Hack Reactor

I am a recent Hack Reactor grad who's just beginning the job search. I came into the program with very little actual coding experience (most of which was preparing for the Hack Reactor interview) and left the program feeling fully prepared for a job in industry. It's impossible to know if I truly am until I actually begin working as a software engineer, but having worked in Silicon Valley for several years (in a non-technical role) has given me a large technical network to draw from, and those in my network are also confident in my abilities now that I'm an HR grad.

Bottom line, if you're ready to be challenged, want to be job ready, and are looking for a JavaScript bootcamp you cannot do better than Hack Reactor.

I recently graduated from HR and am about to begin my job search. Now obviously I can't speak about success rate in terms of employment, since I have no firsthand experience, but I can say that I have definitiely learned a ton.

The curriculum definitely pushes your limits. You need to be ready to dive into something new every other day, work well with others, and be autonomous. My understanding of the "real world" in software engineering is that it will encompass all three of this, and HR makes it a point to drive this home from day one. The program picks up exactly where traditional education falls short, in terms of technical preparedness.

Along with the curriculum, your peers will be one of your biggest assets if you choose to join. You will be surrounded by intelligent, highly motivated students and that should only push you even more to be the best engineer you can possibly be. The environment is set up up for community building, so make sure to take advantage.

A couple critiques that I have include the cost; it is a lot of money. I honestly believe it was well worth it, however, because I am confident that I am now up to par with many of the existing engineers currently already in the job market. After a few years of work experience, I am sure that we will make that money back in now time. Another critique is in the level of job support. They do a great job on the last week of letting us know what we are jumping into, they don't suger-coat our job search experience (bluntly letting us know that it will suck for most of the time), and they offer us plenty of help reviewing and perfecting resumes, cover letters, and personal statements. Although, just as some of my peers have commented, I would have appreciate more guidance in terms of which companies to apply or something of the sort. They left all of the research up to us, which is understandable given we independent adults, but at the same time we are paying for a career change (which entails the education as well as the jump into the industry). 

All in all great experience. We'll see after the job search... but hands down I would do it again if I was given the chance to do it over. 

I recently finished the Hack Reactor program in Dec 2016, and am now embarking on my job search, and while I dont have a job yet (lay off! Its only been 2 days since graduation! :P), I can say, I know and honestly feel like I am a well-prepared full stack javascript developer.  I graduated from Stanford in 2010 in a non-technical field, and very much feel like the education I got at HR is far more practical and applicable than anything I got from my University degree (though, of course Stanford always has my heart).  From the team to the curriculum, I think everything was top notch. It is actually kinda shocking how much you can learn in such a short period of time, but the academic team at HR has it down to a science, and I learned so much from all their exercises and instruction that I feel fully prepped. No, this intensive experience won't be for everyone, but for those ready to take on a daunting challenge and ready to hold themselves to task, you really can get a top notch education.  And while I can only speak form about a week of the Job Assistance portion of the course, I feel like so far it has been very helpful, and it is definitely a "you get what you take out of it" situation. The team is there to help you and are super responsive to any requests for input, but they aren't going to submit your resume for you, they arent going to do your technical interviews and they arent going to negotiate your job offers. They will coach you and give you all the info you need, but as with everything else in this world, the end results are up to you!

I am sad to see some of the negative reviews that recently popped up, but I can honestly say that people who complain that you have to wade through ambiguity, teach yourself how to handle new technologies and be responsible for your own education simply dont understand the point of hack reactor. Yes, all of this info is out there on the internet somewhere, but if you want a focused approach to get you to where you can get a job in only 3 months, HR is for you. Also, I would point out, this review is only for the on campus course, I did not take the Remote course and so am not sure how the two would differ. 

But I CAN and WILL say, HR earned these 5 star ratings, and I only am here to express my gratitude and excitement for this new career journey I am embarking on as of today! 

My 3 months at Hack Reactor were the most productive and intense 3 months of my life so far. Their approach to teaching is very unique, in that you are never given an answer directly, but instead guided to figure out the solution by yourself. I was sceptical at first, but as the course progressed, I realised how quickly I was picking up new material. Having now graduated, I feel confident I can learn any new technology with ease by myself.

