One could not be happier with a decision than I am with mine to attend the Austin Immersive at Hack Reactor. Like a lot of people my age, I have always been infatuated with technology and began messing around with computers and code at a young age. Over the years I have taken countless online courses but nothing ever seemed to stick. That being said I never really understood any of the deeper concepts needed to actually write meaningful code until I started the prep program for Hack Reactor. I had never heard of coding schools like this before a few years ago and never did my research until my brother in law went to a coding bootcamp in Cleveland in 2017. I was very curious about his experience and started doing my research. He had mixed reviews and was definitely overwhelmed with the pace but I was intrigued nonetheless. After a couple weeks of research and talking to admissions with multiple schools I finally decided to get started with the paid Structured Study Program provided by Hack Reactor. It was the most in-depth and fast-paced training I had ever been through. Even if you decide to go to a different school this prep program is amazing. Once I was about halfway through the SSP program I decided to take the technical interview to get into Hack Reactor and passed! After a lot of research and family discussion, I decided on the in-person immersive in Austin and it was incredible in so many ways. I was thoroughly impressed with how much the staff cared about our success and about us as people. The team was led by Linden Kueck who turned out to be as loving and helpful a teacher/leader one could ever have. I learned an unbelievable amount about computer science, data structures, algorithms and Javascript in a very, very short time but I am also very grateful for the unexpected lessons in team dynamics and soft skills like how to effectively work and communicate with other developers in the real world. Aside from the unexpected, I can't express in words how much I learned in such a short time. The pace was nothing short of insane and I was not sure I was going to remember anything that was being taught or if I was even going to finish the program. Then all of a sudden things just started to click and I was instinctively writing clean, readable code and building applications all on my own. These guys know what they are doing. After graduation, the team continued to help immensely and the career coaches were amazing as well. I interviewed for just over a month and landed a full stack engineering position in my hometown making 6 figures. The job hunt in this industry is difficult but Hack Reactor was there to help the whole way. If you are serious about coding as a career move and are looking to do it quickly, I don't see how anyone could make a better choice than the Austin campus at Hack Reactor. read more

I had joined the 2nd cohort at MakerSquare in fall of 2013. Prior to MakerSquare, I had tried learning Ruby and JS on my own, through countless books and online tutorials. Having completed a few guides, I realized that my ability to learn "how to code" was hindered simply by my style of learning. I love interactive q/a style learning, which is what led me to MakerSquare. Of the different programs out there, the one thing I would urge others to consider is that they place a heavy amount of weight onto prework completed (how much work you've done ahead of time) and community-fit. If you're a solo worker and not a fan of collaborative environments, you may want to consider other programs. Anyways, long story short, I would whole heartedly recommend this program. As classmates, I had former programmers, retail store workers, a professional photographer and even a former elementary teacher. Out of the program, each of the students were working as professional front-end engineers (junior developers) within weeks of graduating. So safe to say, MakerSquare has a great professional network, and they know how to teach code. The classroom environment (the location on Congress ave) was a bit cramped at times. But from what I've heard the class size is now capped at 18, vs. 30 or so when I went through. All the 'issues' I had (space constraints, less than ideal student:instructor ratio, and focus on advanced concepts (algorithms and data structures) has been completely addressed. According to the staff, Cohort 5 is operating on an almost night/day difference of curriculum than what I had. So not only do I give the program 5 stars, I would (and likely will) retake the course to take advantage of their newest curriculum. read more

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In short, I'm very happy! Though I'm not programming on a daily basis, I was able to get into the St. Louis startup scene which was my main goal before enrolling at MakerSquare. I've also built a really awesome network of programmers and startup gurus in St. Louis and I believe that's thanks to MakerSquare! :-) I joined in Winter 2013-2014 (Cohort 3 Represent!). My reason for joining originally was not initially to become a software/web developer. Rather, I wanted to be able to communicate better with programmers that I worked with. I wanted to gain better access to the startup network. And most importantly I have a lot of ideas that I wanted to explore on my own - I didn't want to have to rely on finding a developer to build my ideas and turn them into a reality. I came out of the program having learned web-development with a strong emphasis on solid software development skills. Here's what I loved about MakerSquare: Curriculum: I was impressed by how much I learned. I literally had no experience in programming and I can now build web applications that ACTUALLY work. Not just simple interactive sites, but fully dynamic applications that work heavily with javascript on top of a rails framework. Moreover, all of this was taught with a very clear emphasis on test driven development (from the beginning) and solid software development principles. Instructors & Culture: They actually cared about the students and our progress and they were just all-around cool people. The culture at MakerSquare was actually a huge focus in the organization. I think what I loved most was learning how to learn all over again. I gained a new confidence that I've never had. The energy was also great, everyone had awesome ideas - from students to staff. Feedback: I would have liked to have more experience with Ruby and really learning how to code w/algorithms and such vs. w/Rails which is just teaching you the framework. From what I gather, Rails is now being treated as a detail vs. a core of what we learned. When we learned rails, it was about utilizing the framework for its ActiveRecord and quick-to-web functionality. MakerSquare still teaches web development (rails/mvc, http, javascript, etc) but now only after teaching other concepts that are applicable not just to the web, but to all software (test-driven development, SOLID principles, application boundaries, decoupling, databases, interfaces, software architecture, etc). I would have loved a deeper problem-solving skillset through exposure to algorithms. Looks like I was one cohort shy of that. MakerSquare now integrates algorithms and algorithmic thinking from day 1. Finally, MakerSquare was split into two nearby locations (Congress & Brazos). The extra space was nice, but it felt disconnected and I think it kept our cohort from being as close as some other cohorts have been. read more

Hack Reactor Austin - Cohort 3 - Specialty Schools Near Me - Austin, Texas

Great school with good instructors, curriculum and exercises that help you evolve from 'newborn to a toddler into programming world'. I am referring to prep course that I am currently attending and enjoying. All immersive students seem to be satisfied with the boot camp program. If you want to challenge yourself, gain new desired skills for changing job market, enjoy the logic, math ,computer science and more - try it ! ( I looked up Yelp before signing up myself ) read more

I went through the prep program in Austin, TX, then the immersive bootcamp, then worked as a fellow and I have nothing but amazing things to report from the experience. You learn more than you thought to be possible in only 13 weeks time, and the curriculum and overall experience is perfectly aligned with what you need to succeed as an up-and-coming software engineer. The curriculum is constantly iterating based on the job market and feedback from students and graduates which makes the whole experience a lot like it really is in the work force and ensures what you're learning is very relevant. I believe really makes Hack Reactor really stand out from other bootcamps. Now at my first job I am regularly amazed by how much the bootcamp has prepared me not only to ace the interviews to get the job but also to know what to expect out of the industry and how to handle it. While it was very challenging work I felt supported the whole time and I learned more than I would have studying by myself for years. It's not only technical knowledge you gain, but working on real applications in a team environment (a big part of the experience you need to land your first job which would be impossible to achieve through self study). Staff at Hack Reactor truly wants what is best for each and every student that passes through the school, and the interview process helps to make sure each class is full of driven, smart, nice people that you will want to work with for 13 weeks straight. If you put the work in you will absolutely learn the skills you need to ace a job interview and excel in the industry, and I can't imagine a better bootcamp with regards to the culture and the curriculum (and for me the location of Austin which is amazing). read more

