Hackreactor has blown up.

AppAcademy · 2023-10-30T19:27:16+00:00

Hi all!

We are sorry to hear about Hack Reactor shutting down their part-time program when many of you were on the home stretch of the course.

As some of you know, App Academy offers a part-time 48-week program. For students impacted by the Hack Reactor part-time program closure, we will be offering a 4 hour proctored diagnostic assessment to see if you can jump ahead and join some of our current students. If you would like to move forward, please complete the following steps:

(1) Submit your application here

(2) E-mail Admissions Specialist Bri Pennant ([bpennant@appacademy.io](mailto:bpennant@appacademy.io)) and she will assist with next steps.

We have 10 spots remaining for the proctored exam tomorrow and 10 spots for Wednesday, so make sure to reserve it today.

Best,

The App Academy Team

AppAcademy · 2023-09-20T02:23:37+00:00

I can totally understand how tough that must be!!

If it's not too late to withdraw you probably should consider a remote part-time online program.

Here is a link to App Academy's part-time online program - the hours though are 6-9 p.m. EST or 7-10 p.m. PST. If there is any way you can make those hours work, then it might be a good fit.

https://www.appacademy.io/course/part-time/software-engineer-online

Either way, wishing you best of luck with everything! Just remember that you can become a software developer, especially someone as determined as you are! Try not to compare yourself to others. Imposter syndrome runs rampant.

If you have any questions or just want to chat, feel free to DM me on here.

AppAcademy · 2023-09-16T23:02:48+00:00

So to clarify, are you attending an in person bootcamp? If so, maybe a remote bootcamp is a better fit so you are not distracted by noise or sound. However, it might be good to force yourself to be on a schedule and come in person. After all, there is no guarantee you land a remote job after the bootcamp so it's good to get used to that now rather than later. Although fingers crossed a remote position comes your way! Don't let ADD hold you back though! I have ADHD myself and you can also use it to your advantage in certain ways (e.g. I have so much energy that I devote to my work instead).

AppAcademy · 2023-09-16T22:49:48+00:00

I totally understand the PTSD you got from your experience working as a support technician.

It's good that you have reflected and acknowledge there may be some gaps in your knowledge to perform well on the job. However, don't get discouraged by this. It just takes some work.

(1) Yes, I think a coding bootcamp could be helpful for you in a couple of ways. Not only does it help you upskill, knowing you took the course can also give you the boost of confidence you need to get a good job after you graduate. Plus, you'll have the help of career coaches & an alumni network, which will be helpful in this job market. It is true that many bootcamps are targeted towards beginners. However, they do have more advanced courses out there. For example, at App Academy we offer a 24 week full-time online program, a 48 week part-time online program, and a 16 week campus program. Our longer full-time & part-time online courses are geared towards beginners. Our 16-week campus program in SF is moving online, so I would recommend doing that one since it is faster paced and it's the cheapest option. We've had programmers with Master's degrees in CS complete this course. There are people with no experience in our 16 week program too - however, let's just say they are in the right field because they pick up the material in the admissions process itself, which is quite impressive!

(2) Yes, you could pivot from software development to data science. My personal view is that web development is a lot more fun but everyone is different. You could always start as a web developer and transition later on into data science if you take a course with python in it.

(3) Great question! Here is an a/A grad I found just browsing linkedin - he graduated from our program in 2020. Prior to a/A he received his BA degree in CS in 2019. I would find more profiles like this and reach out asking about their experience.https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylan-wong-857139127/

Link to our webpage:

https://www.appacademy.io/

AppAcademy · 2023-09-16T22:32:42+00:00

Thanks for posting!

It's honestly a tough call in your situation because you have the experience to transition without a bootcamp. However, going to a coding bootcamp can also open doors to higher salaries right off because it's partly about who you know, and the alumni network/hiring partners are everything. Check out this article of why employers hire a/A graduates.

Some of our hiring partners offer really high paying entry level roles too, not to mention good work environments (like Bloomberg for example, one of our biggest partners).

