I was a HRR18 student in the online HackReactor course graduated end of October

For the benefit of the future coders I would like to give my experiences so you can make an informed choice. I will at the same time during the story , give my judegements which I accumulated over the course. 

My journey started in early in the year when I decided to become a coder as a change of career as I found it interesting when I experimented with it.

I started with the remote prep, cost around 700 dollars but worth it as it gives you a direction.

Next step is passing the admissions challenge, what I found at the time (again my judgement which could be wrong) was hardest was HR onsite, then HR remote, then MakerPass then Telegraph Academy. Basically they had different tiers where they wanted to catch the tutions fees from all types of students with various talent levels.

I managed to pass the harder HR remote test after a few tries. What they do after a failed test, is to judge if you have potential, If yes then they will put you on a ptc program where an instructor will help you pass the test by practising similar questions to the test.

So what they are doing is picking students who they think are logically sound so that given the practise, they can get good in programming and get a job and improve their numbers.

So if you pass their test, given that you do learn and practise coding full time then you have the potential to get a coding job whether you go the bootcamp or do it on your own.Knowing what I know now, I would have used free code camp, lynda, uda , udemy to do it myself and be BETTER than what I am now.

Once selected, you a month long pre-course, where there is no teaching but they give you material to get you started on the basics, some they have developed, some from the internet, but nothing special. Before the course starts they test you again and if you fail, they will delay you to the next session.

Once started, intimidation starts, that they can ask anyone to leave during the first week based on their performance or not being continualy punctual and anyone can leave less their 2k deposit.

!!! HR if you are listening, People have left jobs and taken out a loan to come on the course and you have tested them twice and instead of taking responsibility, you threaten them.

First week is great, in terms of the planning and the recorded material that they have and they give you good understanding of javascript fundamentals. So more than 95% decide to stay. Actually you can get similar to week one from Marcus in this youtube channel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D136tQ2ngmE&index=2&list=PLAwxTw4SYaPmRCRPu9EjK-fWSccPwTOnc

But all that planning and making you understand the material STOPS after week one. They put you in pairs on sprints with little understanding and little time, so you struggle and concentrate on passing the tests that are pre-written for you. End result you and your pair struggle together, the one who understand more, ends up doing it and the weaker just sees it happening and wishes the stronger could part some knowledge on him. We never got to know how to write any tests during the sprints, as they were pre-written and never really understood the topic but somehow using helpdesk managed to complete the basic requirements. I mentioned Helpdesk, yes you get to use the helpdesk (which are former HR graduates) to get you out of a situation but don't expect they will make you understand as they are just meant to just point you in the right direction. As for the instructors (ours were former graduates), well you are not meant to direct email or slack them during the sprint as they are off limits and they give us their presence during a 30 minute townhall where you ask general questions before and after the sprint.

 stayed tuned for part 2.

Before I start, let me answer what I read a couple of reviews back about refuting the hoodies for review claim. Well this person may have attended some previous year HR class when they were more of a learning institution than a business concerned more about bottom line.

Below is part of the email to HRR18, well after graduation as we were not being told about when hoodies were to be given.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

How to Get Your Hack Reactor Hoodie

Some of you have asked about getting Hack Reactor hoodies, and here's the scoop: 

Use this link (https://goo.gl/forms/amHidingTheLink) to complete a survey including the URL to a Quora review you have written about your experience at Hack Reactor Remote.

Here are a couple key points outlined in the header of the survey: 

1.Please write your review on Quora (https://www.quora.com/Reviews-of-Hack-Reactor-Remote-Beta)

2. Please leave a star rating. Note: You will need to copy/paste "★★★★★” (or however many stars you would like to give) into your review.

Please note that hoodies are shipped out in bulk every several weeks. You'll receive an email letting you know once your hoodie has been shipped.

 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

So HR you can keep my hoodie with you, maybe it'll help your bottom line. Actually we never got anything from HR, not even a completion certification.

Now lets get to part2.

The part where they leave you alone in groups with no pratical help and they start the outcomes phase on writing a one page resume.(great but recruiters can spot that bootcamp resume from a mile)

Enough already said by others about the sad phase 2, I really felt for some of our cohort mates who were struggling and trying to find material on the internet but couldn't help them as I was also under pressure to finish.

