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Telegraph Academy is now Hack Reactor
As of 11/1/16, Hack Reactor has unified its network of schools, including MakerSquare and Telegraph Academy, under the Hack Reactor brand.
The Hack Reactor network of schools are now Hack Reactor Austin, Hack Reactor Los Angeles, Hack Reactor San Francisco, Hack Reactor New York City, and Hack Reactor Remote.
If you graduated from Telegraph Academy prior to October 2016, please leave your review for Telegraph Academy. Otherwise, please leave your review for Hack Reactor.
To view updated and accurate information, please visit the
Hack Reactor Course Report page.
Telegraph Academy is a software engineering career accelerator based out of Oakland for people of color underrepresented in tech. It was one of the first schools to launch as a part of the White House’s Tech Hire Initiative. Telegraph Academy’s curriculum was developed in partnership with Hack Reactor; and its full-time, 12-week immersive program focuses on JavaScript and related technologies. The immersive program is split into 6 weeks of technology learning and 6 weeks of project building. Telegraph Academy also runs Telegraph Prep+, a part-time prep class that is the first step towards getting into the full-time immersive program. Telegraph Prep+, which teaches the fundamentals of JavaScript and prepares students for Telegraph Academy’s admissions process, is delivered onsite and online via livestream.
I did not get a good experience either in their PREP COURSE. I did the codecademy (Maybe that's not a hard work for some of the students ), but I thought their material are hard to understand. I did ask the mentor, but they don't explain it well. I am sorry, but I have to say this.
Instructors seem to be a bit slow in helping us to de-bug. I feel that even though they'e just graduated, they're still don't have the full grasp. It makes me feel uncomfortable with that style of teaching.
While the team is nice enough, no one has any idea how to teach. They don't prepare logical lesson plans, they can't answer questions clearly and simply--newbies really don't stand a chance. Some students know what they're doing and, of course, they have to let you know it by asking really granular questions that don't edify anyone. I really, really wish I could be more positive because I really believe in the mission, but I was left feeling frustrated and disappointed. For all the "assist...
While the team is nice enough, no one has any idea how to teach. They don't prepare logical lesson plans, they can't answer questions clearly and simply--newbies really don't stand a chance. Some students know what they're doing and, of course, they have to let you know it by asking really granular questions that don't edify anyone. I really, really wish I could be more positive because I really believe in the mission, but I was left feeling frustrated and disappointed. For all the "assistance" actually give you, you might as well go with Lynda.com
Telegraph Academy--please get it together. This could be a really good program, but it needs quality instruction.
many of the core instructors have no real software engineer experience (take a look at linkedin for yourself). new grads from the first cohort are now teaching the curriculum which is a travesty because they barely have a grasp on what's going on and you can tell with how they answer questions. i'm worried about the future of this school. i recommend going to another one of the hack reactor schools if your going to spend $18,000 until they hire people with real experience.
Follo...
many of the core instructors have no real software engineer experience (take a look at linkedin for yourself). new grads from the first cohort are now teaching the curriculum which is a travesty because they barely have a grasp on what's going on and you can tell with how they answer questions. i'm worried about the future of this school. i recommend going to another one of the hack reactor schools if your going to spend $18,000 until they hire people with real experience.
Follow Up:
I think having graduate acting as instructors is not necessarily a problem per se. Hack Reactor too employs graduates as lecturers. OTH, the lead instructor at HR is an experienced veteran software engineer who can step in and fill in the gaps when necessary.
Telegraph Academy too can certainly benefit from the presence and leadership of an experienced lead instructor. I believe both of TA's co-founders have had industry experiences. It would be nice if they can be more involved in the teachings and trouble shootings.
Follow Up:
well let's take a look at the instructor's real world software engineer "experience" according to linkedin:
preston = one month contract
bianca = one to three month contracts
albrey = none
claire = none
jameel = none
they often have opinions of "well this is what the real world is like", but have they held any real world jobs? nope. if you want to go there, be my guest. they have a great mission, but don't have the staff needed to carry it out. there are better alternatives for this kind of money considering their job stats are the worse than hack reactor, remote beta, and makersquare. why just watch recorded lectures from hack reactor when you can go there
If I could do it over I would have just attended Hack Reactor. I'll start by saying that I am now an employed software engineer. However, this a review of the school and not my own personal outcomes. The cost of attendance is the same as hack reactor, but this equal cost does not equate to equal quality. Since it labels itself as the premier coding bootcamp for people of color and underrepresented groups, it seems as though it also lowers the standards of admission if you fit into one of t...
