Juno College of Technology

I am just finishing up the Part-Time Web Dev course at HackerYou and I have loved my experience. I originally started looking at HackerYou for their Web Development Bootcamp. Before applying, I heard it was tough to get into the Bootcamp without taking the Part-Time Web Dev course. Even so, I applied with only some quick 2-week self-taught coding knowledge. I didn't pass the tech challenge but was invited to join the part-time course.

In this course, I have become very comfortable with HTML, CSS, and some basic JavaScript. More importantly, the people at HackerYou are wonderful. The mentors are supportive and patient with complete beginners.

After applying to the Bootcamp for the second time, I have now been accepted. If you're looking to eventually join the Bootcamp, the part-time web dev course is definitely a step in the right direction. Join the HackerYou community! You won't regret it :)

I am in the final days of completing the part time Intro to Web-Development and advanced topics at HackerYou. I've enjoyed the course immensely, and have enjoyed the challenging learning environment. You really need to put in 10-15 hours a week above and beyond the course material covered in the 6 hour a week course, however it's only 12 weeks, and the amount you learn in that short period of time is incredible. Week 1 is starting with learning what the internet is, and by weeks 11 to 13 you are making responsive web pages with navigations, flex-boxes and animation! The instructor and mentors are great, if they are going too fast you can ask them to slow down and/or go over a concept as needed  The in-class environment I found very helpful in bouncing off ideas, and collaborating solutions with others in the class. Questions and frustrations can be immediately resolved when others are around to help, easier than it would be in a online-learning environment. I throughouly enjoyed the course, and would like to see more take home exercises to practice coding with, and am looking forward to taking the part-time JavaScript course in the future. 

I would highly recommend HackerYou to everyone who is interested in learning more about web development! I completed the Spring 2018 part time Intro to Web Dev course and I fell in love with it. I was looking to steer my career in a different direction from what I have been doing for 4 years, and always had an interest in web development so I decided to try the part time course to see if I really enjoyed the work. I looked around and saw all the great reviews about HackerYou and only heard great things from fellow coworkers who were alumni and decided to apply. It was the best decision I've made because I really fell in love with it and found that I can see myself changing my career path and doing web development long term. I had no prior knowledge in development but after completing this course and with the help of my awesome instructor, Tom, and mentors, Jen, Darshana, and Aly, I feel like I have a really great understanding of HTML and CSS. I was able to put this to the test with the projects we were assigned during the course. It was really exciting to use what I've learned and produce an end product that I had no prior knowledge of 4 months ago! After I complete the part time course, I will be going the full-time bootcamp to continue my education! I am so excited, and can't stress enough about how great HackerYou has been! :)

I started off with the part-time Intro and Advanced Web Development courses before being accepted into the Bootcamp this past January.

I was nervous about starting out because, prior to the part-time intro courses I had almost zero experience with coding. That didn't matter. The people at HackerYou, from instructors to administration staff to the incredible CEO, create such a wonderfully supportive environment for you to learn in. The instructor to student ratio is excellent, there are, at most, 12 students to every instructor and when things got real intense there was always more help available for me and everyone else.

You have 3 teachers, a bootcamp buddy and a number of after hours "fishbowl" sessions for you to squeeze for every ounce of knowledge and help you need.

Everybody there understands people learn at different speeds and in different ways. Everybody there cares about you and wants you to succeed. I've never been to a school that gave a crap about me until I went to HackerYou.

The assistance they provide during your job hunt is unparalleled. There are weekly group meetings with the CEO Heather, alumni job posting boards, cover letter approvals. Any time I had a question during my job hunt, even if it was just a "Does this email sound good to you?", I could bring it to Heather and she would happily give me some advice. After one month of job hunting you can book one on ones with her for more focussed help.

In the first month following our graduation a third of our cohort had accepted offers. I started working 6 weeks after graduation. Before this I worked for years as a printing press operator at a company that didn't care about me. Now I have a great job working less hours and making more money.

This place works, they know what they are doing and you will love it.

Best of luck in the application process!

 

I've taken several courses at HackerYou and the part time UX Design course was another (of many) great experiences. The class was led by Ricardo, and there were always an additional two mentors on hand to help answer any questions I had. The content was fantastic, I learned a lot during both the Intro and Advanced courses. The final project for the Intro was a UI design for an app (using Sketch). For the second half I completed a complex case study following UX research methods. I look forward to adding both projects to my portfolio.

I work as a web developer and this course was a huge benefit to my skill set. I was able to bring so many of the learnings back to my team, and we’ve already started integrating them in our work.

The environment at HackerYou is incredibly friendly, professional, and supportive. I was able to get really valuable feedback from the instructor and mentors throughout the course. They talked through design problems with me, and drastically improved my understanding of UX/UI. The students in my class were all eager to be there, and had a variety of skills and experience to bring to the table. Overall I had lots of laughs and left with a ton more experience.