Hack Reactor Austin - MKS39 - Specialty Schools Near Me - Austin, Texas

Hack Reactor definitely helped me to make the biggest and most successful transition in my life. Hack Reactor distinguished itself from most of the other boot camps from the very beginning. Prospective students had to go through a code challenge and interviews to exam their basic JavaScript skills which ensures that we have the capability to keep up with the curriculum. A great thing about that is the staff is willing to provide as much help as they can to get candidates ready for the immersive course. I also want to recommend the SSP program for anyone that's interested in attending Hack Reactor. The tuition for SSP program is deducted from the tuition of the Immersive program, and it had great mentors and help-desk resources that help students build up very solid JavaScript foundation before the program starts. The program itself is quite intense, but the outcomes are truly amazing. The curriculums were designed to expose students to most of the popular frameworks and skill sets that prepare us well to meet the demand of the current tech's job market. Moreover, the curriculum not only provides practical hands-on experiences which definitely help students succeed on the job, but also some great amounts of algorithms, data structures and JavaScript concepts practices that very much guarantee students' success during a technical interview. Another great thing about Hack Reactor is that it not only trains students to possess decent skill sets to get a tech job, but it also train students on how to think, approach and solve problems effectively like a successful software engineer(which is really a soft skill that's applicable to any other field as well). A framework or even a popular language like JavaScript can possibly be out-of-date anytime in the future, but the ability to know how to pick up a language quickly and approach a problem in a most efficient manner is what Hack Reactor trains their students to do. And the staff. Absolutely amazing people with very strong technical skills and experiences that provide great mentorships. One best thing about them is that they recognize every student with our uniqueness and provide helps that tailored to individual's needs during the program, and they all truly care about every one of us and our success after the program. The career support is also amazing. More than half of my interview opportunities were derived from Hack Reactor's amazing network. The current offer I've landed was also through an alumni's referral. Hack Reactor's career assistance team diligently works with all students until we land an offer. And the alumni network itself is huge and is a wonderful resource for job searching phase. Overall, I would recommend Hack Reactor to anyone who wants to explore tech field and work with software! read more

I just completed MakerSquare's part-time front-end dev program. A few things sold me on MakerSquare: - They offered a part-time front-end dev program so I could continue working full-time and attend the evening classes. - It felt personal. In my research, some dev schools felt more factory-like, while others (e.g. MakerSquare) had much more of a personal touch. The instructors obviously care and are extremely intelligent and helpful. - Student/teacher ratio: My cohort had about 20 students and there were almost always ~4 instructors at each class. In addition to in-class help, our instructors were always available via email, office hours, or willing to schedule another time to meet if we requested. During class, there was always at least one instructor available to help me 1 on 1 with any issues, questions, etc. This in itself was one of the most valuable parts of the program for me. This was a fast-paced program; so much ground is covered in the 10 weeks. It seemed a little intense at times, but I wouldn't have changed a thing. The beginning of the course actually reminded me a bit of the very first day of Spanish class - when the teacher begins class speaking entirely in Spanish to a classroom full of non-Spanish speakers. At first, the students have no idea what the teacher is saying, but over time, it somehow begins to make sense and the students are able to understand exactly what the teacher is saying. Similarly, during the first few days of class, I think it's safe to say we were all pretty wide-eyed, hoping all those foreign words would eventually make some sort of sense ...and of course they did! Diving in head first, absorbing, researching and asking questions is the best way to take this course. It's perfectly normal to feel completely flooded with information. I promise, the farther you get into the course, the more everything makes sense. You get out exactly what you put into this program! All of the instructors - Elyse, Alex, Mae, Flip - are all wonderful and always willing to explain things, answer questions, help you understand why you've broken the same line of code 276 times, etc. The MakerSquare instructors all seem to have a unique combination of knowledge, high expectations, patience and the ability to (calmly) explain the same thing in 37 different ways when the first 36 explanations somehow aren't registering in your brain. Although I still have so much to learn, I learned so much more than I ever expected I would in those 10 weeks. I, without a doubt, walked away from the course with a strong understanding of front end dev and the confidence/ability to work on my own dev projects. Great staff, really impressed with how much I learned and I would take this course again in a heartbeat. read more

MakerSquare was a very rewarding experience. I discovered a new way to solve problems, learned the fundamentals of computer science, and now I'm off to starting a new life in SF. I recently graduated from MakerSquare a couple weeks ago and am interviewing at a handful of companies in San Francisco. A few days ago a prospective student asked me a bunch of questions about my experience. I thought it would be helpful to share. ------------------------------- How was MakerSquare's Career Services? Careers services after graduation is the most crucial time for them. Through their connections with companies in both Austin and San Francisco they have a list 'Hot Leads' compiled, which are employers interested in hiring students from MakerSquare. I have been introduced to several employers through MakerSquare and have set up 4 interviews within a week here in San Francisco. They will also set up a live portfolio for you, showcasing all your projects, Linkedin, GitHub, etc. which was very helpful when I was communicating with employers. What did you learn? One of the most important concepts I learned from MKS was a solid understanding of how computer languages work. I came into the program ready to make web applications and see what I could do. Before being able to do that, the first step was to understand the software design and the inner workings of each multiple languages: JavaScript, Ruby, HTML5, and CSS3. Now that I am comfortable with Object-oriented programming and software engineering fundaments (we did this with Ruby and JavaScript), I am confident I can now set out to learn other languages such as Objective-C, Java, Python, etc. You will be able to draw patterns between the languages allowing you to pick them up sooner rather than later. How was the quality of teaching? The teacher-to-student ratio is what helped me the most to grasp the computer science topics being taught at MKS. There was about one teacher per six students. Each teacher had a general knowledge of each topic but were mainly specialized in a single language, such as Ruby. The teachers offer office hours that you can set up as many times as you like. Office hours were helpful especially when the course picked up in pace. Did you live in their DevHouse? Ya. For me, it was a great decision. Whether I was at MKS or at home in the DevHouse I was always surrounded by students. This really helped me stay on track and keep focus throughout the 12 weeks. If I had questions about any material after class I could just collaborate with fellow students at the DevHouse. Studying and learning became easier living in that environment. Did you receive mentorship? Was it valuable? I thought the mentorship program at MakerSquare was very helpful. Mainly because I used our weekly mentor meetups as an opportunity to focus on my weaknesses. Coming into the program I was more comfortable with writing in Ruby rather than JavaScript. Maybe it was because Ruby read more like english or that they're were so many helpful methods I could use, I do not recollect. But what I do recollect was that my JavaScript skills needed an extra boost. So, during the Mentorship night, where all the mentors visit MKS prior to being assigned mentees, I made an effort to find someone that was dealing with JavaScript and could help me become better. Each week my mentor and I focused on what I was weak in within JavaScript. By the time final projects came around I was writing solely in JavaScript using Node.js on my backend and Angular.js on my frontend. Aside from the technical skills you learned, what newly acquired skills do you like to wave to prospective employers? My ability to continue to learn new languages. One strength I gained from coming out of MKS was an interest in learning new technologies. Before MKS, computer programming seemed pretty daunting and cryptic at the same time. Once I became comfortable with the fundamentals of Ruby and JavaScript I was more excited to expand upon it. In other words, once you fully understand one language you can start to draw parallels and recognize patterns in other languages making them easier to pick up. I did not set out to learn a new language, and I would not recommend it during the program, but I used this new way of thinking to learn multiple JavaScript frameworks during class (i.e. Backbone.js and Riot.js, two frameworks that MKS will cover). When learning these frameworks I always sought out patterns and anything similar while keeping the differences clear in my mind. So now when I reach out to employers I ensure them that I will be able to fulfill my role as well as consistently learn on the side. read more