At the end of the thesis we got a 15 minute code review. What only 15 mins....yes... and what a shame, he was more concerned about white spaces and length of the files than the actual code. To his defence I'll blame HR for putting him in this situation as how can you review code written by a team over 3-4 weeks in 15 mins so I guess best thing to do is be a code linter ( An idea you could train our beloved bot :) to do it for you)

Apart from this 15 mins , we never had a code review one to one for the whole course...you know why, it's because it costs time so they would have to pay for extra instructors. You had assessments and unless something wrong, you would never hear about them. When asked, they said no News is good News.What!!! is this a learning institute, where they dont even give you a grade. Yes, no grade given to you. If you are still insisting then book office hours.

Finishing the code review bit, now after HR that I've started the real learning and seen some application reviews, I can say our code was lacking in the proper way of writing a professional frontend code and now understand why a lot of companies were not replying back after seeing our github code.

One advise, Skills shortage is why you'll get a job and not HR (HR are just milking the gap)

I'll leave the rest for part 3 --(stay tuned for the episode where Tony makes an entrance)

A great but rigorous program that demands 100% of your time for the 3 months you're there. The sacrifice is large but if you're serious about a career switch to software engineering, then it's a wortwhile investment. 

Expect to leave with a good grasp of coding fundamentals and the ability to create full-stack applications in the most popular frameworks. Most importantly though, you'll leave with the skills to keep learning far more on your own and a great group of like-minded coders you'll probably be friends with for life. 

Attending Hack Reactor was one of the best/smartest decisions I have ever made! During the 12 weeks, you will be pushed in ways you never expected, and it is 100% worth it! Having support during the program and creating friendships with your peers is essential. Hack Reactor has a tough curriculum and although there were times that I struggled, the support from everyone around me helped me get through it.

I had taken a few computer science courses at my university and I learned more during the three months at HR than I did in a year doing my CS degree! You will learn about relevant topics that companies today are looking for and gain experience building your own products. If you're thinking about a career change, want to accelerate your web development knowledge, or simply have a passion for coding, I highly recommend Hack Reactor!

I came to Hack Reactor following several positive experiences attending massive open online courses (MOOCs) through sites like Edx.org and Udacity. I have an affinity for this type of online learning, which is not for everyone - holding yourself to a regimented schedule and taking ownership of your accomplishments, while mantaining a level of satisfaction for your work without direct feedback from instructors, is difficult. Even the best courses I have taken through other sites have suffered from a lack of interactivity with other students and teaching staff.

This is not the case with Hack Reactor Remote, where you will be in direct contact with fellow classmates and a team of instructors, mentors, and counsellors nearly 12 hours a day, for six days a week, for three months. You get to know each other, you form serious relationships, and you bond with a network of the most talented individuals you will ever meet. This is the real value of Hack Reactor - the opportunity to join a community of lifelong learners, and a network of alumni that spans the globe.

Which is not to say that you won't learn to code. You will, and you'll be shocked by how much you'll internalize over the course of three months. But, with the JavaScript ecosystem changing so rapidly, it isn't about 'learning to code' with any specific framework or technology - it's about learning patterns and design paradigms, data structures and algorithms, so that you'll be capable of picking up and teaching yourself any new library or programming language.

By the time you graduate, you won't just know JavaScript - you'll know how to function as a software engineer and a member of a development team. You will have scoped and tested and architected full stack applications within tight deadlines. You will be a Git ninja. These skills are far more valuable on the job market than knowing such-a-framework or building some kind of jQuery shopping cart.

My one and only gripe about Hack Reactor is that some of the curriculum did feel slightly out of date. This is understandible given how fast the technology is changing, however there were times when I questioned whether it was appropriate to have retained some older material. And while I am sharing this out of a desire for full disclosure, I will also say with all honesty that any of these instances were offset by discussions and live lectures delivered in tandem with the pre-recorded ones. There was a vibrant blend of content throughout, and the inclusion of just a few older lecture videos in no way overshadows my experience.

As with any genuine learning experience, what you get out of Hack Reactor will be commensurate with the effort you apply over the course of the three months. If you're a driven, self-directed learner, you will do very well with Hack Rector, which out of any academic program or course of study I have taken - online or otherwise - I consider to have been the most compelling and rewarding. Highly recommended.

As someone with some software experience, I was originally skeptical of the whole bootcamp thing. After having gone through the program, I am very happy with my decision to do it and feel like a stronger engineer for having gone through HR. The school does a great job of going in-depth where necessary and slowly increasing the autonomy as you progress. More than anything, the people (both instructors and cohort mates) are what really make HR special. If you are able to get into HR, I highly recommend attending.

I wish I had read an honest review specifically the one by Nori Maki Arare before spending around 20k dollars.

No one tells you that instructions are recorded from 2014 when Marcus used to teach. Now all you get are those old sprints and recorded lectures and help from students who themselves have just graduated as HiR's or some who have been hired  permanantely from previous cohorts.