If you are not a self-driven and motivated individual, Hack Reactor is not for you. You are not paying for the teaching material, you can easily find similar content online by yourself. What you're paying for is access to a vast network of software engineers, working space, a community of highly motivated and like-minded individuals to work on projects with, great job assistance, and the brand name. Yes, could probably teach yourself similar material on your own, over a longer period of time, but Hack Reactor will get you a higher paying job faster, so the tuition quickly pays for itself.

Okay, I want to start by saying that I would honestly consider HRR a major turning point in my life.  On multiple levels, this program has bettered me: as a software engineer, as a confident adult and as a competent human being.  As much as I would like to say this is entirely due to the program and the instruction given, it wasn't. Like a workplace, the people that are in your cohort are a defining variable in the successful outcome of the program.  I was lucky enough to be part of HRR-19 and genuinely feel that I have made a lasting group of friends who actually care about me as a human and as a professional.  As a group, we are supportive, honest and open - a winning trifecta that I think made a strong program truly transcendental.

The counselors are quite honest about what to expect when you finish the program, but I will reiterate it here - this program will not guarantee you a six-figure salary, it won't even guarantee you a job, but it will work hard to make sure you are prepared for the pressure of looking for one, no matter where you are. The most important aspect of this is that you will get what you put in. 3 months is honestly not a long time, but it is enough to change the course of your life if you embrace it.  

I am not jaded enough to believe that the program is perfect, there are definite places for improvement, and I agree with some of the things that have been said - so I will start with those.

1) I know the instructors work very hard to put together lecture material  - but given the cost and effort that these students are putting into the work, I would at least expect up to date slides - not recorded on-site lectures from 2014.  I also think it would be more effective if we had a clean lecture - no questions from students or time spent listening to hustle and bustle of on-site... if I wanted that experience I would have actually gone on-site.  I think this would help reduce the time input of lectures, and, if we had quick townhalls right after - it would allow us to ask the immediately relevant questions to us - rather than on-site stuff.

2) There is a pretty apparent gap between instructors level of skill and care of students. I have reached out to staff to discuss this specific issue in hopes that it will be addressed at some point, so that is where I will leave that.  

Okay, now for the things that have been blown way out of proportion to me:

1) The sweatshirt thing. Seriously, we spend 20k to go this program... do you know how many sweatshirt you can buy for that? I think that pretending that we care enough about that sweatshirt to be dishonest about our experience is not only hysterical, it is actually insulting. As I said, this program has taught me self-respect on a level that traditional education was wholly incapable of, and I have no need for a sweatshirt to prove that I went here. Moreover, if you didn't enjoy the program, or find it worthwhile, why would you want the sweatshirt?

2) The stats on hiring rate. We actually had a very honest and frank discussion about the way these are calculated, they are more upfront than I was expecting. Anyone who says that they are falsified clearly was either not given that discussion or chose to ignore that for their own personal issues with the program - either way unprofessional and wholly untrue.

3) The people who complain about the level of instruction given at HRR aren't being honest with themselves about what it takes to cut it in the industry.  They were very honest about the curriculum, stating that you would get less and less help especially after week 1.  This isn't because they are trying to save money, they actually want you to learn to struggle with a problem and figure out the solution on your own.  This is one of the reasons I am actually as confident as I am now - I don't need you to show me a solution, I need to be able to come up with one on my own, probably for a problem that hasn't been thought of yet.

4) To those complaining about not learning the newest material. You should know that most companies, even big once don't instantaneously switch over material and many times they are using older software, teaching you to do this isn't unhelpful, and they don't pigeonhole you into that version, in fact, because they give you so much space, they actually don't even know what version of software you are using.  For those complaining about angular 1 when angular 2 exists (or anything similar) - both are still used, in fact, angular 1 is still more widely used than angular 2, so if you are asking for a useful skill then they are doing what they should.  Regardless of any of this, the junior phase (first 6 weeks) isn't about learning the specific material, it is learning how to learn and be autonomous. If you didn't get it, this autonomy is the thing that actually makes you a strong engineer.  