I recently completed the Maker-Prep program. I began with VERY little programming experience, and over the course of four weeks, learned a considerable amount of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. I learned enough to create dynamic websites and web applications. I enrolled in order to test the waters of programming to see if I liked the field. This was an excellent introductory course and I learned so much more than I expected. It was an amazing value, and I recommend it highly to anyone interested in an intro to programming/web design. Thanks Doug, Dave, and Tyler! read more

The team over at MakerSquare is incredibly dedicated and they continue to substantially improve their program. I was with MakerSquare for two classes as an instructor and curriculum developer. I currently work as a senior engineer at Rapid7 (working on Metasploit), and I worked at many other software companies in Austin (including OtherInbox and Mass Relevance/Spredfast) prior to MakerSquare. I would say without reservation that the founding team is an amazing group of folks. I got to know them all very well, and they're incredibly dedicated. It's difficult to draw comparisons between the various coding schools without attending them all yourself, obviously, but from purely anecdotal evidence, it sounds like the team at MakerSquare cares more about the success of their students than some of the other schools. The cohorts themselves tend to skew towards mid-twenties, but they've had students in their late fifties, as well. They are incredibly selective in the selection process (I believe the acceptance rate is ~15%), so it's always a great group of really motivated people. Rarely did I encounter someone who had trouble getting along with the other folks in the class. I can now say with some authority that it's very difficult to teach the software engineering in 10 weeks (they extended the classes to 12 weeks for that reason), but MakerSquare is relentless in their drive to improve. The instruction team meets regularly to review lessons and student progress. The "Learn app" which houses the curriculum is a great resource for learning new concepts, and their focus on teaching the fundamentals of software engineering, rather than simply throwing you into "here's how you build stuff with Rails," is also a big advantage. There are now both full-time and part-time classes. Part-time classes will take you through HTML, CSS, and JavaScript basics and the full-time classes focus on software engineering, Ruby, and JavaScript. The JavaScript curriculum is particularly good - I haven't seen anything like it anywhere else, especially for folks coming at JavaScript from the perspective of a total beginner. read more

TL;DR A good program, and only getting better. This is a great place to find junior developers. I am the Director of Engineering at WPEngine and formerly a senior manager and software engineer at Bazaarvoice. We hired our first MakerSquare grad at WP Engine a few months back, and I am confident we'll continue to look at MakerSquare grads to help grow our team. The individual we hired was trained on Ruby, JavaScript, and CS fundamentals, but due to our team's current needs, we have asked him to working in PHP, and he was happy to jump in and help. Hiring from MakerSquare, it was nice to interview a group of individuals that have both relevant technicals skills and real-world work experience. In the particular hire we made, we liked his ability to quickly pick up PHP and literally add value on day one. It's also great that there is new talent coming out of MakerSquare every six weeks. They're constantly iterating on their program, looking to improve it, and I'm confident that they're working on the key areas for improvement I've seen (CS fundamentals, Big O notation knowledge, Data Structure pros/cons.) read more

Just a little background on myself: I was an educator that was determined to be the exception and remain a teacher for the entirety of my working years. I was incredibly passionate, dedicated...and made it nine years. I needed a change, new problems to solve, and an opportunity to be a true continuous learner. After researching and reaching out to alumni, I landed on HackReactor @ Galvanize (Austin campus) as the path that I would take to my new career and I am SO glad I did. HRATX offers emotional and technical support whenever you need it. There are opportunities for office hours with residents, instructors, and the campus lead to address any concerns that you may have and scheduling such sessions is incredibly quick and easy. The staff is always kind, direct, and extremely helpful. Not to mention, any feedback you have is well received and addressed. I have a lot of experience around educators and have known many great ones. However, one of my favorite teachers I've ever had is at HackReactor in Austin. The instruction was made accessible, interesting, and no question was too trivial. As amazing as this program is, you get out what you put in. Not having any technical background, this was the hardest 12 weeks of work that I've done and was incredibly humbling. But I worked really hard, stayed late, and asked a lot of questions. I leaned heavily on my peers (which Hack Reactor does a great job selecting, in my opinion) and tried to do everything advised by the instructors. This curriculum, method of instruction, and stellar career services yielded two job offers within a month. If I had it all to do over again, I would choose this program again in a heartbeat. read more

I took the Part Time Front End course at MakerSquare and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I have been a Designer for several years, but felt that improving my front-end development skills would really take me to the next level in my career. Having taken the class, I'm not only taking on rewarding projects that are heavy on web development, but with the help of tools I learned about through the course, I was able to apply those skills directly to enhancing my professional website. I Highly recommend this course as an entry point into coding, especially if you are a designer looking to take the next step into development! read more

TL/DR: Do it! I just finished MakerSquare at the end of January and the program was fantastic. It wasn't perfect as it continues evolve; however, these imperfections are vastly overshadowed by the unmistakable value it offers for those willing to work hard. I do say 'offers' for a reason, because you get what you put into it. You can expect to basically live and breath code for 12 weeks. I easily spent 70+ hours either at campus or at home pouring over a project or reading documentation and sleeping every once in a while, haha. You need to dive in head first and just try to absorb anything and everything and the investment will be worth it immediately. You can go each day and be flooded with information and not learn a dang thing. But if you really throw yourself at the program, take everything in like a sponge, digest as much of it as you can and then throw yourself at it even harder as the topics get denser, deeper and more specific. I say this because there were some who came in with specific things they did/didn't want to learn or had preconceived ideas about what would/wouldn't be useful to them, and I think that held them back in many cases. Be the thirstiest sponge you can be, ask questions as you encounter them, but also be willing to trust that the instructors have thought long and hard about what is important to teach you and when. We used JavaScript and Ruby on Rails for our lessons, which you will be extremely comfortable with by the end, but the true value comes from gleaning the programming concepts which can be applied to any language. There are lots of people from my cohort who took jobs in languages we never even touched during MakerSquare; employers see that although MakerSquare grads might not yet know the syntax of whatever language the company is using, grads come out of MakerSquare with a strong conceptual understanding and the ability and learn new technologies incredibly fast. MakerSquare has promoted really high placement numbers. I am not sure the details of other cohorts, but all I know is that my classmates and I have been landing real jobs earning real paychecks; the salaries in Austin have been anywhere around 50-75k/year, generally in junior level positions. And while I understand that all this might sound too good to be true, it's not. Becoming a developer in 12 weeks is not easy, but it's absolutely achievable if you give it 100%. read more