If I could do it over I would have just attended Hack Reactor. I'll start by saying that I am now an employed software engineer. However, this a review of the school and not my own personal outcomes. The cost of attendance is the same as hack reactor, but this equal cost does not equate to equal quality. Since it labels itself as the premier coding bootcamp for people of color and underrepresented groups, it seems as though it also lowers the standards of admission if you fit into one of those profiles. As it stands, the job placement rate is abysmal and the salaries of the few that do have jobs are considerably less than Hack Reactor graduates. I don't know a single graduate who commanded a six figure salary that was also a minority or member of the lgbtq community. All the people who have written highly rated reviews either drink the kool aid or ended up employed by the school, and have all quit once they were no longer jaded by the false sense of community being around people belonging to other under represented with the same prospects of becoming a software engineer. With the exception of Marc, there isn't a single instructor present who has had any experience in the field that they are teaching outside of a few month to month contract gigs. Just another copycat bootcamp trying to target a new demographic. Don't forget that this is a for-profit business, forget the happy-go-lucky attitude and mission of diversifying tech. They want your $20,000 and I could have spent mine wiser.
TLDR
Cost is equal to Hack Reactor, educational quality is not
Weak job placement and salaries
Inexperienced instructors
Predatory business model
Albrey Brown of Telegraph Academy
Cofounder
Jun 30, 2016
I live-streamed and there were some pros and cons. First, let me begin by saying this is a Beta course. I think I was the 2nd class to go through this course. What they done so far is awesome.
Pros: great structure, lecture material, setup, pace, pricing
The classes are streamed via a conference room and we chat with the TA's and other students via the slack app. Each night we run through slides, then we have practice exercises that are assigned to reinforce what we ju...
I live-streamed and there were some pros and cons. First, let me begin by saying this is a Beta course. I think I was the 2nd class to go through this course. What they done so far is awesome.
Pros: great structure, lecture material, setup, pace, pricing
The classes are streamed via a conference room and we chat with the TA's and other students via the slack app. Each night we run through slides, then we have practice exercises that are assigned to reinforce what we just learned. The exercises are great and if you want, you can link up with another student to pair program. They give us plenty of resources to do so. I learned so much through the 4 weeks. There were lectures from students at hack reactor and some of the teachers are really really awesome. The classes almost always started on time and never ran over the alotted period. And for a class of this type, this is the cheapest one that I've found. They are really on the right path and doing something special. Telegraph Academy is new, but they are already enrolling students in the full bootcamp while running a prep course as well. I see good things for this school.
Cons: Speed, feeling left out, sound
At some times, the teacher or speaker just blasts through the slides. For example, one night the lecture was over in 20 mins...I thought this was a 3hr/day class?? For the live-streamers, you may have a tough time getting questions answered. The teachers don't see your questions so when they ask the class are there any questions, they usually aren't referring to live-streamers. The TA's are there to answer questions, but with so many students, it may take a while to get an answer which sucks because the lecture is still moving and you have no clue of what's going on. Also, after the lecture is over, you have to decide what to do next. The stream disconnects and you are to decide if you want to pair program, work on your own, or do nothing. No one checks the answers to the exercises so being self-sufficient will be important. So nothing is perfect and Telegraph Academy is aware and hopefully implementing changes.
Overall, I had fun. I learned a lot and I met some cool peeps that I look forward to seeing in class in a few months. Am I fully prepared to tackle the interview? Only time will tell, but I feel like I learned more in 4 weeks than I could have taught my self in 3 months.
Before joining Telegraph Academy, I was in Chicago and had no coding experience. It was laughable by my family that I was thinking about moving 2400 miles away to go some school that would teach me how to code and make 6 figures in 12 weeks. What was even more laughable was that I was going to quit my job with a decent salary, empty my savings, and sell my belongings to do so. But I did it, and I would make the same decision if given a change to redo it.