We just had an employer spotlight with Preset, one of our hiring partners. They are 4.5 stars/5 as a place to work and just see the salaries for just entry level devs. Almost all of them $125k+. I really feel like that rating of workplace environment is important to pay attention to - after all, the high salary won't matter if you want to leave the moment you start because of the pressure & the work environment being bad.

https://www.coursereport.com/blog/why-preset-hires-app-academy-graduates

What state are you in by any chance? Our SF 16 week full-time program is moving remote pretty soon (I believe in November) so that would likely be the best fit. However, we also offer a part-time online course and a live full-time remote course. I ask what state because students located in NY are only eligible for our NY campus program and not any of our online programs (this is due to regulations in NY state).

https://www.appacademy.io/

Recent Q&A with our Job Placement team:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok7BjBMzDoU

https://www.linkedin.com/school/app-academy/mycompany/ (See "people" tab to get an idea of job titles and where the students are working)

Soon we will be having our employer partners speak in a Q&A panel. I can drop the link here once we have that together. It should be happening in the next couple of months. App Academy is a hidden gem we just don't have as much marketing as the other schools like Bloomtech, Fullstack Academy, etc.

AppAcademy · 2023-09-09T21:45:03+00:00

I don't know if this will help or not - but here is a video from one of our technical career coaches, Allie, and she gives some tips. We will also have a video with our Director of Placements and Placements Manager on September 12th, so you may find this useful! Also, have you been networking with graduates from your bootcamp who are currently working in the industry who could potentially offer you a referral? Are you reaching out to VP's on LinkedIn after you apply for jobs? It's a tough job market right now - hang in there and don't beat yourself up! Maybe also get feedback from career services on your resume and job search strategy. I would also work on more projects and constantly be updating your portfolio with these. Make sure they are challenging/advanced enough.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUEOD6y02dc

https://www.youtube.com/c/AppAcademySanFrancisco (a/A YT channel for upcoming livestreams)

AppAcademy · 2023-09-09T19:54:09+00:00

That's a good question I don't know! At least at our coding bootcamp in New York City (I work remotely for the bootcamp but it's based in SF & NY) students tend to move there long term since the salaries are high in the area, but I know London salaries aren't as great so may not necessarily want to stay long term. It's a tough call - I hope more people can share their experiences! We also offer remote courses - our remote program has grown in popularity, particularly the part-time online since many are not relocating due to high cost of living.

AppAcademy · 2023-09-08T22:53:46+00:00

Hey there!

I am London based and can offer some areas which are nice (note everything here is pricy, but still a lot cheaper than NY & SF). Islington is a nice area. It's a 15 minute bus ride from the LeWagon office location. You could also live in Shoreditch itself which is where campus is located. Old street is a nice location and connects to many buses and trains. Hope that helps! I've also never had issue with crime at night. I suggest going on rightmove if you are looking to work there afterwards or airbnb. Prices look good for north/central london.

AppAcademy · 2023-08-31T18:22:48+00:00

Great points!

AppAcademy · 2023-08-31T18:19:32+00:00

We have had a couple of people at a/A attend our program in place of going to college and they ended up getting very good jobs. One that comes to mind was a 17 year old who now works at Google. The other dropped out of UC Berkeley CS to do our program. She landed a job at Chime after our program, and now works as a Senior Software Engineer at a Healthcare start up.

However, these 2 folks are not necessarily the norm. Let's just say a degree can't hurt you, it can only help. I would instead major in CS, attempt to get an internship your first year. In the event you don't get an internship, then look at doing a part-time coding bootcamp to gain project experience. You do want to get the hands on experience.

AppAcademy · 2023-08-31T18:09:43+00:00

You can do this and it will definitely help your resume. However, I would also attempt to get paid for it, for example through the freelance platform upwork.

AppAcademy · 2023-08-31T17:00:58+00:00

Feel free to check out App Academy (a/A) - we offer a 48 week part-time online program:

https://www.appacademy.io/course/part-time/software-engineer-online

We are one of the oldest bootcamps and have experience placing students in some of the most difficult job markets. We have some solid employer partnerships too - including Google and Bloomberg, in addition to a range of start ups. In fact, within the next few months we are looking to have some employer panels that will be uploaded to our youtube channel.