For me, Hack Reactor was worth every penny of tuition. It is a wonderful program with an incredibly well-designed curriculum. I was previously working in corporate finance and earning six figures, so this was not a decision I took lightly. I am now working as a software engineer at a major telecommunications company, writing code to deliver video content (and working in Golang to boot!). I was worried about the pay cut I'd take to start over in a new industry, as I have earned my MBA and was making salary in line with my credentials. The pay cut ended up being only 10% and my skills are far ahead of the "less than 1 year" engineers with whom I am competing. Factor in that I had a reduction in working hours of 25+%, I'd say I came out ahead on a net basis (yes, we only work 40 hours a week!!!). If you're on the fence, there are two things that you need to think long and hard about: 1) Is this the career that I want? -- Learn to code and see if you enjoy it. The curriculum (and career that follows school) will be rigorous and challenging. If you're doing it just for the money, you will struggle (this is why I left finance in the first place). I used to compete in computer science competitions in high school and really loved solving these types of problems; that's how I knew this is the career path upon which I wanted to embark. 2) Am I willing to put in the time and effort? -- Like many other things in life, you will get out what you put in. One of my primary reasons for choosing Hack Reactor was the rigor of the curriculum. And it did not disappoint. The program is short relative to traditional higher education, but it will consume your life for the duration. That's what it takes if you want to be the best!! We were in class for 60+ hours per week and I studied an additional 15 hours per week on my own outside of class. My stance was that if I am quitting a high paying job to do this, I want to maximize my learning so that I can improve my starting salary. In addition to coding, Hack Reactor also does a great job with building soft skills. You'll spend the entire program learning how to code as part of a team. There's also practice with speaking and giving presentations. The staff provides a great support network that you can go to when you're feeling stressed. Here's a bonus: one of my classmates had actually attended another boot camp (I won't say who) and ended up attending Hack Reactor because he wasn't satisfied with the education he got at the other camp. His problem with the other camp was that they went too wide -- covered many languages and concepts, but became experts at none. Hack Reactor focuses on using JavaScript to drive just about everything so that you can learn those deeper concepts and take them with you to other languages. I credit this as one of the key reasons that I was able to land a job where the primarily language is one that I have never touched before!! After graduation, I met with my team and career services on a weekly basis. Hack Reactor does a great job at giving you the tools and at providing the support you need post-graduation to land that first job. I was able to lean on career services for plenty of help with mock interviews, white boarding practice, and salary negotiation strategies. My team helped me identify opportunities for networking events. Additionally there's a very active and vibrant Hack Reactor Alumni Slack channel, where people are always talking about career advice, who's hiring, new technologies, and a multitude of other topics! read more

I'm a software engineer who graduated from Hack Reactor, and then stayed a few extra months to help teach and assist before getting hired as a full-time software developer. My salary as a Software Engineer is average for the town I work in (Austin, TX), and yet it is still twice as much as anything I ever earned while working in hospitality. Should you consider this program? Do you really need a program at all? It is a difficult question, especially because Hack Reactor isn't cheap. I hope my review helps you answer these questions. First, should you consider Hack Reactor over other programs? This one is a resounding yes! Hack Reactor has a fantastic entrance exam that only lets in students who are strong in their programming basics, and are also decent people. Hack Reactor will have you studying with your classmates for 70 hours a week, for three months. They try to not let in anyone who isn't aimiable or who doesn't have a strong programming foundation. While the price tag is staggering, it also means that every student you meet will be 100% committed. As a result, the large majority of Hack Reactor students I met were fantastic people, and I have personally seen them get great jobs at companies such as IBM, Apple, Google and more. Sure, there are other great Boot Camps, but I have no doubt that Hack Reactor is one of the best. Helping teach after my graduation further convinced me of this - I worked with the staff for three extra months, and I got to sit in on their many weekly meetings. They discussed each student's progress, strategies on how to get each person to excel, and ways they could improve as a team. Their success rides on the success rate of their students, and so they truly care about their student's success. Second, should you consider a boot camp at all? It is a much harder question. Hack Reactor's mission is to provide three things: Curriculum, Capital, and Community. Curriculum is what most people already have access to, with 80% of the things taught at Hack Reactor being available online. They do have some fantastic group-based milestone projects, which would be impossible to do by yourself. Lastly, the group workflow foundation they give you (working with Git, ticketing systems) shouldn't be underestimated. Still, I get it. FreeCodeCamp is awesome. Capital and Community - these are the two things I'd reckon most people are lacking. If you have a strong connections to the tech industry, or if you have the capacity to go back to a good university, this program may not be for you. As for me, I loved programming, but I was overworked and underpaid at the hotel I worked at. I didn't know any other programmers, and I was too busy being an adult to consistently self study. On top of all that, I had no freaking clue how to sell myself for a tech job! Hack Reactor's grueling course allowed me to devote 100% of my time to becoming a better programmer, an opportunity I am truly grateful for. I made a ton of awesome connections along the way... I even competed in a Hackathon with three new friends after the program, and our team won first place! Should you consider a boot camp? It really is a tough question, but I'm glad I did it. You may hear online that you can do it by yourself, and some people definitely can. However, it is within six months of my graduation, and at least 90% of my class are now employed as software engineers. We all met for pizza this last week. I'm not fluffing these numbers up - check out Hack Reactor's website for real success rates. I bet their success rates are some of the strongest, and I am 100% certain their success rates trounce the self-taught crowd's success rate. If you are still on the fence, try taking the entrance exam. You won't regret it. read more

I was a student at MakerSquare and I am currently a backend developer at Bypass Mobile, a mobile point of sale start-up in Austin. Prior to MakerSquare, I was a SQL analyst at Deloitte. I had a great experience with MakerSquare and it is mostly a credit to the team, environment, and the skills I learned. Initially I had no idea what to expect. At the time, I realized that I was making a huge leap of faith putting my career on hold for three months and it made me more than a little nervous. After being introduced to the founders, however, I could tell how invested they were in my education. During the program they were always the first to arrive in the morning and the last to leave at night, and were constantly finding more ways to make the course even better. In all honesty, the education that I received blew any expectations that I had out of the water. The instructors were very invested in tailoring the instruction around the students, and making sure that we were all satisfied with our education and what we were getting out of the program. We were also given the opportunity to give extensive feedback during the course. The thing I found most surprising about MakerSquare was how incredibly smart and passionate all of the other students were. Everyone was devoted to getting as much knowledge and experience out of the course as they possibly could, and it really showed. The great thing about working at a small company, like Bypass Mobile and having a large amount of responsibility is that I have been able to use most, if not all of the technical skills that I learned at MakerSquare. While I still had a lot to learn in order to get up to speed at my new job, MakerSquare gave me a great foundation, and most importantly, taught me how to continue improving my software development skills on my own. MakerSquare is for you If you are looking to break into a new and exciting career in software development or learn as much as you can about being a good software developer in order to improve your existing career. While I look upon my experiences at MakerSquare to be one of the best decisions of my life, I definitely don't think that it is a decision that is right for everyone. When you sign up for MakerSquare, you're devoting the next ~3 months of your life to being an software developer/engineer and pushing yourself and your classmates to learning as much as they can. However, not everyone is going to be able to put their lives on hold for 3 months. Most individuals cannot juggle their current responsibilities and take this course at the same time; you have to go all in. read more

I took the Part Time Front End course at MakerSquare and absolutely loved it! The instructors are fantastic, knowledgeable and supportive! As a complete beginner I was really encouraged and empowered to learn more about the varied topics handled in the course! Not to mention that all my classmates were incredibly motivated and overall great friends! Having a solid understanding of the different aspects of the world of Front End web development, do I have the confidence on working on and creating my own projects! There's still much to learn, but Maker Square provides us with a solid base of knowledge paired with great instructors and a great environment to be in! Highly recommend MKS to any wanting to learn! read more