Here's why: In order to ...
Before joining Telegraph Academy, I was in Chicago and had no coding experience. It was laughable by my family that I was thinking about moving 2400 miles away to go some school that would teach me how to code and make 6 figures in 12 weeks. What was even more laughable was that I was going to quit my job with a decent salary, empty my savings, and sell my belongings to do so. But I did it, and I would make the same decision if given a change to redo it.
Here's why: In order to be accepted, one must know the basics and pass a difficult entry exam administered by all of the Reactor Core schools (Hack Reactor, Makers Square, Telegraph Academy). I had no idea what I was doing, but after attending TGA's prep program, I was accepted into all of the Reactor Core schools. I decided to go with TGA because of its mission, student-to-instructor ratio, and its location (Berkeley is cheaper than SF).
Leaving everything back home was hard, but the minute I stepped into TGA, I felt ready to get to work. There is an atmosphere at TGA that I've never seen. Its full of people that are passionate about learning and instructors passionate about teaching. The cofounders are awesome and what they have created at TGA is something like a unicorn.
The curriculum is very modern. We were coding in the most popular javascript libraries and frameworks and at the end, we have portfolio's to show for it. They teach you how to learn so you are able to pick up any language or library and build on your own. The instructors are awesome. They are there to answer any questions you have after they go over the material in a very detailed way. There were weekly guests that came to talk to us from different companies (Facebook, NPM, Solar City etc.) The career search material is the same as Hack Reactor, and leverages the same network. They give you the playbook, practice, and resources needed to find a job. My resumé coming from TGA looks outstanding, and I have yet to apply to a job and not get a next steps email in return.
This program is not for someone looking for a quick jump in tax bracket. You have to live, love, and breath javascript for 12 weeks. This class moves at an extremely fast pace, so come ready to work. The course material is VERY VERY HARD. There are mentors there for tutoring if you get behind, however, this is rarely the case. Our class had roughly 15 students, so there was more than enough staff to accomodate students.
All-in-all, it was a great experience for me and my classmates. We all had fun together and created some really cool applications. If you're considering TGA, strap your self in and get ready to change your life.
I attended their livestream prep program. I didn't care for the instructor. To me it felt like they were moving very quickly and didn't press the students who had a thumbs-down or side-thumbs enough. Even without seeing the attendees it seemed the class was confused sometimes based on their silence and lack of comments/questions.
Also there was an instance where someone was asking questions they should have learned from codeacademy, which was required before starting. That wasted...
I attended their livestream prep program. I didn't care for the instructor. To me it felt like they were moving very quickly and didn't press the students who had a thumbs-down or side-thumbs enough. Even without seeing the attendees it seemed the class was confused sometimes based on their silence and lack of comments/questions.
Also there was an instance where someone was asking questions they should have learned from codeacademy, which was required before starting. That wasted time where someone else could have asked a question that was relevant to everyone.
Also, livestreamers could not hear attendees (other than speaker) at all and speaker never repeated questions attendees gave so livestreamers had to guess the question based on the answer the speaker gave, which is subpar if you ask me.
I chose to attend Telegraph Academy becuase I fully believe in the mission and wanted to learn how to code in an exclusive environment. I'm a minority, so I recognize the challenges I face entering a career in tech. I wanted to be part of the vibrant community of talented and strong engineers being built at Telegraph. I dont feel like I could have benefited from my educational experience the same way if I went to another school. I didnt want to be just another number being churned out by s...
I chose to attend Telegraph Academy becuase I fully believe in the mission and wanted to learn how to code in an exclusive environment. I'm a minority, so I recognize the challenges I face entering a career in tech. I wanted to be part of the vibrant community of talented and strong engineers being built at Telegraph. I dont feel like I could have benefited from my educational experience the same way if I went to another school. I didnt want to be just another number being churned out by some of the other bootcamps, Telegraph's staff cares about each one of their students success and encourage student to reach their fullest potential.
