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Confessions of a bootcamp graduate

hackernoon.com

21–30 of 48 posts

Re: Confessions of a bootcamp graduate

#21
post #14

I'm confused. You posted this exact same post, with a different Medium link to the exact same story, a month ago. You've also been answering your own questions about negative reviews of Hack Reactor on Quora. I can't help but feel you're holding some insane grudge against the program that you can't let go. Why is that? We're both alums from the same program, I got so much more out of it than what you're claiming was…

This. I am in hack reactor now and am a satisfied customer. They were upfront about what you get for the money and to this point have delivered in full.

Re: Confessions of a bootcamp graduate

#22
Drop me an e-mail if you're considering one of these, I'll happily mentor people for significantly less than that, and I'm a full-time, active, multidisciplinary coder with 20+ years experience and background in both UX and visual design. And with enough industry contacts to almost certainly find you somewhere interesting to land afterwards.

I've taught classes at New York University and the School of Visual Arts and I'm almost certain I can get people spun up on the fundamentals of programming as well as any of these bootcamps. I also just enjoy that kind of one-on-one mentoring relationship.

(Sounds like a shill, but maybe my bigger point is that students might be better served by finding personal mentors to help learn this stuff rather than go through these expensive mills. Many accomplished coders would probably love to help out a protege.)

Re: Confessions of a bootcamp graduate

#23

As someone actively trying to hire front-end developers I've come to see Hack Reactor as a red flag. Unless the candidate was selected as a tutor for the next batch I rarely let them past the resume screen.

Was this due to poor experience with people from the program in the past?

Re: Confessions of a bootcamp graduate

#26
post #21
post #14

I'm confused. You posted this exact same post, with a different Medium link to the exact same story, a month ago. You've also been answering your own questions about negative reviews of Hack Reactor on Quora. I can't help but feel you're holding some insane grudge against the program that you can't let go. Why is that? We're both alums from the same program, I got so much more out of it than what you're claiming was…

This. I am in hack reactor now and am a satisfied customer. They were upfront about what you get for the money and to this point have delivered in full.

You should add your review to Techendo (http://schools.techendo.com/) and give others looking for dev bootcamps your experience/advice.

Re: Confessions of a bootcamp graduate

#27
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I seriously doubt a boot camp will get you a 100k job if you aren't already qualified

Maybe. I think they should stop calling it a bootcamp and simply refer to it as a technical degree in software. People might take it more seriously.

The notion that anyone can just call what they teach a "degree" is why I learned before I ever stepped foot in a college to never sign up or pay for a course that isn't accredited. (Aka, transferable as credit to other reputable colleges.)

Re: Confessions of a bootcamp graduate

#28
> Hack Reactor only teaches javascript. And a lot of veteran programmers, however wrong they might be, regard it as a lesser language

That's right, it's because they are "veterans" therefore old and don't know what's good so they still belive other languages might be needed to solve problems.

> These very people will now take up to 6 month to find a full stack job with this pseudo degree.

Is the "full stack" the new cool. Welp I guess I am a hopeless half-stack veteran.

Of maybe if they focused on half or third stack, they could manager a more in depth curriculum and provide more instructor-student one-on-one time.

Are there any good stories? It sounds to me like this is a scam to get money out of people, a step above Phoenix University and other such places.

Re: Confessions of a bootcamp graduate

#29
I work with a co-worker who went through Hack Reactor, and the current job being her first in tech - she ended up alright, and learns at a pretty solid clip. On the flip side, at a previous employer, apparently there was an employee who went through Hack Reactor and was laid off just before I joined due to being an outright bad developer who had trouble getting basic work done.

I suspect that the quality of skills from people going through it is hit or miss. I personally think it probably is a raw deal for many, but some people need structure in their learning. I also think that it at least signals that the people care enough to invest that chunk of $ for a shot at a lucrative & well-rewarding career.

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