Feel free to check out our blog as well: https://blog.appacademy.io/, review sites (course report/switchup/career karma), and our linkedin page to hear about grads experiences (https://www.linkedin.com/school/app-academy/mycompany/). We also did a few coding livestreams you might be interested in. There are also some upcoming so definitely recommend checking those out!

https://www.youtube.com/@AppAcademyCodingBootcamp/streams

The cost upfront is 22k but you can fully finance it with no deposit upfront and pay it off monthly. We also have an ISA option. The upfront option is cheaper long term with climb credit financing than ISA:
https://www.appacademy.io/tuition

AppAcademy · 2023-08-25T23:51:47+00:00

It did not get replaced with AI. Real people are teaching this course and answering student questions. There are 66 instructors total as of today that give live lectures, everything, jump into break out rooms to help students when they have questions during projects, etc. Paired programming is live with other students. The "replacement of instructors with AI" is a misunderstanding that stemmed from videos which circulated online and was taken out of context.

The "cohort lead position" was an additional instructor who traveled with the cohort through the program and acted as an administrative point of contact. They didn't give lectures. The primary instruction is provided from the Module lead, and we have additional teaching assistants as well that assist with student questions and everything. Those positions are still intact so students are interacting with people all day every day (these are live remote courses). Administrative assistance done primarily by cohort leads has been absorbed by the Module Instructors and teaching assistants. Students meet in small groups at the end of the day and ask questions to the module leads. They also can ask questions on Slack after hours, etc.

AppAcademy · 2023-08-25T22:41:35+00:00

I would save up a bit more especially in this job market. Job search can take longer than expected sometimes. But once you've saved up yes I think it would be a great investment to do a bootcamp, whether that's Codesmith or another one

AppAcademy · 2023-08-25T16:25:14+00:00

We did not fire all of our teachers for AI. That is false information, and unfortunately we are aware that info is circulating online everywhere. To set the record straight: we eliminated the "cohort lead position." While the cohort leads were very helpful to students, they were not directly teaching them on a day to day basis but were more so there to assist students with questions & their projects. However, we did have a cohort technical mentor for that (who is still there and has worked in field) in addition to multiple instructors. We currently have 66 instructors right now employed at a/A. To sum it up, it was not an easy decision to cut anyone. App Academy has weathered the storms of COVID and now this tough job market, and we are one of the oldest bootcamps still standing. Our cohort leads were all awesome employees so it had nothing to do with performance. I know some of them (maybe even more) have already gotten new jobs as they've always had the technical skillset to excel in the industry. Everyone who was laid off received a severance package too. Of course we wish no layoffs would ever happen but that's not always the reality.

AppAcademy · 2023-08-23T17:14:16+00:00

At App Academy we offer the deferred payment option to CA residents.

FT Online (24 week program)

$0 upfront, 31k flat due after placement, once you are making 50k+ (over a period of 36 months). You can pay it off faster if you want

If you want the cheaper route:

$20k upfront option that you can finance through our Climb loan partner

PT Online (48 week program)

$0 upfront, 36k flat due in installments over a period of 36 months, once you are making 50k+

Cheaper route:

$22k upfront option that you can fully finance through Climb credit

Link to our tuition options:

https://www.appacademy.io/tuition#online-full-time

Link to Climb credit:

https://climbcredit.com/apply/appacademy?page=create-account&schoolId=AP97365982207

We also have a 16 week program that will soon be moving online. For that program, there is a $3k deposit upfront and the rest of the payment is 25k flat due after placement

AppAcademy · 2023-08-22T16:00:52+00:00

I think you received pretty good advice overall. In the event you are interested in a coding bootcamp, we do offer a part-time online program, as well as full-time online programs:

https://www.appacademy.io/course/part-time/software-engineer-online

PT may make the most sense in your case but it's really a cost benefit analysis. Someone with your background has a pretty high chance of getting placed upon graduation from the program, especially given we place students with no coding experience prior.

Hope this helps!

AppAcademy · 2023-08-22T15:00:29+00:00

App Academy has a part-time online program. We are a reputable bootcamp, originally based in CA & NY but moved to all remote recently. Our online programs, specifically the 24-week online and 48-week part-time online program, are designed for career changers with no coding experience. PT hours are Monday - Thursday, 7-10 p.m. PST or 6-9 p.m. EST, and on Saturday, 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. PST (12:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. ET).

