Hack Reactor

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. 

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.

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.