Why MakerSquare over the other 5 bootcamps I was accepted to? I applied to, and got accepted to six different bootcamps, but I chose MakerSquare for a lot of reasons. All of my expectations were surpassed and I couldn't be any happier. I'll first tell you why I chose MakerSquare, then describe my (amazing) experience. 1) Interview Process. During the interview, I was asked more questions that stumped me compared to other bootcamps. They were very engaging and enthusiastic about the conversation, and very prompt in responding to any questions or concerns I had throughout the process. 2) Career Services. Most of the other bootcamps that I applied to had some sort of financial gimmick tied to their career services or you were only allowed access to the career services team for a certain period of time. The career services team doesn't have a time constrain or financial tie to your next job, they are just a group of people who are really passionate about finding you a job. 3) DevHouse. I thought the DevHouse would help me make my transition to Austin from Ohio much easier. I didn't want to get suck in a long term lease or live in a neighborhood that wasn't safe. I Had High Expectations I had pretty high expectations for MakerSquare before I got there, and they surpassed them within the first day. Everyone introduced themselves to me and was super friendly. My mom is a teacher, so I know some basics about teaching techniques and how to tell if your instructor actual cares about your experience. Every instructor that I met at MakerSquare was highly motivated and dedicated to my learning experience while I was there. I didn't enjoy struggling through every lesson, but it really is the best way to learn something, and I felt I learned more than I could ever imagine during my time there. Amazing Career Services Support I thought the career services team would be similar to the ones at a college or university, which aren't very helpful, but they too exceeded my expectations. They sit down with you individually and go over your resume, LinkedIn, and anything else you want to cover to make sure you are presented correctly online. I was also impressed they had numerous potential jobs lined up for us before we even graduated. The Environment - Great Instructors & Great Peers The environment at MakerSquare is what makes it such a great program. I is extremely hard for me to be on time for things. I am one of those people that you have tell me to be there at 3:30 if you want me to show up at 4. I was not late a single day during my time at MakerSquare. I showed up every day excited to be there because everyone there was excited to be there too. MakerSquare did a great job of picking out a group of students for me to learn with during the program. They were all intelligent and I found myself many times talking to them about intellectual things that didn't just involve programming. We all came from very diverse backgrounds, but our common vision of becoming programmers brought us all together. Anyone who has written even a few lines of code knows the frustration you get when something isn't working. I ran into hundreds of errors in my code during my time at MakerSquare and the instructors were always willing to help. It was hard enough for me to not get frustrated over my errors, and I applaud the instructors that can come in everyday and fix numerous for other people's code. There wasn't a single problem that I ran into that my instructors couldn't figure out, and I had multiple situations where someone would sit down with me individually for an hour or more until the problem was solved. Compare this to college: I was lucky to get 20 minutes of my instructor's undivided time. Overall It was the best learning experience of my life. Study hard before so you can get accepted, and consider it strongly compared to other bootcamps. I did and it was definitely worth it. read more

Attending MakerSquare was the best decision I have made in my life. Now, you might be thinking, "This guy has a hyperbolic personality and I have to take this review with a grain of salt." Honestly, I wouldn't blame you for that perspective. But my experience at MakerSquare was one of enlightenment, transformation, and reflection. The culture of the institution has been carefully constructed to enable individuals to struggle, learn, and thrive in a contained and safe environment - setting up students for promising careers. This isn't to say that MakerSquare hands this easily to students: the program isn't for everyone. Only people who are self-starters, who have motivation, ambition, and a passion for learning and collaboration, will thrive in this environment. Thankfully, the admissions team at MakerSquare is incredibly selective. They go to great lengths to ensure that only the most capable and motivated are accepted into the program. As a result of this, I found myself surrounded by people just like me with a hunger for knowledge and an aptitude to learn. If you aren't motived or you don't like working with others, then this program may not be for you; furthermore, software development in general may not be for you. But if you are, then MakerSquare will provide you with a network of brilliant individuals who will stick with you throughout your career. That alone was well worth the tuition for me. This is not to say that the program has no imperfections. MakerSquare likes to iterate over the curriculum to provide the most accurate and powerful tools to their students. While this is part of what makes its approach so effective, it can also result in processes and materials seeming a little unrefined. There were times as a student that I was frustrated by this, but looking back, I can see how this actually helped me to develop a unique skill set. I learned to conduct research autonomously and work closely with my peers as a team. I became more independent. I am now confident that no matter what real-world situation I encounter, I will be able to produce a great result. This confidence is something that I developed as a result of MakerSquare's iterative process. I have now been working professionally as a Software Engineer for 6 months and have a very promising career path ahead of me. I have already earned more than six times the return on investment from my tuition to MakerSquare and have never regretted my decision to attend. I encourage anyone who is confident, excited, and passionate about technology to consider MakerSquare as a powerful stepping stone to a successful career. read more

I'm a recent graduate of MakerSquare (just finished this past week) and spent the most fun 3 months of my life. It flew by! For future cohorts, I wrote a mini review about my time at MakerSquare: Why did you choose MakerSquare? I saw great reviews for MakerSquare online (via Facebook, Quora, Google) and its location in Austin was a huge plus considering its growth in the technology field. What was the environment at MakerSquare? The environment at MakerSquare was amazing! The people in my cohort were very motivated and friendly, the staff were very approachable, and it felt like I was a part of a family from the very first week. The founders really cared about what we thought about the program, so our feedback was addressed promptly. Because I felt so comfortable, I would get sad on the weekends when I couldn't be at MakerSquare. Working with instructors and staff The staff and instructors were the best part about MakerSquare! It's easy to see how much they care about the students and truly wish the best for them. I only had positive experiences with all of them. How did MakerSquare prepare you for your job search? MakerSquare did a decent job preparing us for our job search! Savrut and Jessica provided all of the information we needed in finding jobs. They were helpful during the entire process, and are available even after the course ends. They are limited to how much they can help, so you have to be proactive with your job search. To whom would recommend the program vs. who should not take MakerSquare, and why? I would not recommend this program to anyone looking to switch into software engineering for the money. You will have a tough time if you don't enjoy coding as a hobby. I would recommend this to anyone who is passionate about learning a variety of new technologies. It is not necessary to have an analytical/science background or heavy math background. As long as you enjoy coding, you will have a fulfilling experience. People from very diverse backgrounds came into my cohort and everyone became amazing coders! read more

My expectations of MakerSquare. My expectations coming into MakerSquare were that I would get access to many resources and learn the necessary skills to get a job in the tech industry as a web developer. Why I chose MakerSquare. I chose MakerSquare because it was in Austin and had many positive reviews from prior students. Also, I was getting frustrated at my old job and always wanted to learn how to code. Environment - interactive and fun! The environment at MakerSquare was great for learning and very fun. It was very hands-on with a lot of interaction and discussion between students and teachers! I was very happy with all of my classmates because the other students were just as passionate about learning. The instructors were better than the majority of my engineering teachers in college. They were all incredibly knowledgeable and helpful. The staff was very organized and supportive throughout the entire program. Feedback I wish MakerSquare did more short one-on-ones with students, and held students a little more accountable for completing assignments. I know the time is short, but I found these very helpful because I could fully review solutions and concepts. Career Services I felt MakerSquare prepared us extremely well for our job search. All of the talks from hiring-partners and other people in the industry were very helpful. Also, the knowledge about having an online presence and how to market yourself was great. Summary I would recommend the program to anyone who is passionate about learning code and improving their life. The course is challenging, so make sure you work hard. The program will only be valuable if you put in the time and effort every day. Don't expect people to teach you things or do things for you. You must be willing to take initiative and do a lot of work and research on your own. read more