If you really want to get everything you can from this program and are willing to put in the effort it will be effective for you. If you want to be spoon fed information go get a CS degree - it won't get you as far as fast (or possibly period). If you want a sweater - go spend the 20k tuition on some sweaters.

I attended Hack Reactor from September to December of 2016, overall it was an amazing experience and I am really glad I made the huge jump to attend. A lot of people worry about the hours, but I really didn't find any issues with it, my life was wake up at 7:30, be at school by 8:30, stay at school until 9-10pm, go home and sleep then repeat. You get into a rythm and actually get used to this schedule and anything less just feels weird.

For the first six weeks of the program you basically learn all of your frameworks, and libraries, all of the "real" learning comes in the first six weeks pair programming with a different partner every two days.

The last six weeks of the program is working in a group environment on a team on a project that is entirely up to you to create from ideation all the way through deployment. There is no guidelines and students are allowed to create whatever they please, I really enjoyed this part of the course as I wasn't held to any sort of guidelines or unit tests to complete rather I had a goal for a end product and was able to work towards that goal on a team.

In closing I really though Hack Reactor was a great choice for me and the people who were successful were those who put in the time and really liked to code.

As cliché as it sounds, you really do get what you put into the Hack Reactor program.

During the first six weeks, students are put through a specific curriculum teaching the fundamentals of coding, JavaScript, and frameworks. Despite the lectures and completing the bare minimum requirements for the given exercises, I felt like I hadn't adequately learned the material. So, I put in extra hours with a classmate to do side projects implementing the material we learned. 

As for the last six weeks, students are put into groups and work on applications from scratch for the rest of their time. It's all up to you how much time and effort you want to put into these applications.

Up to this point, I've tried to objectively recap my experience at Hack Reactor. So, now I'll expand on why I rated my overall experience 5 stars. The reason is because of the people in my cohort. While working on applications with them, there were so many things we learned from each other based on the problems we encountered together. The connections and, more importantly, friendships I made are invaluable and irreplaceable. 

So, all of this to say, I am happy with my investment in Hack Reactor and I hope this review can help others better understand what they're potentially investing in. 

Current student here.

If you are the type of person who gives it its all, is willing to go the extra mile by yourself, shutup and look for your own answers while learning through video lectures mostly then you are the candidate for HR but I would argue that is a sad excuse for paying 20,000 dollars (now they lowered it to around 18000 since no one was applying) not having quality help at hand and for that much I should have just put the high gear on "Self autonomous" and do it all myself going through Free Code Camp and other resourses and making study groups on meetup.

Just pointing out last couple of reviews were negative so suspeciously in the last 2 days there have been 7 positive ones of 4-5 stars. 

They sound a big shaidy if you ask me becuse in the last month they barely had 7 reviews total and 7 reviews in 2 days saying HR is the best thing in the world. Does not make sense. 

I also talked with some HR alumni grads from previous cohorts and they said HR is going through some serious challenges and they are finding it hard to get a job anywhere. HR focus has shifted to squezing profits to the detrament of quality of education. It is also packed like a chicken farm. 

Maybe the job market has shrinked, maybe there are a gazillion bootcamps now pumping out graduates competing for the same jobs, maybe HR quality has gone down and they are teaching outdated stuff. I think its all of the above. Latter is HR's job to fix.

And sorry but I dont buy the whole SELF AUTONOMOUS thing. I went to App Academy for their jumpstart before HR and they were so so helpful and colaborative. Its almost like HR is a stab in the back situation if you ask questions. Thats not a good learning envirenment. 


HR are going through serous challenges so I would stay away until they get their act sorted.

I attended Hack Reactor in San Francisco from September-December. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to attend the program, and it truly did change my outlook on learning and success. Yes, you can teach yourself to program. In fact, you have to teach yourself some basic programming in order to pass their admissions process.

