Jacqueline Yip

Review of HackerYou

My coding journey with HackerYou began when I enro...

My coding journey with HackerYou began when I enrolled in their Spring 2014 Part-Time Web Development courses. Before attending HackerYou, I had spent many hours assessing other courses and bootcamps in the city. Although they all seemed qualified in their own right, I decided HackerYou was the best fit for what I wanted out of my education and career.

After I took HackerYou's part-time web development course, I had such an amazing experience with the staff and instruction that I ended up taking their Fall 2014 Part-Time JavaScript & jQuery, Spring 2015 Part-time Design and Fall 2015 Full-time Web Development Immersive courses. I'm so grateful I made the decision to study with HackerYou and my return on investment was immediate.

Here's what helped me decide HackerYou was for me:

The Community:
I can't say enough good things about this phenomenal community! I know it sounds a little cheesy, but the genuine sincerity and friendliness of students here has had a direct impact on the betterment of my life. Graduates of the bootcamp immersive can still keep in touch with each other by messaging or slinging memes on Slack with previous alumni. Every Friday during a bootcamp cohort, there's "Show And Tell" which allows students the opportunity to practise their presentation and public speaking skills. They also invite alumni to attend which gives them the chance to learn something new and to stay connected to the community.

The Learning Space:
HackerYou's learning environment is bright, modern and spacious. The classrooms are set up with a projector at the front where the instructor lectures, and are always kept tidy and clean. There's a good amount of work space; meeting rooms, tables, couches for students to socialize or cozy up in a corner nook for some head-down coding time. They are also pet-friendly and in my opinion, their relaxed, casual, social learning environment is hard to beat. When a course's end is near, they hold a "Demo Night" event and invite the public, who get to see what projects students built during their time there.

The Instructors:
This is what sold it for me. I noticed a huge difference in teaching quality while sitting in at other bootcamps. HackerYou definitely has exceptional teaching staff. They have a knack for explaining things in simple terms, but keep the lessons engaging and fun. Their enthusiasm is contagious and a beginner's question is never stupid or ignored. You'll never get an instructor patronizing you or putting you down. All the instructors I've taken classes with, had a great sense of humour, and care deeply about their student's learning and well-being. I've even seen them explain a concept multiple times in different ways until a student gets an "ah-ha!" moment.

HackerYou was by far the best place to take my education to the next level, and I even made some awesome friends along the way!