Hackbright Academy is a software engineering school for gender equality founded in 2012 that offers online courses. The school offers a 12-week, immersive full-time software engineering program and a 26-week, part-time program, both of which cover the fundamentals of computer science and modern web development such as the command line, Python, JavaScript, HTML & CSS, Git, Flask, pair programming, SQL/ORMS, and deployment. The part-time program covers the same content as the immersive program, but is designed for students who want to maintain their jobs.
Prospective applicants will need to fill out an online application detailing their interests and background, then complete an interview with the admissions team and a technical assessment. Hackbright's ideal candidate has a desire to learn software development and has prior exposure to programming.
Hackbright Academy provides students with mentorship, tech talks, and career services. Hackbright Academy offers deferred tuition, limited scholarships, and payment plans for qualified students.
Getting in was hard. Getting through the program was hard. But was it worth it? YES. I see a lot of inaccurate posts on this website and I've got to address some of them.
Instructors:
The instructors have all had industry experience(seems that some people don't know that). TAs and lab instructors are mostly grads from the program who were exceptional enough to be able to assist others beyond their cohort end date. But all of them bring passion for teac...
Getting in was hard. Getting through the program was hard. But was it worth it? YES. I see a lot of inaccurate posts on this website and I've got to address some of them.
Instructors:
The instructors have all had industry experience(seems that some people don't know that). TAs and lab instructors are mostly grads from the program who were exceptional enough to be able to assist others beyond their cohort end date. But all of them bring passion for teaching and coding that I have never seen anywhere else. They are constantly trying to give individual help and make sure everyone feels supported. Clearly, some people think they should have 24/7 assistance--but that seems like overkill. (I hear HackReactor has 24/7 support...but talk about overkill overall...). I found advising to be useful check in times with someone who wanted to listen when I had concerns or wanted more instruction on a subject. They cheered me on and seemed to deeply care.
Tech Stack:
The stack that they teach at Hackbright is less about the content and more about HOW to learn. About 50% of my cohort is NOT working in Python but rather in Ruby/PHP/JS. How cool is that? I didn't feel like I was an expert at Python at the end of the cohort but I think I learned as much as one could of a programming language in 3 months. On top of that, I've heard from the people I work with along with others who have worked with HBers that we write the cleanest, best documented and tested code of any bootcamp. Badass!
Career Services:
Ok, here's what career services does for you:
- They meet with you during the program to get a feel for what your strengths are and what you can leverage as well as what you want to do post HB.
- They have weekly meetings with your cohort to talk about making a great social media profile, how to identify Series A, B, C startups, how to evaluate your past experience, etc...
- They coordinate 2 weeks of talks from industry experts in how to whiteboard, soft skills interviewing, how to negotiate, as well as field trips to partner companies for meals and whiteboarding, and introductions to partner companies who were interested in you from career day.
- Every Monday they have job club to talk about our experiences and give more tips and tricks and keep you on track. Also, every Wednesday they have whiteboarding practice. You have access to these two nights forever.
- They talk and work with you indivually trying to find opportunities and recruiters for you. If you get an offer, they'll coach you through your responses and negotiations.
That's a lot, right? No, it's not a silver platter--but no bootcamp has that.
Overall, it gave me the best launching pad for my career. I met the most amazing women who are inspiring and intelligent along with a great alumni network who want to hire other HBers, and the faith that even a for-profit company can be mission driven and have a heart.
Oh, btw, only 3 people from my cohort don't have jobs as software engineers(or data engineers or security engineers) 3 months after graduating. I graduated in 2016.
I chose this bootcamp because of the comfortable atmostphere and focus on work-life balance, which other bootcamps seem to lack. I had gone through the prep program and knew the quality of instructor and the environment.
I found the curriculum to be very well thought-out and organized. My software-engineering friends were often surprised and impressed by the topics covered - "Wow, you're learning that?!". During my very first onsite interview a CEO of a tech company was looking t...
I chose this bootcamp because of the comfortable atmostphere and focus on work-life balance, which other bootcamps seem to lack. I had gone through the prep program and knew the quality of instructor and the environment.
