In today’s tech-driven world, coding has become a highly sought-after skill. If you’re looking to jumpstart your career in software development, a coding bootcamp can be a great option. Hack Reactor is one of the most renowned coding bootcamps, offering intensive full-stack web development training. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll delve into what Hack Reactor has to offer, from its curriculum and admissions process to career outcomes and student experiences.
Whether you’re a career changer or looking to upskill, Hack Reactor’s immersive program can provide you with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the tech industry. From building real-world applications to connecting with a supportive community of fellow developers, Hack Reactor offers a unique opportunity to accelerate your coding journey.
Hack Reactor Program Overview
Hack Reactor offers a comprehensive and immersive coding bootcamp designed to fast-track students into the field of software engineering. The program is available fully online, providing flexibility while maintaining the same rigorous curriculum that was once offered in person. Whether a you’re a beginner or already have some coding experience, Hack Reactor’s bootcamp covers everything from the fundamentals of JavaScript to advanced full-stack web development, equipping students with the skills to excel in tech careers.
Program Length
Full-Time Beginner Program — 19 weeks
Full-Time Intermediate Program — 12 weeks
Tuition
Attending a coding bootcamp is not cheap and should not be taken lightly. For those on the fence, use this break-even calculator to help you understand if a coding bootcamp is right for your financial situation.
Full-Time Beginner Program — $19,480
Full-Time Intermediate Program — $19,480
Curriculum
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Full-Time Beginner Program In weeks 1–4, the curriculum covers the essential foundations of full-stack development using Python, Django, HTML, CSS, databases, and common development tools like VSCode, Bash, and git. You’ll apply these skills to build a comprehensive web application project. The second 6-week module focuses on building more complex web applications using modern infrastructure like React in JavaScript. You’ll also work in a development team, learn Agile software development, and implement and integrate microservices. The third module introduces data management, DevSecOps, and cloud-native development. You’ll build a real-time web application using technologies like WebSockets, FastAPI, GitHub Copilot, MongoDB, and GitLab Pipelines. In the final week, Hack Reactor’s career services provide comprehensive support, including coaching, mock interviews, resume building, workshops, networking, and access to alumni. This helps students land their dream jobs after graduation.
Full-Time Intermediate Program The accelerated nature of the intermediate program requires that you complete pre-coursework. Plan to spend about 90–120 hours on the “precourse” curriculum, and by then, you should have a strong foundation in JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and a bit of algorithm design. In weeks 1–5, you’ll learn full-stack JavaScript and computer science fundamentals through hands-on projects and pair programming. You’ll build web applications using JavaScript, React, Node.js, HTML, CSS, and databases, and contribute to team projects to develop your skills and communication abilities. In the back half of the program, you’ll delve deeper into modern software architecture and industry practices while working on Agile teams to build scalable web applications. You’ll apply design and technical principles, and leverage tools like GitHub Copilot, and you’ll complete a senior capstone project that acts as a showcase for job interviews. Finally, Hack Reactor’s career services provide comprehensive support throughout the program, including coaching, mock interviews, resume building, workshops, networking, and access to alumni. This helps students land their dream jobs after graduation.
Learning Format
Both formats are fully remote, with live online lectures, group work, and project-based learning.
The curriculum is structured so that each section builds off of prior learning, and the projects you work on grow in complexity along the way. In the beginning, you’re working on basics and fundamentals. By the end, you’re building complex applications on an agile team using the latest in-demand technologies.
What to Expect During Hack Reactor
Intense Curriculum: Be prepared for a demanding schedule filled with coding challenges, projects, and lectures.
Project-Based Learning: Build real-world applications to solidify your skills and showcase your portfolio.
Experienced Instructors: Learn from industry professionals with a wealth of coding experience.
Collaborative Environment: Work closely with your classmates to solve problems and learn from each other.
Hack Reactor’s Admission Requirements
Self-described as a “20 to 100” program instead of “0 to 60”, the course is designed for students that already have a baseline of programming experience.
Hack Reactor’s admissions process is designed to identify applicants with the potential to succeed in the program. The highly selective nature of the admissions process ensures that only the well-prepared candidates are accepted. Self-described as a “20 to 100” program instead of “0 to 60”, the course is designed for students that already have a baseline of programming experience. While the initial interview may be challenging, applicants are encouraged to persevere and reapply if they believe they can improve their skills. It is fairly common for applicants to fail their first interview, even if they participated in a prep course.
The Full-Time Beginner Program requires a 15-minute non-technical interview, as well as the Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test (CCAT).
On the other hand, the Full-Time Intermediate Program requires the CCAT, a coding challenge, and the Technical Admissions Assessment (TAA). Understanding what each of these assessments entails is critical to qualify for the bootcamp.
Hack Reactor’s 15-Minute Non-Technical Interview
This short, non-technical interview for Hack Reactor’s Full-Time Beginner Program is designed to assess your motivation, fit with the program, soft skills, and relevant background.
Motivation and Goals
With these types of questions, they may ask you about why you want to learn to code, what your career aspirations are, and how Hack Reactor fits into your career plans. Be specific about your reasons, whether it’s a career change, personal interest, or be in an occupation where you get to solve problems.