Whenever I mention my education at HackerYou to folks in the design/tech industry, I’m always met with recognition and a positive response. The school has made an incredible mark on the Toronto tech industry, and it’s graduates are working all over the city. HackerYou is a wonderful network to be a part of and it’s reputation is fantastic for a reason. It has propelled my career forward and I’m so glad with my decision to study there.

I’m a front-end web developer (thanks to HackerYou bootcamp) and I work for a software company. I’ve got a background in design, and I knew I wanted to follow up my bootcamp experience with the HackerYou intro and advanced UX class with a plan to leverage more design opportunities in my current role.

Because I took both the part-time web development class and the bootcamp at HackerYou, they were already my top pick. I knew how the school structured their classes and that I would have access to great resources during the 12 weeks of the course. I checked out other UX programs in the city and online, but none of them offered the kind of learning and support that I knew I would get at HackerYou.

The class schedule was perfect. I work uptown and have a really hard time getting to weeknight classes, so committing to UX every Saturday was ideal. Even though class was only once a week, I had access to Ricardo, the lead instructor, and the two class mentors, Jas and Jen, throughout the week. They were available for extra help and to run through project ideas exactly when I needed them.

Ricardo has an abundance of enthusiasm (an essential quality for teaching a Saturday class) and experience. I found it very easy to learn because he integrated real-world examples with textbook theory and in-class exercises that helped me wrap my head around some tricky material. He taught masters-level UX concepts in a way that felt more like fun than learning, and when I was at home working on assignments I was surprised at how much material stuck in my head.

I was hoping for a class that gave me foundational UX design principles as well as the knowledge and skill to put together comprehensive case studies, and I finished the 12 weeks feeling confident and excited about what I had learned and how I could apply it.

In the time since UX class finished, I’ve been able to expand my job description to include extensive collaboration with the design and UX team.  I’ve got more opportunities in my current role and more appreciation for the work that my colleagues put into designing applications.

If you’re looking for someone who will only teach you how to make pretty things, this might not be the best course for you. But if you want to learn how to use qualitative and quantitative research to solve problems with beautiful design, then you’ve hit the jackpot with this class.

I was a student in the Winter 2018 UX Design Class. What really stood out to me about HackerYou is the sense of community, and the extremely caring and knowledgeable instructors. My instructors are some of the most passionate people I have ever met, which made class a very enjoyable experience. I found that in taking this course, I was able to create a portfolio of work that also speaks to the design process, not just the final design. I think that having a design process is very important when speaking to potential employers, because they want to know how you think as a designer. The curriculum for the UX Design class was very comprehensive, and I especially enjoyed delving into the idea of wicked problems, divergence, and convergence. Throughout my classes I felt very supported by mentors and instructors, who encouraged us to ask questions and seek help. This course left me feeling extremely inspired and wanting to dig further into the idea of Service Design. I really think HackerYou’s UX course is unique in its focus on human-centered design, and not just focusing on the creation of wire-frames. HackerYou teaches you to study the problem from all angles in order to create a solution that benefits the people you are actually designing for.

Completing the part-time web development course at HackerYou has been one of the most positive and self-motivating experiences I've had. I have not only learned new valuable skills, but I've also pushed myself to learn things I once thought were out of my comfort zone and loved it. All of the staff are incredibly friendly, approachable and knowledgeable and always took the time to answer everyones questions with enthusiasm. I was set on taking the boot camp before taking the part-time course, and I'm still firmly acting on that decision, as I don't want my experience at HackerYou to end at this point. Nothing but great things to say!

I just completed a 12-week Part-Time Web Development program at HackerYou, and can say without a doubt that it was the most enriching learning experience of my life thus far.

From the moment I walked through the door for my tour of the campus, I've been greeted with a smile, and that feeling of welcomeness has been a common theme during my experience at HackerYou. My instructor, Kristen, and the mentoring made class a very fun and interactive learning experience and I looked forward to every class, which is saying lot for me since I've generally been disinterested and would lose focus with more traditional learning styles. I had no previous background in web development, and the facilitators are very patient and understanding in helping you learn each new concept.

However, as many people before me have mentioned, the big highlight for me has been the sense of community that HackerYou instilled from Day 1. I am looking forward to continuing the learning journey with the new friends I've made at the Bootcamp and beyond, and I feel that the Part-Time program has instilled the skills necessary to apply for the Bootcamp and succeed.

In recap, don't hesitate to learn at HackerYou if you have any interest in Web Development. You won't regret it.    

As a HackerYou bootcamp grad (in 2014), looking into the school's other programs when I wanted to level up my skills was a no brainer. HackerYou has always stood out to me for its incredibly supportive learning environment and this course was no different. From the staff who helped me determine if the class was a right fit for me to the excellent instructor and mentors who not only taught in an engaging and accessible way, but also provided valuable one-on-one time to work through problems and challenges specific to our projects.