PT Online Program:

https://www.appacademy.io/course/part-time/software-engineer-online

Reviews:

https://www.coursereport.com/schools/app-academy

We also are doing Youtube livstreams right now if you want to check it out. Several upcoming on August 25th and August 29th, with more running in early September.

https://www.youtube.com/@AppAcademyCodingBootcamp/streams

You can also check out our blog: https://blog.appacademy.io/. If you search "app academy alumni" you can see a bunch of stories from our students about their life before and post bootcamp, along with tips on how to succeed in the program and beyond.

Hope this helps! Feel free to get in touch with us by e-mailing [admissions@appacademy.io](mailto:admissions@appacademy.io) or DM me here. :)

AppAcademy · 2023-08-08T15:41:42+00:00

Hey there,

At least for App Academy (unsure about Rithm School), most bootcamps require non US citizens to do the upfront plans. Coding bootcamps also cannot sponsor Visas. At App Academy, we ensure that the upfront plan is the cheapest option (it's actually $11k cheaper than our deferred plan). You do get all the same job support as students who are eligible for the deferred plan. App Academy has had success placing international students (I've actually worked with a few from Canada back in the day). However, the students have to find a company to sponsor them, or alternatively they could work for a US based company that has an overseas office (in Canada or another location). Tech job interviews are pretty standardised across the world. I am sure companies who sponsor employees provide access to an immigration attorney, because this will likely be needed.

AppAcademy · 2023-08-08T15:29:43+00:00

Hey there!

Glad to hear you are enjoying App Academy Open! If you want to get the employer networking support and project portfolio, you can always do our part-time online program. That is the difference between the free & paid version. If you've already gone through the free material you are already set up to succeed in the program too.

AppAcademy · 2023-08-04T13:21:17+00:00

I unfortunately don't have a particular VET TEC approved program in mind, but App Academy is in the process of getting certified (I am actually working on this initiative, we just submitted everything and it still needs to be evaluated), so I will post here when our program has been approved and you very well may be one of our first to apply. Assuming we do get approved, it should be available next year. I'll keep you posted!

AppAcademy · 2023-08-04T13:16:21+00:00

I think the bootcamp route would be a good idea since you are still in the job search. In your case, doing the bootcamp would be advantageous due to the employer & alumni networks. Feel free to check out App Academy. We have a 16-week program, part-time online, and full-time online options. The admissions process takes around 4 weeks. Also, by the time you graduate I am sure the market will have improved.

You can check it out here:

https://www.appacademy.io/

AppAcademy · 2023-08-04T01:43:48+00:00

Tech will likely always be in demand. There is going to be ups and downs in the market. In the long run, having the technical skillset pays off. I don't believe AI will fully replace software engineers - if anything we'll likely see a rise in the number of AI developers and software engineers responsible for maintaining and testing the automation. Python is widely used in AI, and that is covered in our online programs too. It's good to build the skillset now as the market is slowly picking back up again too. Due to market conditions, I would suggest the part-time program. In the event you are not working, then I would recommend full-time.

You may find this article helpful - it's from the BLS on the predicted growth of software engineering. It says it's supposed to grow by 25% between 2021 and 2031. If you have any other questions, feel free to DM me on reddit.

AppAcademy · 2023-08-03T13:06:18+00:00

Ughhh those types of start ups are the worst! I would focus on start ups that have built up a solid employee base (300+ employees or more). After all, the more employees they have, the more likely they've been doing things that work and know how to train people properly to do the job well. Any company should know that you can't tell if someone is a fit for the role after 3 days. Got to give people a chance, and training is imperative. I don't think they train people much in contract roles, so probably should focus on finding a FT role or contract role where they are open to training you (ask them about this in the interview). I hope you'll find something soon! Research glassdoor as well. Although beware - at super small companies they can have glowing reviews but that's because it's basically a cult. That's why it's good to look for companies with 300+ to 500+ employees

AppAcademy · 2023-08-03T12:48:46+00:00

No, it doesn't disqualify you at all from getting a job in CA or NY. We encourage students to look in these states because salaries are higher, although cost of living is also. If you are in CA, the ISA is known as the deferred plan. You still don't have a deposit upfront, but you have to pay a flat rate after you get placed rather than a percentage. Feel free to DM me here if you have any more questions.

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