Rackspace Open Cloud Academy Review

A year on, I am editing my original 5-star review.

The quality of instruction was excellent. The course material was interesting and is in-touch with what employers are looking for. Great labs, great facilities. Most people get financial aid. I had a great time here, until I tried to get in touch with our dedicated Rackspace HR rep, who flat-out ignored my multiple emails after telling us herself that we should reach out directly. She never, ever wrote me back after multiple attempts.

This is an amazing, life-changing 5-star program for someone who gets financial assistance and has no experience in IT at all. A number of the people in my cohort got a free ride. I paid 8k out of pocket only to find that every company they partner with pays roughly 17 bucks an hour, including Rackspace themselves. San Antonio is not a place with a stellar IT job market but they heavily focus on recruiting for San Antonio companies. This is NOT a reliable pipeline to Rackspace for anything other than a call center job you could get without experience. The certs are very helpful and I can't stress how good the program itself is but there is very little here in terms of school resources for people with experience.

I learned more from my few weeks here than I could have imagined.

Nope nope and nope. This program definitely helped the first cohorts but after a few years of being around they can no longer say it's helping anyone. Too many people are in the market, every time I go to the career fairs they send me in email, I see people from cohorts from years before and they still haven't found anything. It's disheartening to see since they preach it's a program you can make a career change with. Not true, you should already be going to school for this or have experience in this. Please, if you're looking to this as a life saver think twice.

I was in the networking track many years ago. As a person with disabilities it was quite difficult to navigate this program and to pursue employment on my own. The only lesson this program taught me was to learn on my own and to rely on myself.

Best place to get your IT career started - Graduated 2014 currently a F5 Engineer.

(Delete my comment one more time! Show the world how ur cherry picking ur reviews! Go ahead I'll keep putting it up so u don't prey on those who don't understand ur scam!)
Do not do this program!!! unless you have multiple certifications and are a college graduate with a degree. The teachers here are awesome, the classmates are great and helpful, but if you don't have experience in this field or have the multiple certifications necessary for employers to even look at you, this will be A HUGE WASTE OF YOUR TIME!!! Rackspace as recently fired 500 people, no one in my cohort got hired by them and most are not working in this field. I gave up my job, my house, my car, and have not found an it job. I was homeless for 4 months after this program, I had to sell my car and beg for my old job so that I can at least start making money again... I put everything into this school, I was there everyday Monday through Sunday all day all night, I even passed the exam with flying colors, but realize employers really don't want entry level... they say they need to hire more women but honestly I have no idea how that can be true unless you're in the L4L program. Please save your money, especially if this is a career change. Please if you get help with project quest, do a different program. It's not easy to wait for a job when you have kids. I just want people to know the other side of what could happen upon completion of this program.

** and no i used my personal email with a lifetimes history of activity and it still got deleted. I doubt it was spam. And I have gone to you all for help I don't want a glorified titled call center job that only pays 10$ to 12$ an hour. That's what I paid good money for the education provided, to not get a job like that.

Amazing place, great program and involved instructors that stick with you every step of the way. Can certainly be a life changer. It is challenging and does require lots of work but it most definitely pays off in the end.

Linux track. Coby did much more than teach Linux. He gets across the skills necessary to work in support. If you are passionate about the subject, it is an invaluable opportunity. You won't get a job at Rackspace unless you are truly stellar and take initiative these days, afaik. There are many jobs out there though. Aim high and don't lose hope. Read on your own time. Take an interest. Read tech news. Immerse yourself in the subject. Buy an old server on Amazon and play around with it. Put ESXi on it. GL.

I attended the OCA because I was looking to change careers and wanted to get into IT. The OCA was able to provide me with entry level skills that are desirable to many employers. If you are looking for a new career or just looking to learn some new skills, then the OCA is the right place for you.

Rackspace OCA was one of the best decisions I have ever made. The instructors are awesome! Colby and Johnny both are there because they love what they do and you can feel it! The staff there only has your success in mind. This is not by any means a cakewalk and it will push your personal limits. But in the end you will be better for it. I have a great tech job and I love going to work everyday. Be the 1, the 1 out of 10 that loves what they do!
I highly recommend Rackspace OCA to better your life and career. Thank you Colby, Johnny, Whitley, Jeff, Marcus, and Deborah!!!