However, Hack Reactor is so much more than learning how to code. Rather, I truly believe they teach you how to think and work like an engineer. Prior to attending Hack Reactor, not knowing an answer was an extremely frustrating experience for me. I always meticulously prepared for exams in college, just to avoid that feeling. The exciting thing about software development is that there really is no way to prepare for every problem that comes your way. I quickly had to learn how to be comfortable being uncomfortable and adopt a growth mindset. I am not exaggerating when I say that I fundamentally changed in this way in just 3 months. I see challenges as opportunities to learn something new, and I attribute this mindset to the instruction and atmosphere at Hack Reactor.

If you are considering this program, here’s my advice:

-If preparing to get into HR isn’t enjoyable for you, you are probably not going to enjoy it. You have to really love to program.

-If you DO love to program, it doesn’t matter what you were doing before this. I promise. I came in with the least technical background you can imagine, and here I am.

-Be prepared to work very very very hard.

-As with anything, you get out what you put in. So put a lot into it.

-Tell your family and friends that you will see them in 3 months.

-Don’t assume that the hard work is over after HR. It is never over.

If you don't want to read the whole review - here's the conclusion: you will never be able get a better experience rather than in HR. For all others, keep reading.

To begin with, the general atmosphere of the school is incredible. I can't imagine the place, where you can meet so many educated, talented and intelligent people. Every staff member works incredibly hard and dedicates all his energy and emotions to create the incredible atmosphere of HR.

Curriculum is very intense, but every time I struggled and needed help, not only my cohort-mates were ready to help, but also wonderful and cheerful fellows provided an incredible support. And to my mind, they played one of the greatest parts in creating the overall impression and atmosphere of the program. The material of the course is so well written and structured, I started to appreciate it even more after the graduation, because it's now really easy to understand tricky concepts and patterns, which had been clearly explained in class before.

Project part of the course simulated atmosphere of the real job as closely as possible, even though it seemed boring at first. I still can't believe that only a few months ago I wasn't capable of doing such an amazing things I can do now! All your projects are the visual representation of your 12 week hard work, and this is the best measurement of what this program has given you.

If I could, I would have started everything all over again, I would go through every day of school again..and again..and again. It was the most productive, enjoyable, challenging, impostor syndrome provoking, fun and happiest time of my life, I cannot express enough how grateful I am.

Thanks to all the HR team, staff, fellows, students, everybody who has been working hard to create all of it.

If you're considering attending HR and still hesitating, take a campus tour - you will be inspired enough to make the right decision.

Hack Reactor Remote is literally the best thing to happen in my life. The staff rock, the students are amazing, the experience is literally life changing. Do your homework, talk to a lot of graduates, you'll hear the same thing. 

I’m a recent HRR grad and these negative review below could not be farther from the truth when it relates to my experience, and MANY of my peers (all?). The negative reviews are so extremely biased, so much so that it frustrates me. Let me break it down. 

“HiRs just tell you to google stuff” - Yeah, that’s what you want. I want to learn to fish, not just be given the fish. 

• It seems this point is overly-exaggerated for maximum effect by the negative reviewer. Yes HiRs have told me to google things in the past, but only after helping me arrive at a specific bug and error message that is Google-able. 
• Developing the skill of debugging is everything. I actually don’t like when an HiR will tell me “ah I know exactly what’s wrong, here it is”. I know that’s not useful for me, even though it’s nice in the moment.

“The videos are bad” - Nope they are mostly just fine.

• From my perspective, the videos make up <5% of my experience. Sure there are old videos, and videos that I think could be improved, no doubt. But that’s not the point. The videos don’t need to be ridiculously polished or perfect. They are a great jumping off point to the work that is to be done. I learn most with my peers and getting help from help desk. There are several video lectures that were amazing. 
• Oh and by the way, the freaking awesome tech mentors answer live questions after the videos too, so whatever. 

“The hoodie for a review program is a scam - the positive reviews are a scam” - No, it’s actually a great encouragement. I actually really like it, b/c it gets me to get off my lazy butt and tell the world about this life changing experience.