Fit with the Program
Hack Reactor bootcamps—like many other bootcamps—are intense. They require the ability to handle a demanding workload, the ability to adapt, and a serious desire to learn. The interviewers are looking to make sure that you’re unlikely to drop out, so they’ll ask you questions along these lines to make sure you understand what their coding bootcamp entails and that you’re a good fit.
Soft Skills
While these types of interview questions are often the most memed, you’re likely to encounter one or two in your 15-minute conversation. They may want to hear who you overcame an obstacle or how you were able to work with someone you didn’t agree with. Come prepared with some general scenarios that you’ve experienced in your past that you can talk about. Having a handful of different experiences that you’ve talked about recently will help prepare you to think on your feet when they ask you a question slightly different. Just try to answer these questions honestly.
Background and Experience
These questions are fairly straightforward. What’s your educational background? What about your work history? Have you had any coding experience prior? They’re looking for experiences that you would have listed on your resume and how those might translate to Hack Reactor’s programs.
Remember, the goal of this interview is to get a sense of who you are as a person and whether you are a good fit for the Hack Reactor program. Be honest, enthusiastic, and prepared to discuss your motivations and goals.
Hack Reactor’s Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test (CCAT)
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The Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test (CCAT) is a timed, multiple-choice test designed to assess your cognitive abilities. While it is hardly representative of how you’ll perform as a software engineer, it helps to identify applicants who may have the cognitive abilities to handle the demands and difficulties of attending a coding bootcamp. It typically includes questions from the following categories:
Verbal Reasoning
These types of questions test your ability to understand and use language (typically administered in English here in the U.S.) effectively. They might include reading comprehension questions, sentence completion questions, or analogies.
A basic example of this type of question is:
“Read the following passage and answer the question below: ‘The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.’ Which word in the sentence is a synonym for ‘sluggish’? A) quick; B) brown; C) lazy; or D) dog.”
Numerical Reasoning
These are questions that test your ability to work with numbers and perform calculations. They might include arithmetic problems, algebra problems, or data interpretation questions (e.g., charts, graphs).
An example of this type of question might be the following:
“A train leaves a station at 8 AM and travels at a speed of 60 mph. Another train leaves the same station at 9 AM and travels in the same direction at a speed of 80 mph. At what time will the second train catch up to the first?”
Logical Reasoning
Logical reasoning questions are those that test your ability to think logically and draw conclusions from your reasoning. These types of problems include: syllogisms, deductive reasoning, and inductive reasoning.
Below is a good example of a logical reasoning question you might face on the CCAT:
“‘All mammals are warm-blooded. All dogs are mammals. Therefore, all dogs are warm-blooded.’ Is the last statement true or false?”
Problem Solving
Problem solving questions might be the broadest category of questions that you’ll face on teh CCAT. They generally test your ability to analyze problems and find solutions, and some types of these problems include word problems, puzzles, and brain teasers.
A common example is:
“A farmer has chickens and rabbits on his farm. He has 100 chickens and counts a total of 300 legs, how many rabbits does he have on his farm?”
Like any test, preparing for the CCAT is critical. Here are some steps you can take to ensure that you’re not going into the CCAT at a disadvantage and that you have some familiarity with the process beforehand.
Practice with similar tests: There are many online resources that offer practice tests similar to the CCAT. These can help you get familiar with the format and types of questions. Some options that offer similar aptitude test preparation are Practice Aptitude Tests and Job Test Prep.
Brush up on math skills: Ensure you have a strong foundation in basic math concepts, such as arithmetic, algebra, and geometry.
Improve your reading comprehension: Practice reading comprehension exercises to enhance your ability to understand and analyze information.
Develop problem-solving skills: Work on puzzles, riddles, and brain teasers to improve your problem-solving abilities.
Time management: Practice working under time pressure to improve your ability to manage your time effectively during the test.
Hack Reactor’s Coding Challenge and Technical Admissions Assessment (TAA)
Both the Coding Challenge and the Technical Admissions Assessment (TAA) at Hack Reactor are designed to evaluate your existing JavaScript skills and problem-solving abilities. You must complete the Coding Challenge first before you can take the TAA, and you may attempts the TAA up to 3 times—waiting at least 2 weeks in between attempts. Whilte the TAA is a more difficult and challenging test than the Coding Challenge, these are both very similar to some of the challenges you might encounter during job interviews and are conducted online while sharing your screen. While the expectations will be lower during these tests than during a real-world job interview, you’ll still need to articulate your thoughts, problem solve, and implement working code all at the same time. Practice is paramount for this exercise because even a seasoned software engineer can have a difficult time verbalizing their thoughts while coding.
“If you find the coding challenge extremely challenging, that can be a sign you may need to study a bit more before applying to the Intermediate program.” — Hack Reactor
The Anatomy of a Hack Reactor Technical Admissions Assessment (TAA) Question
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The universe of coding challenges is vast and continues to grow, but the interviewer is typically looking for you to do the following:
Implement algorithms Write code to solve specific problems (i.e. a “toy” problem) using efficient algorithms. For example, you might be asked to implement a sorting algorithm like “quicksort” or a searching algorithm like binary search. These are probably at the higher end of difficulty spectrum for the Hack Reactor coding challenge, but you should be prepared to reason through problems like these.