I found the curriculum to be very well thought-out and organized. My software-engineering friends were often surprised and impressed by the topics covered - "Wow, you're learning that?!". During my very first onsite interview a CEO of a tech company was looking through my capstone project and expressed his shock that I was able to learn the concepts to complete such a robust project, and complete the project itself, within such a short time span. The curriculum itself is constantly being updated and refined based on what is going on out in the field and feedback, but the great thing is that all the old lectures are available as a resource, even as an alum. I used some of these as extra resources while completing my project and while preparing for interviews.
The lecture followed by lab format was invaluable in cementing the concepts covered, and the pair-programming in labs helped us to get comfortable talking in 'tech-speak', a valuable skill for interviewing. Not to mention helping each other over stumbling blocks! I loved the back half of the program which focused more on building our projects. We would have a comp science lecture in the morning followed by open project time. The instructors were available for help during that period and were always patient and knowledgeable. I learned a great deal during this period as it was almost like having a one-on-one tutor. And when the projects were done we had the opportunity to present in front of several companies, which was excellent practice as well as an invaluable networking opportunity.
The career support was also incredible and well-balanced. There was a career lecture once a week focusing on a new topic throughout the entire program. These included small weekly assignments (such as practicing our stories, revising our resumes, how to research companies, and updating our LinkedIn profile) to prepare us for the job hunt in a calm and methodical manner. We had two one-on-one strategy sessions with the career services staff during the program and one after graduation to figure out what types of companies might suit us best and to help us strategize how to find a job. The last two weeks were almost entirely focused on the career journey. Lectures focused on different aspects of the interview process, fieldtrips were organized to practice whiteboarding with engineers in the 'real' world and gain exposure to different environments, we even got a practice take-home coding challenge which was then reviewed with tips and tricks on tackling these problems (which severely reduced my anxiety about them), and we learned tips for applying to positions.
Perhaps the coolest thing was the mentor program. All of us were assigned two mentors. Our mentors were able to help us with our projects, provide career advice, and be there for anything we needed. I found it helpful to talk with mine about their 'real-world' experiences in software engineering, particularly when it came to things to consider while designing a webapp. Most mentors are willing to continue the relationship beyond the program end too!
I'm so glad I chose Hackbright as my bootcamp. It was an amazing, supportive environment, my cohort-mates are amazing people I am proud to call my friends, and the quality of education is top-notch.
I wish we'd gotten to dive deeper into some of the topics and covered some others, but at the end of the day it's a 12-week bootcamp, not a 4 year comp science degree! I would not hesitate to recommend this program to anyone considering a bootcamp.
How much does Hackbright Academy cost?
Hackbright Academy costs around $12,900. On the lower end, some Hackbright Academy courses like Hackbright Prep Course cost $249.
What courses does Hackbright Academy teach?
Hackbright Academy offers courses like Full-Time (12-week) Software Engineering Program, Hackbright Prep Course, Part-Time (24-week) Software Engineering Program.
Where does Hackbright Academy have campuses?
Hackbright Academy has an in-person campus in San Francisco.
Is Hackbright Academy worth it?
Hackbright Academy hasn't shared alumni outcomes yet, but one way to determine if a bootcamp is worth it is by reading alumni reviews. 108 Hackbright Academy alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Hackbright Academy on Course Report - you should start there!
Is Hackbright Academy legit?
We let alumni answer that question. 108 Hackbright Academy alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Hackbright Academy and rate their overall experience a 4.51 out of 5.
Does Hackbright Academy offer scholarships or accept the GI Bill?
Right now, it doesn't look like Hackbright Academy offers scholarships or accepts the GI Bill. We're always adding to the list of schools that do offer Exclusive Course Report Scholarships and a list of the bootcamps that accept the GI Bill.
Can I read Hackbright Academy reviews?
You can read 108 reviews of Hackbright Academy on Course Report! Hackbright Academy alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Hackbright Academy and rate their overall experience a 4.51 out of 5.
Is Hackbright Academy accredited?
While bootcamps must be approved to operate, accreditation is relatively rare. Hackbright Academy doesn't yet share information about their accreditation status.
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