Often found them lacking in knowledge during the sprints. For the thesis forget about getting any help from them. I actually never bothered using any help and just struggled through the thesis.

Seen a number of students struggle through the course as they thought entering the course meant they will become programmers, a number always drop, a number just remain poor till the end.

Your study begins once the course is finished as you've spent 20k , now go all out on your own studying till you are good enough to get a job, can take upto 6 months 

Don't think its a 3 month course to get a job

one month pre-course,  3 months course and HR publishes audited reports for students taking upto 6 months to find jobs. So we could have done it on our own in 10 months with our money intact.

Join free code camp, get udemey coupon vouchers, make a schedule, then all you need are cohort mates so you can pair program. If you want to get to know the tools, take a hack reactor or anyother bootcamp prep course for 600 odd dollars.

Its just a money making machine with a pumped up outcomes phase. I wish they had invested our money in great teachers which makes great students.

As more and more of these bootcamps are springing, I've found that the job market for new engineers is overcrowded so lets see if it takes our cohort 6 months or more ??

tldr; Hack Reactor is great.

Me from two years ago: I don't WANT to pay someone to learn this stuff. I already have a job!

I spent a year fitting in jQuery and building websites for work projects as much as possilbe. I spent intermittent weekends trying to cobble together full stack apps. I had a variety of small projects with inconsistent code. The resources are already out there after all. 

Hack Reactor gives you tools to handle those resources better. Or, more accurately, Hack Reactor gives you a place to build your own damn tools. You work with great people in an environment that is always supportive and always challenging.

Thanks to my ~year, I walked in with a good grasp of basic JavaScript. In the first two weeks my understanding of recursion, closure, and other concepts that can easily be taken for granted were vastly improved. That's because Hack Reactor is a place where conversations happen. Comparison with my year of solitary learning shows why this is important.

When I was on my own and teaching myself mongoDB with the node.js driver, I spent a few weekends bashing my head against a wall of callbacks. Finally, I was able to solve the problem because of a conversation where someone helped me conceptually walk through the process. If I had been able to reach out sooner, I would have spent more time building node.js apps instead of feeling crushed by a basic concept.

At Hack Reactor you build apps, play with code, and talk with great people. Almost as a magical side effect, you learn. You learn a lot and you learn fast. 

Overall, I had a great experience.  Hack Reactor surrounds you with the best and the brightest people from around the world and challenges you on a daily basis to become the best version of yourself.  There are multiple levels of support in place to ensure you succeed: your cohort, technical mentors, counselors, career coaches, etc.  Even after you graduate Hack Reactor provides support to make sure you are maximizing your potential on the first or second job search.  

If you want to be capable of building web apps on your own but you don't know where to start, this is definitely the right place. After the program, you will learn how to build a full-stack app and show it to the world. The staff are really nice and dependable. However, the curriculum is really intense and the path moves so fast. So don't expect to be in a comfortable environment. It's also a good place to meet so many brilliant and passionate people here. There's no internal referral program so you still need to work hard to get a job. But the career coach will assist you in job hunting. All in all, it's a awesome program and I'm glad that I made the decision.

Hack Reactor is a program that is geared towards getting students to an employable form as quick as possible. Needless to say I feel very prepared for the job market.

The system is very feedback based and is constantly trying to improve. This is why it is so effective because previous students have a large impact on the future curriculum. This iterative cycle of improvement will push Hack Reactor to becoming a better and better product.

No hand holding. Students must be self-motivated and be willing to ask any and all questions that would quash either self doubt in technical abilities or trouble incurred by personal issues. The mentors at hack reactor are always open to help in teaching technical details as well as support emotional/personal growth so that upon finishing the program, students are not only technically but also psychologically prepared. Side note: San Francisco housing may get a little frustrating. Talk to peers and mentors to find reliable and suitable housing.

For those of you thinking about joining Hack Reactor, I suggest you buckle down, skill up, and apply. If you are accepted, HR will be one of the most fruitful and meaningful experiences of your lives. 

When I began my studies about 4 months prior to applying, I could barely understand basic Javascript expressions but now, after graduating from HR, I am able to build incredible applications regarding things that I love. HR iterative curriculum is incredible but the pace is breakneck. It may not be for everyone but for those who are able to learn and adapt quickly, this is a great path towards becoming a software engineer. In addition to the curriculum, I've met some of the most intelligent and compassionate people. Friends that I will surely keep for years to come.

If your passion is to become a software engineer and build amazing things, HR is the place where your journey begins.