Work with data structures A key pillar of software development is data structures. Interviewers are looking to see if that you can demonstrate your understanding of common data structures, such as arrays, linked lists, stacks, queues, and trees. You might be asked to manipulate these structures or solve problems using them, so you should have familiarity using these in practice.
Write clean code and effectively communicate Spaghetti code is hard to read and hard to follow. Your code should be well-structured, readable, and ideally optimized for performance. Pay attention to code style, naming conventions, and best practices. Interviewers can tell when you’ve put in the work and have been studying because your typing will be more efficient than the average person, you’ll use write programs idiomatically, and follow common conventions that you’ve seen elsewhere.
Handle edge cases Interviewers love to ask toy problems that require you to handle edge cases because it helps them see how detail-oriented you are, how you’ll handle curveballs, or even how you’ll perform under a little added pressure. Be able to proactively consider potential edge cases (interviewers love that), and write code that can handle unexpected inputs.
Preparing for the Coding Challenge and Technical Admissions Assessment (TAA)
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To prepare for the Coding Challenge or questions on the TAA, focus on the following areas:
Strengthen your JavaScript fundamentals Review core JavaScript concepts like functions, objects, arrays, and logic operators. Make sure you have a strong understanding of these constructs, and put in actual hours typing out the syntax — not just copy-and-pasting.
Practice problem-solving Solve coding problems from platforms like LeetCode, HackerRank, or CodeSignal. Contrary to popular belief, doing a ton of these problems alone won’t land you a job, but working through these problems are extremely helpful. Particularly, being able to work on toy problems without having to worry about configuring your runtime environment and having the answers at your fingertips is a huge help.
Understand data structures and algorithms Familiarize yourself with common data structures and algorithms. Not only will you likely be tested on these, but software engineering is often about recognizing what tools to use to solve your problem. Having experience and repetition with some of the most common and efficient tools will make the decision process easier when making decision decisions.
Write clean and efficient code Pay attention to code style, naming conventions, and best practices. Think about when you’re reading code on Stack Overflow or LeetCode. It’s often easier to understand a solution or an explanation when the code is written clearly. Similarly, the one-liner solution is elegant and clever, but sometimes it’s the most impractical, least efficient, or the most difficult to read and understand. Take note of this, and write your code so that there is a balance between being easy to read and efficient. Sometimes a nonlinear solution might be the only solution you can think of on the spot. If you identify that you’re aware there may be a more efficient solution and you explain that those efficiency gains only materialize when your algorithm is tasked with large datasets, your interviewer may cut you some slack because you’ve demonstrated a strong understanding of something else they weren’t particularly testing you on in the moment.
Practice coding under timed conditions Simulate the pressure of the coding challenge by practicing with time limits. I can’t stress enough how important this is. Solving LeetCode problems at your own pace and solving them on the spot while effectively communicating what you’re thinking along the way are two separate things; the latter is slower. Practice, practice, practice.
Resources
Online coding platforms: LeetCode, HackerRank, CodeSignal
JavaScript books: “You Don’t Know JS” series, “Eloquent JavaScript”
Online tutorials: FreeCodeCamp, MDN Web Docs
Preparation Time
The amount of time required to prepare for the Intermediate Coding Challenge depends on your current skill level and the amount of time you can dedicate to practice. However, it’s generally recommended to spend at least several weeks, if not months, preparing.
Failure Rate
The failure rate for the Intermediate Coding Challenge can vary depending on the specific cohort and the difficulty of the challenge. It’s important to note that even if you don’t pass on the first attempt, you may be able to retake the challenge or explore other options within Hack Reactor’s programs.
Career Outcomes at Hack Reactor
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High Employment Rates Hack Reactor boasts a strong track record of graduates securing jobs in tech companies. They led the way in outcomes reporting transparency, and they publish a Bi-Annual Outcomes Report. While outcomes greatly vary by student, active or passive job search, and location, the median starting salary was $85,000 for and a 67.1% job placement rate within 180 days as of February 2024. That job placement rate increases to 82.7% for active job seekers, or those applying to an average of 10 jobs per week.
Diverse Career Paths Graduates often find roles as software engineers, web developers, and full-stack developers. Typically, graduates enter the workforce as a software engineer, but seniority outcomes generally vary from associate to senior.
Strong Alumni Network The alumni network is strong, and can help you get your foot in the door. Hack Reactor grads know what an accomplishment it is to graduate from the program, and often look for fellow grads when they are interviewing candidates for their teams.
Is Hack Reactor Right for You?
If you have a genuine interest in software development and are willing to put in the hard work, Hack Reactor can be a great fit. Assess if a career in software engineering aligns with your long-term aspirations, and be prepared to dedicate a significant amount of time and energy to the program.
The programs are challenging, and for many, it will be the hardest thing they’ve ever accomplished. Hack Reactor offers a stepping stone to a career in software development that doesn’t require a 4-year computer science degree. For more information about what to expect, check out 10 Things I Learned as a Coding Bootcamp Grad.