When my startup blew up, I didn't know really what to do. I tried applying for jobs in marketing, but realized I'd be starting from the bottom all over again after two years of hard work, sacrifice, and not enough pay. When I found MakerSquare, it reignited a passion about programming that was sleeping inside me for over ten years - only I had been on the outside looking in. During my application process, I realized that 'this was what I was meant to do'. I made amazing friends. Everyday there were tough problems, funny jokes, and good times. That made the long hours a lot easier. Three months later, I had my first job. I doubled my salary. One month later, I took my second job. I tripled my salary, and received a $5,000 signing bonus. I bought a new car. There's a couple of reasons why I tell people to go to MakerSquare. It's an amazing return on investment. Not only on starting salary, but on how quickly you can move up in earning potential. It's a powerful skill. You can start a company, work for yourself, add value to any organization. From anywhere in the world. You just need your laptop. It's in a great industry, in great, economically strong cities. You will be always needed. You just need to enjoy solving puzzles and want to work hard, and sky's the limit. read more

Im a grad of the aforementioned Makersquare (second cohort) I now work as a Junior Developer at YouEarnedit.com. I'd say the think that made me successful is that Im a rapid learner. I hear a lot of backlash from people who say that bootcampers cant be as good as people who have CS degrees, here is why I think its not true. Focus + Intensity: There's something about being able to devote 100% of your time 24 hours a day to learning, and with a complex subject like coding I think its invaluable. For me personally it allows for a deeper understanding because there is less distraction. Anecdote here, but I just interviewed/spoke with a person about to finish a cs program and honestly could not believe how little they knew about Object Oriented programing, RESTful api design and the architectural differences between java and javascript. Sure this was just one person, but my point is that 4 years necessarily mean someone is more knowledgable. If in the future there is something I don't know Ill just learn it using coursera or itunes U. While I was there they would literally write the curriculum for the next day based on our feedback. While I believe they have a more fixed agenda now, I know from current students I have interact with that feedback is very important to the founders/instructors. read more

This review is for the MakerPrep course offered by MakerSquare that I took. As advertised, the course said that it will prepare you for the MakerSquare technical interview, the main basis for which MakerSquare accepts students. The instructor (unprofessional, unhelpful, more on him later) even said that nothing will be on the interview that was not covered in the course. After my interview, that was absolutely false. 100% of the interview was over functions that were never gone over in class. I know for sure because I never skipped class and was very active during the class. After my technical interview was when I truly felt scammed out of my $750 for MakerPrep, and I do not use the word "scam" lightly. The lesson in MakerPrep had no structure or clear objectives. Very frequently, after minutes of inactivity, students would ask each other "what are we supposed to be doing? Do we have an assignment?" The advertisement said that it was a class for "those with familiarity with the internet and computers." Thus, for anyone without coding experience. Those who succeeded in the class already had previous experience, or people like me had to learn everything on my own through Codecademy and Freecodecamp, defeating the purpose of the class. The only real asset was to network and meet people, but that was not worth the $750 I spent, nor the time. Hours would be spent inefficiently due to the instructors lack of knowledge or skills for teaching that the instructor possessed. Furthermore, the instructor showed more of an interest in making friends and conversation than in teaching us. Not that one should be a former teacher to teach the class, but the inefficiency I mentioned was more of a lack of effort. He would give a task for us to complete, and then talk about his personal life while we tried to work. I have heard of other programs where the instructor walks around guiding others, while this one stayed at his desk having personal conversations. One particular instance, for the last 1.5 hours of the class, he stayed at his desk, coded in front of us and talked to us about his code. For those without coding experience, you do not learn coding by solely watching someone do it and hear him explain it. He had no tasks or activity for the class at that time, and when class ended, I thought it odd that he said, "good job class, you all did great today." He said "we," the class did great, while he did all the work on his screen in front of us. The true test of failure of the course came from first, that by the 2nd week, half of the people just stopped showing up(the course offered no refunds, so while not sure, I imagine refunds were not given). And second, the instructor (which to him he said it as a measure of success) said that in the latest MakerSquare cohort, 2 people came from MakerPrep. If the stated objective of the course was to prepare us for the technical interview, and only 2 succeeded, then that alone also shows the failure. Again, this review is for MakerPrep, but it worries me for MakerSquare if it is any indication of the way they run their company. I most certainly regret spending my money and time on the course I took. read more

I just completed the beta Maker-Prep program: a course designed to prepare those with little coding experience to pass the full-time MakerSquare entrance interview. As the beta, this course was obviously less organized than I would have liked, but that was to be expected. The staff are friendly, knowledgeable, and more than willing to answer any questions one might have. The teacher of the course was aptly able to assist those with no programming experience, and still provide interesting and challenging problems to those with a more in-depth background. A course like this was perfect for me as I was considering a career in software engineering but needed a hands-on experience before making the dive to a full-time program. Highly recommended. Fantastic value for the price. read more

What were your expectations coming to MakerSquare? I expected an intensive 3-month program focusing on the full-stack web development with also supplementary topics including Agile methodology, algorithms, and special topics. I did get all of what I expected but only by inputting hard work and making full use of the available resources (instructors, meetups, networking, feedback from projects, etc.) will one expect to get full value from this program. Why did you choose MakerSquare? Compared to the other bootcamps (https://www.coursereport.com/cities/austin), I met and knew some of the MakerSquare alumni and felt confident that I could do the same. MakerSquare's humble beginnings and teacher-founder concepts attracted me to their reputation despite their novice delve into programming bootcamps. The cost, although high, was comparative and the conversion rate from student to jobs was high as well (my biggest factor in deciding to join). What was the environment at MakerSquare? Quite open yet competitive. Yes, its true that your classmates are also some of your competitors but that doesn't mean you can't network and learn from them. One must constantly remind themselves that the true competition is how much you knew before the program and what your true motivation is after the program. Do I really want to be a developer? Do I really want to program/design? Am I still attracted to this area of interest? MakerSquare's relaxed attitude for drinks/snacks/language helped me feel at home too haha. Interacting with other students All of the students come from a wide background, most in their mid 20s to young 30s, but almost everyone had a unique background. Secretary, english majors, accountants, engineers, still-in-school students, novice programmers, and more. All the students were filtered/screened before they entered MakerSquare making them quite knowledgeable, smart, resourceful, and creative. Each person also had some quirk to them that made everyone quite memorable lol. Working with instructors and staff All the instructors and staff were quite knowledgeable and ready to help, which made me feel comfortable despite my shyness to ask questions sometimes. I was glad for their help. What do you wish MakerSquare did a better job at? Giving more of the true work environment ranging from startup to enterprise. What is the typical workday like? How do you use typical project management tools (Atlassian (Jira, Bamboo, Crucible, etc.))? Also, good vs. bad programming styles/tips when working with various front-end and back-end frameworks. Sometimes I do things just because that's all I know but is this hindering me from knowing that there could be a better way? Sometimes I feel afraid to deviate because that's all I know and I become befuddled by what I tried to experiment with and when I deviated from my learnings to test new things and expand my horizon as a programmer. Another things, perhaps more tutorials on how to setup typical apps: e-commerce/store, applicant/project tracking, super complex CRUD-app, how to make a bad website (good details to show how optimization works), data science integration and visualization, etc. providing a springboard for any of these ideas would be awesome to encourage beyond-the-classroom studies. What was your job search process like? Job search wasn't too bad but it can be difficult if you don't understand the playing field. You are probably a non-CS major with a novice background competing against CS majors with good internship experience. You must play to your strengths: self-motivated learner for several months learning extensive materials (in breadth and depth) for full-stack development with proven portfolio of these skills. Then pick and choose all the companies from the meetups, job fairs, company sponsored events, job boards (there are a TON), 3rd-party recruiters (Especially these guys!), friends of friends, LinkedIn, Facebook groups' Austin Digital Jobs and Capital Factory Jobs, and any kind of networking. Looking for a job is a full-time job!! You must stay up to date in technologies and the community as well: Twitter feeds, all those free tutorial websites, and meetups. What is your current position and how did your MakerSquare experience prepare your current position? I am a front-end developer for a nation-wide financial company (NetSpend). MakerSquare prepared me with the fundamental concepts and project management skills to make suitable for the job. If anything, they taught me and showed me the basics on documentation reading, how to find resources, and get me used to the terminology and tools available. To whom would you recommend the program? I recommend the program for anyone is loves to make things, appreciates the problem-solving nature of programming, loves to learn new things, and loves to break things. You don't need heavy math/science background. In fact, I think it may hinder you like it did for me read more

