camps or people right out school. If you put in the work and there is a lot of it and all very hard then HR will make sure you can success. I also was the in the last class that did Greenfield, Legacy and thesis. Really i had no ides what i was doing till a week in to greenfield. Leaving HR I felt like i was in the buton 15% skill wise. I started my job at the same time as someone who went to dev mountain and the things I knew over him was a big different. The staff is good the info is good like the slides oh my there amazing when i started my job i went back a reread them and there so good. I feel this school is worth it but you as a person has to put in all the work just because you finished from this place does not mean you will get a job or one fast. I had to look for fiveish months before I found one. I walked in to a mid roll coding my first day.

I graduated Hack Reactor 2 months ago with confidence in job searchihng. I realized that I really enjoyed working with React and web development in general. Also, I was eager to enrich and refine my backend skills to expert level. I wanted to learn cutting edge frameworks in dynamic and interactive team environment. So, I decided to join Hack Reactor because I heard that Hack Reactor has really good curriculum for both technical and non-technical aspects. I loved it. Experience in Hack Reactor made me even a stronger software engineer with better engineering habits, robust Test Driven Development and Agile experience, practical and scalable development experience, deep exposure with cutting edge frameworks, and soft skill development. In addition, job searching support after graduation from career coach is great. Lastly, instructors and staffs are professional and supportive.

You get in what you put into the program. 

This is an opportunity to either improve your career options or to change your life for the better, IF you work at it. 

Hack Reactor will provide the environment, curriculum and path to being a software engineer, but only with your blood, sweat, tears (and a little luck) will get you to where you need to be. However, it is a supportive environment both emotionally and mentally that will test your desire and ability to become a software engineer.

Course starts with basic CS concepts - and a chance to review what you should have already covered during precourse and SSP.

Then it shifts towards frameworks and applicable skillsets. The curriculum changes to match industry needs to make sure students are as competitive in the marketplace as possible.

When I attended, the statistics were 95% had a job within 3 months with an average of $105,000 per year. That's no longer the case because the market has become oversaturated by applicants with no experience. Many companies won't even consider you without previous employment as a software engineer. Currently, the job search takes closer to an average of 6 months.

The entire job application process is a real crapshoot. A lot of us sent out hundreds of resumes, resulting in only a few onsite interviews. That's one reason job placement isn't too strongly correlated with abilities. Most of the people who did get a job got it from a referral.

If you have a technical background (eg mechanical engineer), a technical degree (CS, physics, math etc) or previous experience as a programmer then things will be much easier for you. For everyone else, a solid portfolio and online presence will be a tremendous help to get you interviews because just getting to the point where you can demonstrate your abilities takes a lot of time and effort. 

Attending Hack Reactor was one of the BEST decisions I have ever made; it changed my life. I started my first job as a full stack engineer about a month ago, and Hack Reactor has fully prepared me to perform competently. I knew before beginning Hack Reactor that I would get a good education, but I was skeptical about outcomes; I worried I wouldn't be able to find a job. I have to say that, out of all the things Hack Reactor provides, I was most blown away by their outcomes support. My outcomes coach was there for me every step of the way, and I was able to find a job in less than two months after starting the job search. 

Before I begin my review of Hack Reactor’s remote program I think it would be beneficial to leave a brief personal background. I am a university student studying business and decided to attend Hack Reactor during the summer between my third and fourth year to get technical programming experience. During my business degree I have taken a number of computer science courses which helped me make the decision that I wanted to become a software engineer with a background in business and move towards developing business software as a career path.  With that as my goal, attending Hack Reactor turned out to be the best decision I could have made even though one of my other options was to complete a computer science degree at my university.

Now to talk specifically about Hack Reactor's remote immersive development program I will list and describe my pros and cons of the program.

Pros

1. The staff and their obsession with receiving feedback

The first pro I would like to write about is definitely the staff that makes the program one of the best out there. Each staff member (instructor, counsellor, recruitment advisor, teaching assistant…) understands the responsibility they have facing them and that the reason they have developed one of the best program’s among their competitors is because of their interest and perhaps obsession, with receiving feedback and then acting on such feedback.

Furthermore, since the remote class has (as I write) taught over 25 cohorts of roughly 25-30 students each, they have been able to develop a program that is incredibly effective at bringing in smart students with little development experience and turning them into software engineers with the skills to land high paying jobs immediately after graduation.

2. Your ability to become a software developer, not just a JavaScript software developer.

Before attending I was concerned that I was only going to be able to find jobs after graduation in JavaScript however Hack Reactor’s curriculum has been carefully designed to develop software developers while using JavaScript as the language to accomplish that goal. Many of my other cohort students have been finding opportunities developing software in other languages than JavaScript (i.e Java, Python, C…) in addition to the many students who did end up landing jobs in JavaScript roles.

3. The constantly evolving curriculum

One important reason behind Hack Reactor’s success in developing great software engineers is there ability and effort to stay on top of industry trends and change the curriculum when they see fit. Since the school takes responsibility for developing engineers who will have the skills to be able to find full time employment after graduation they hold themselves accountable for teaching students the most up to date technologies and skills. If they see that a new technology is gaining prominence in the industry they have the ability to work at getting new projects and lectures structured so that the next incoming cohort will be able to get that experience. Contrast this to university (mine in particular), where a change to the curriculum of a program takes at minimum 1.5 years.

4. Structured and challenging admissions process

This is another very important point that many other programming boot camps do not take as seriously as Hack Reactor. The admissions team does an incredible job at accepting the smartest and most motivated and energetic students who you will end up developing very close relationships with over the course of the 12 week program. Nearly all of the projects that you will develop at Hack Reactor are done in groups and never having to worry about who you will be paired with is one advantage which makes the school one of the best among its peers. In addition to being exposed to the best of applicants who you will be working with in your cohort, you also gain exposure to thousands of Hack Reactor alumni who are also as smart, energetic and motivated as you are who are always willing to spend time to give you advice or help understand a particular industry or company in which you are interested.

Con

1. Little time for rest and recovery

Finally I’ll take this opportunity to say that this program is not for everyone mainly for the reason that the course runs for 12 weeks, 6 days a week and a minimum of 10 hours a day. It is intense and not everyone will be able to handle it. When I first began I found it quite challenging to get acquainted with the intensity of the program but very quickly was able to get used to the course load. In addition if you are truly interested in programming and software development, time will fly by and you will find yourself looking forward to coming back to the computer on your spare time to continue learning.

To conclude I should mention one thing, this type of program might not match your learning style. If you’re someone who does not work well in a fast paced program and who may not be able to handle the heavy course load and intensity then you will find this program incredibly difficult. However, if you are someone who thinks you might be able to handle the course load you will excel and look back never thinking it would have been possible to learn that much in such little time. A truly great learning experience which has completely accelerated my career path and life.