That being said this is not a program for people who just want to be spoon fed answers, or give up easily when things become challenging. I feel as an engineer one of the only things that will stay constant through out my career will be my neccessity to learn and grow. This is my biggest take away from Telegraph. It has helped me feel comfortable in a perputaul growth mindset. I gained the tools neccesary to find my own solutions and with the support from the staff the confidence that with hardwork those solutions will come.
Every step of the way I felt the prensece of the staff checking in. At no point did I feel my view or opinions couldn't be heard. We were give the opportunity to provide feedback as we progressed through the course so that staff could evalute and improve upon the existing systems. I felt like this level of attention provided the sense that not only could I be contributing to my own learning process but hopefully contributing to the improvment of others down the line. I enjoyed feeling as though I was a part of building something special.
Attending Telegraph Academy was one of the best decisions I've made. I was fortunate to have a cohort of like-minded indiviiduals who supported and challenged me to grow throughout my entire time as a student. I'm happy to say that I've become close with all of them and now have a network of talented engineers who I can share my experience with as we take on new endeavors out in the field.
I highly recommend Telegraph to my friends on a regular basis. The only caveats I express to them before I go in about how awesome Telegraph is as a school and an experience is this. Are you willing to work? and do you love coding? Because with the work you will most certainly see the rewards and the work itself is rewarding if you love learning and love coding.
Joining Telegraph Academy was the best decision I've ever made. Reading the negative reviews on this site was surprising. I had no idea that people felt this way it wasn't something that people brought up in any way during the bootcamp, during which, there are many oppertunities to give feedback.
It seems to me that some of the reviewers on this site are not holding themselves accountable. Javascript is difficult and frusterating to learn, I'm convinced that there is no wa...
Joining Telegraph Academy was the best decision I've ever made. Reading the negative reviews on this site was surprising. I had no idea that people felt this way it wasn't something that people brought up in any way during the bootcamp, during which, there are many oppertunities to give feedback.
It seems to me that some of the reviewers on this site are not holding themselves accountable. Javascript is difficult and frusterating to learn, I'm convinced that there is no way around that. TGA has always been very upfront about the learning curve. Constant check-ins, weekly assessments, group tap-outs, you will know where you stand at any point in time... I personally worked really hard for 3 months just to pass the test to get in, then another month and a half on the pre-course work. There was never a sudden, unexpected shift in the difficulty of the program. If you are looking for an in-depth cs course, you shouldn't sign up for a boot-camp. If you are looking to accelerate your learning, and are willing to put in the time, TGA is perfect for you.
As for the instruction team, THEY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TEACHING. You don't need 10 years of software engineering experience to explain what a hash table is. Jamil, the lead instructor, hasn't worked for a start-up, true. But he has been TEACHING for a long time, and he knows how to code.
I strongly encourage any self-motivated and accountable go-getters to apply to TGA. It's a bootcamp, it works, but it's REALLY hard...
PS. Preston, Bianca and Albrey all taught at Hack-Reactor when they had less experience than they do now.
How much does Telegraph Academy cost?
The average bootcamp costs $14,142, but Telegraph Academy does not share pricing information. You can read a cost-comparison of other popular bootcamps!
What courses does Telegraph Academy teach?
Telegraph Academy offers courses like .
Where does Telegraph Academy have campuses?
Is Telegraph Academy worth it?
Telegraph Academy hasn't shared alumni outcomes yet, but one way to determine if a bootcamp is worth it is by reading alumni reviews. 48 Telegraph Academy alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Telegraph Academy on Course Report - you should start there!
Is Telegraph Academy legit?
We let alumni answer that question. 48 Telegraph Academy alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Telegraph Academy and rate their overall experience a 4.23 out of 5.
Does Telegraph Academy offer scholarships or accept the GI Bill?
Right now, it doesn't look like Telegraph 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 Telegraph Academy reviews?
You can read 48 reviews of Telegraph Academy on Course Report! Telegraph Academy alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Telegraph Academy and rate their overall experience a 4.23 out of 5.
Is Telegraph Academy accredited?
While bootcamps must be approved to operate, accreditation is relatively rare. Telegraph Academy doesn't yet share information about their accreditation status.
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