I am a graduate of the program. Fantastic passion, skill of instructors and support for aspiring web developers changing careers.

I went from code tinkerer to coding professional after completing the 3 month full-time course. I got my first dev job just 13 days after finishing MakerSquare. Few other things I've ever done in life have paid off as well as attending MakerSquare did! read more

I can't say enough good things about MakerSquare. After college, I started a career in marketing, which never truly felt 'right' to me. I wasn't ever excited going to work and counted down the minutes when I got there. I started doing a few online tutorials to learn programming and immediately fell in love with it. I'd finally found something that kept my attention for hours and something I wanted to devoted all of my time to. I went back and forth on applying for a bootcamp for about a year. As a marketer, I knew how people would skew data to work towards their goal, so I was wary of the '96% hiring rate' that MakerSquare promoted. After reading everything about MKS online that I could, I decided to go for it. I was accepted and decided to move to Austin to attend. MakerSquare was one of the best experiences of my life. I was surrounded by brilliant people all day every day who shared the same passion for learning that I did. There were times that we all felt frustrated, but MakerSquare helped push us through those times of uncertainty. I learned far beyond anything I could have taught myself in such a short period of time. Just three weeks after graduating, I landed my dream job at HomeAway. I absolutely love my job, my company, and the industry. MakerSquare truly did change my life. If you're thinking about applying, do it today. It'll be the best decision you've ever made. read more

I completed the intensive program 6 months ago, worked for MakerSquare for 3 more months doing the fellowship program, and have been at my current company as a Software Engineer for about 3 months. Hard to believe I had no programming experience just a year ago - I would definitely recommend MKS to anyone looking to make a jump into the software industry. They are very supportive of their students and alumni and definitely seem to be trying to bridge the gap in the software industry by holding workshops etc for women (always a good thing). I haven't met anyone who graduated the immersive that was unsatisfied with what they were able to accomplish and learn in the program. read more

Before MKS I was very unhappy with my front-end developer job. I wanted to learn more, and being funneled into a Wodrpess environment with no way or direction out was killing me. I applied and was rejected on my first attempt to get in (this was after 9 months or so of learning and having attended another JavaScript based bootcamp). The second attempt I was finally allowed entrance to their program. I'm so glad that MKS vets their students this way, it made for some really solid students in my cohort. I was stressed out the first 3 weeks of the program (as most people are) and felt as though I was an imposter on many many occasions. Then, we had a week break for Thanksgiving 2015 during which I put some of my skills to use and did some self study to review some of the material that I had suffered through during the previous 3 weeks. After the break, I all of the sudden had a few 'ah ha' moments! I was more confident in my ability to come up with solutions to the toy problems, and I started really understanding the material presented. Then one day, during the project phase, I woke up and thought to myself, "I am a software engineer". And it was true. I was able to get a job after one week of completion of the program at a company in Utah. The company was so impressed with what I had learned in such a short period of time, that they made me the lead of the front end team. I couldn't believe it, and still cant until this day. Someone now pays me to play with code all day. It's un believable. I would say I wasn't even in the top third of my class (all varying backgrounds before MKS) and I have had enormous success post graduation. All thanks to MKS and their amazing system. If you're contimplating applying, just do it. Apply. Today. You'll learn something from the interview process and your motivation to become a software engineer will skyrocket. Know that, you will be discouraged, frustrated, and feel like you don't belong throughout the process. But after you get in and start learning, you'll understand quickly that you had just made the best decision of your life! Cheers! -ryan read more

This review is for the Part-Time Front-End Web Development Course at MakerSquare. I started the PT Front-End course this past March (2014) and spent 10 weeks, every Monday and Wednesday evening from 6:30 to 9:30, learning all about Front-End Web Development. I was a little hesitant when I first started the course because I was coming in with what I thought was relatively solid knowledge of HTML and CSS. I was worried the whole course would be one giant review of stuff I already knew and was tired of going over. I was 100% wrong!! While we did review some things I already knew there was never, ever a moment when I didn't learn something new and valuable - even about something I thought I had already mastered. Whether it was a just a trick or a quick tip I hadn't ever learned, I left each evening feeling so excited about all I had learned and wanting to put it into action immediately. Despite feeling like I knew CSS and HTML already, going through this program at MakerSquare made me feel 100% more confident in my knowledge and skills and reassured me that I had learned from the best. You can never know everything about front-end programming, or programming in general, because it's constantly evolving. One of the things I valued the most about this program and about MakerSquare in general is that I finally had a group that was involved in the web tech world in Austin (and all over the US). Most of my friends aren't involved in the tech community so MakerSquare was finally a major resource I could turn to in order to keep up with the ever changing tech world. I not only learned from the instructors, I also learned from my fellow classmates. In the PT front-end program we learned everything you need to know about CSS and HTML. We spent a good deal of time on JavaScript which was fantastic as this was the area I most wanted to learn more about and knew I couldn't learn it on my own (there is no substitute for being able to turn to your instructors or even fellow classmates to ask them a quick question and get help). We also spent time learning about Jekyll, Rails, jQuery, using the command line and mastering GitHub. MakerSquare gave me an incredible confidence boost as well as knowledge I legitimately use everyday. I wouldn't have the skills and abilities I have today if it were not for the PT front-end program at MakerSquare. The decision to take this program has been the best decision I've ever made!! read more

