Kim K

Review of Hack Reactor

I just completed MakerSquare's part-time front-end...

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.