• Yeah the hoodie for review program was delivered just fine to the students. I got this email as well as the lecture and the way it came off was basically “Hey we want the word out there about what the program is like. We legit are okay with you giving a 1 star review, coming to us and asking for your hoodie. That is totally fine.”
• I actually have a friend who went through HR and left a 3 star review, and got his hoodie and his Outcomes Coach helped him just as much. There wasn’t any drop in service for writing a 3 star review. That’s bs. 
• I’m just lazy. It takes someone to write a 1 star review for me to write my 5 star review because it’s easier to just sit around and have a great experience and not come on here and talk about it. In fact, I’m happy that there’s a slight push for it. There are SO MANY STUDENTS who have a 5 star experience who just don’t write about it. Literally hundreds. Me included if I hadn’t seen these negative ones. 

“All the teachers are former students” - Not really true, and also they’re amazing. So who cares? Maybe it’s better this way.

• The video lectures had a ton of awesome material from Fred, Allen, and Marcus. Between them they have a crazy amount of industry experience.
• The tech mentors are past graduates, but whatever. Who cares. The program works. Hell, maybe it’s better this way. Oh and I have no doubt that they could leave HR and go get a badass dev job. They don’t want to do that, they love their job, and love working with students. They are great teachers, and know their stuff. Seriously. They are humble, they help you when you want, and they’re super respectful. I can’t say the same for most hotshot people with 20 years of industry experience that I've met.

All in all, I felt compelled to write this due to the negative reviews of what I believe to be people who just had a bad experience for w/e reason.

Do your homework, talk to a bunch of graduates, and I’m sure you’ll independently conclude that you should go to Hack Reactor. It’s amazing. 

Ok, back to writing code (at the software engineering job that I got because of Hack Reactor Remote). So yeah. This is an amazing program. I don't doubt that very few people had a negative experience, but that shouldn't take away from the 99% of people who had an absolutely amazing one like me.

By the way, my boss told me after I was hired that he really only hires bootcamp grads from Hack Reactor.

I could go on and on. Just do your homework if you're considering a bootcamp, especially a remote one, and you'll find that 99% of people at HRR had a fantastic experience. 

Part 3, well Tony was supposed to make an entrance but he'll have to wait as I see Mr Harsh Patel coming in and answering to negative reviews. 

Power of social media so HR are now listening...., so Mr Harsh I am replying to your response If you had read my review , I said I was from HRR18 and check your paper work we started on July 25th 2016 and we were Remote Beta and that excerpt from the email is true (check your hrr.communication mailbox  and there will be a something called <sent items> and you will find it there) . On other point again it was after HRR18 started that you decided to have a single brand with a single interview for all campuses.

If Mr Harsh you still don't remember HRR18 dates then let me remind you that during this HRR18 course, within I think the first month you took over the responsibilty from Bianca who used to be incharge of the remote program. I saw you during the handover with Bianca as you were taking over and guess what when she left YOU NEVER SHOWN YOUR FACE AFTER THAT (HR saving money in front us , taking away a resourse). Bianca used to give some extra lessons after hours but you, well the first time I heard from you after that was when you sent an email talking about having a single brand for the multiple school and now replying to these responses.

If you had taken time attending and addressing the issues in the container, the same way you are giving responses then maybe it can benefit the students.......

Lets come to outcomes, someone in our cohort asked the outcomes coach if she placed anyone with the Big Four. She replied NO but someone did join Amazon but in a different field as a project Manager. When you are in HR they make you think you are a hotshot but when you go out you realize your just a JUNIOR. The data structures at HR are very basic with basic bigO. The big four interview starts at maybe AVL or red black trees and that is no where to be found at HR. HR is too caught up with its outdated n-queens and even worse backbone , who no one in the industry I 've seen cares about now.(again my view)

This course doesn't come even near to 10% of a CS degree, its just milking the gap.

HR interview for joining the program is based on basic functional logical programming so HR knows that if you pass that then there is a good chance you will get a junior to mid level job at the normal software companies out there (because they use the same sort of tests). So now it doesn't matter for HR , how well they prepare you as long as they keep you updated with toy problems.

Save yourselves money, praticse codewars and take a css class, you'll get one of those jobs....

stay tuned for part 4