I put off the Hack Reactor interview for a long time - about a year or so. I kept thinking the success stories were too good to be true, was nervous about the price tag, and already had a professional career that I was settled into (although I was powering through free online coding resources in my spare time and knew I was heading toward a career in development). Finally I bit the bullet and decided to go for it, and I am SO glad I did. It really is a life changing experience. It's not so much that Hack Reactor teaches you how to code in 3 months (the bar for passing the entrance interview is surprisingly high - they already expect relative comfort with javascript concepts when you arrive), but they teach you how to survive and be valuable in industry. The most valuable things I walked away from Hack Reactor were 1) ability to work on an engineering team, 2) data structures/algorithms foundational concepts, and 3) ability to quickly parse through documentation and use unfamiliar technology in a project on the fly. Beyond all of the incredible things I learned (and learned about myself) during Hack Reactor, I want to point out that the staff is amazing. The immersive nature of Hack Reactor is extremely intense, but all of the staff facilitate a really positive learning environment and really care about each student. Career services after graduation is also exactly as effective as advertised, and I ended up accepting a job offer found through a Hack Reactor partnership just a few weeks after I finished the program. I'm so glad I went for it, and 100% would do it again. read more

This class is awesome! I enrolled in the Maker-Prep program with VERY LITTLE knowledge of javascript. I had tried online programs briefly, but found them incredibly boring. This class made the content fun and exciting and I learned WAY more than I expected to. I can now create dynamic websites and web applications, and even use APIs. I didn't even spend much time outside of class studying, I did spend some time doing extra projects because it was fun, but that isn't necessary to keep up in class. If your curious about programming and like learning in a classroom environment with lots of collaborative work and one-on-one assistance from teachers, then this class is perfect for you. read more

I attended Hack Reactor May - July 2017, and can confidently say that it was among the best personal and professional decisions I have made in my life. Not only does the program truly prepare you for a field in web development and software engineering, but the staff are also incredibly helpful and invested in your success. The curriculum is challenging but fun, and pushes students to learn autonomously in a supportive environment. I also had the incredible opportunity to stay on for 3 months after completing the program as a "Hacker in Residence", which is probably best described as a TA. The experience gave me the opportunity to fortify my skills and act as a mentor for students completing the course. I found that having recent students in this kind of role helped build my confidence, both as a student and as a graduate entering the market place. After completing my residency as an HiR, I landed a great job in Austin after about a 2 month search. In addition to great material and structure throughout the program, after graduation you have access to dedicated career services who will support and coach you through the job search. I would highly recommend Hack Reactor to anyone interested in a career in tech, especially if you have no prior background. read more

I attended cohort 24 in Austin, TX First, a little bit about me. I entered Makersquare with roughly 2 years of Wordpress development experience. I was mainly self taught (aside from Comp Sci 101) through my job at a digital advertising company here in NYC. I was tired of working with Wordpress and wanted to take my dev skills to the next level, and work on some more interesting projects (I was working on click bait websites). I chose MKS because it teaches the Javascript stack, and their interview / application process was much more enjoyable than at Full Stack Academy. Some advice before applying: Make sure you are serious about becoming an engineer. If you are doing this because you don't know what else to do with your career, or are expecting MKS to baby you every step of the way, this may not be the right place for you. Their methods are very much geared towards "making you a better learner". While there are lectures (Gilbert is a rockstar) and solid course material, it is up to the students to work together and solve problems without very much hand holding. The senior project feels exactly like a job, where you are responsible for the product from start to finish with no set daily schedule. The program: It is rigorous. You WILL struggle. Do not let it get you down. There WILL be people smarter than you who will make you feel inadequate. Just remember it is not a competition! If someone is catching on faster than you, don't get discouraged... ask them for help! I always say that 95% of being a software engineer is failure. It's that 5% of aha! moments that makes it all worth it. I feel like I had a new aha! moment every single day here. It feels like you're struggling mightily, but when you get to the project phase, it's absolutely astounding how much you've learned in such a short period. Also, don't plan on having a social life during these 3 months! Outcome: I was able to land a job 3 weeks after i graduated, working for a former boss, making 60% more than my last job with a better title (software engineer). I was able to negotiate using the awesome tactics that student outcomes taught us. I made $10k more in 20 minutes! It's amazing how few people actually negotiate their salary. MKS does a very good job teaching you these skills. I probably have a bit of an advantage over most people coming to MKS since I had 2.5 years experience, and a strong network of former co-workers here in NYC, but with the skills gained at MKS i am confident that every who graduates is strong enough for at least a Junior level job. I joined MKS knowing I would not be using their hiring network (which is mainly Austin, LA, and SF), so I can't really comment on that. Negatives: MKS is not perfect, but they are always iterating and trying to improve. They are a startup, and it is apparent that they are experiencing typical startup growing pains. Also, your experience could be brought down if your cohort has some bad apples. Pretty much everyone I met was awesome, and I made some great friends, but the student body is very young, and some students are not mature enough to handle the kind of pressure involved with the program. MKS very rarely kicks anyone out, so it's possible that you'll have someone on your team not pulling their weight, dealing with emotional issues, being a jerk, or causing drama. (not all necessarily in my cohort, just what I've observed). MKS likes to spin it and say that you're going to have to deal with difficult people on the job, which is a great point, but not when we're spending a lot of money. Towards the end of my cohort, they hired someone will act as a student mediator to try to deal with these types of situations, which is a testament to how MKS listens to their students and strongly values their input. My advice: DO IT! It was possibly the best 3 months of my life. I've never learned so much so fast, and the outcomes are real. Just about all of my cohort is employed. Have fun, don't take it too seriously, and Always Be Committing! read more

I took the Front End Part-Time course at MakerSquare, I had a great experience because I was able to enhance some of the front-end skills I already had but was also able to learn new ones like JavaScript. My favorite part of MakerSquare is that one is not just another student taking their courses, I can say that I became part of the MS family and I can reach out to any of the alumni or instructors for help. read more

Bottom line: If you want to work as a coder and your background can't get you the job, you need a bootcamp. If you are serious about it, the best one in Austin is MakerSquare. Other bootcamps: - Lead instructor is newly hired or just graduated from the program. - Tell you to start networking from day 1 -- go to happy hours and meetups instead of focusing on solidifying actual job skills. - Are not selective about applicants, which may water down your reputation. - Are cheaper. At MakerSquare: - Instructors are passionate and exceptionally qualified (10yrs+ web programming). Lead of curriculum makes contributions to the development of the JavaScript language. - You put all of your efforts into learning and coding in a team environment before career week. - They are staffed up to support you through the rigorous program, and to properly prepare you for facing the job market. - Costs as much as 3 months of Ivy League schooling. I got the job I wanted within a week of graduating the bootcamp -- worth it! Notes: - Prep course isn't designed as a free pass for the technical interview. It's really just a chance to see if you can grow to feel comfortable with javascript and broader web programming. It was frustrating how my group wasn't given a syllabus initially. It's typically taught by a recent graduate, and provides a good sense of what the program can ultimately do for you. Passing the Tech interview wasn't much of a jump. - They are looking for employable candidates and they won't hesitate to tell someone to leave (with a prorated refund) midway through the bootcamp if they aren't a good fit. You must have a great attitude and be ready for hard, challenging work. My classmates were all impressive, and from various walks of life. - It's life changing. It would have taken years of independent learning, and I still wouldn't have had the experience of coding on a team if I tried to do this on my own. read more

MakerSquare will teach you what you need to know to get a job as a programmer. You'll meet great people along the way. It is an outstanding learning experience. read more