What really drew me to this course in particular was the curriculum. The course teaches technologies that are both current and well-used throughout the industry while presenting each part of the tech stack in a way I found extremely logical. On a personal level, they are also technologies that we are using more and more in my workplace. Being able to apply new skills to work projects right away is a great motivator when learning new things in the tech industry. I would highly recommend HackerYou in general and this course in particular to anyone interested in learning about web development. 

I am just finishing up the part-time Web Development and I had such a positive experience. I came to HackerYou with essentially no coding experience and I know feel like I have been given a tiny key that basically unlocks the internet!

The instructor Jazzmin VanGeel was an excellent source of information and real world experience from the world of web dev. She was patient and took the time to try and answer every single question. The teaching assistants Melissa and Jaime were also super supportive and ready to help every step of the way.

The lessons are easy to understand and the class is packed with resources that I intend to keep practicing with on my own, even after the class  is done.

I would totally recommend HackerYou! I'll be back for sure :)

Raven

I just completed the Part-time Web-development course at HackerYou (2018). I thoroughly enjoyed the classes and learnt so much about web-development and coding in these few months than I did in my 3 years of college studying computer science! Jazz is an amazing instructor! She explains even the hardest concept with ease and in detail. And, it also helps that all the instructors are so knowledgeable, energetic and positive! Once you enter the class you know that you will be learning something exciting. Thank you Jazz, Melissa, and Jamie for all your help and patience!

I took the winter 2018 winter part-time web development class with Jazz and I can confidently say I am 100% satisfied with my decision in taking the course at HackerYou! 
- Content: up to date with the industry and they are always refining their curriculum – in fact, before our final class there was a last minute addition to teach something new and exciting in the developer world with CSS Grids (we were the first guinea pig class) for something they may want to include in future classes.
- Instruction: Concepts were easy to follow along and you are able to build upon the knowledge previously acquired class-after-class with a ton of in class code-alongs and applying the knowledge through in-class exercises and multiple projects over the course of 12 weeks. The best experiences were introductions of tools that would change how we approached writing code or improved our workflow. Lots of tips and tricks and online resources! The instructor and mentors were always there when you were in a rut and proactively checked in on you to see how you were doing.
- Community: Ultimately what led me to choose HackerYou. Heard many things about the kind of environment HY prides itself in and I can say this is very much true! Many if not all (to my knowledge) of the instructors and mentors are past alumni students that have gone through the same program. They have a very active alumni community and its encouraged to reach out to alumni for questions which I did, and found them to be very approachable for questions or any kind of support. This is super important should you pursue something further into web development. 
Overall would definitely recommend this course to anyone who always had an interest in improving their ‘digital skills’ and a starting point into a web development career.

I just recently finished taking the Part Time Web Development program at HackerYou and I must say, I am extremely pleased with the experience I had. I am 35, married with two little ones and I had been looking to change career paths for a little bit, having been in my past position for 9 years and not seeing myself going any further in it. I have a bit of self-taught web design / development experience and some programming experience from college but never took a serious pursuit to web development.

When I decided on a career change, I came back to the desire to pursue web development and began with some online courses and reading some books, but felt that I wasn’t making the progression I had hoped. After doing some research about programs to take, I came across HackerYou and was intrigued by the programs they offered and what they stood for. After reading all the reviews I could find, highly touting the programs and the instructors, I decided to start out by taking their Part Time program first. I am extremely pleased with that decision.

The instructors and staff at HackerYou are all extremely knowledgable, friendly and helpful, many (if not all) were also former students here themselves. The program was very well laid out, spending ample time on each topic to ensure that the class was able to grasp the concepts. I especially love the ratio of instructors to students, ensuring that the students were able to get their questions answered and the help they need, while still continuing on with the lesson.

The team at HackerYou also does a very good job of ensuring that their course material is continually updated, so that the programs don’t feel old and stale and that you are always learning relevant material. I am extremely looking forward to applying to the Full Time Bootcamp coming up this summer (and maybe also the Javascript program down the line as well). I am eager to expand on what I have learned so far and excited to continue fuel the fire that has been lit under me at HackerYou.

I previously worked in the book publishing industry which I loved, but I knew for a long time that when I was ready for a change that I wanted to work in web development. I knew I wanted to go to HackerYou because I had heard so many good things about the community there, and I really respected the way it had evolved from Ladies Learning Code. I had taken some two-day workshops there and loved the experience. When my family and I decided we were ready for me to take the plunge, I did some more research comparing HY to other bootcamps in Toronto, which only cemented my decision.

The most difficult part about the career change for me was that I have a young family at home. The workload in the bootcamp is very heavy, and I needed a ton of support from my husband and my family in order to be able to tackle it. Outside of class, I needed all my evenings and weekends for homework. The fact that the course is nine weeks long made this achievable for all of us because there was a light at the end of the tunnel, and not a moment of those nine weeks were wasted which made it all feel worthwhile. 

It's amazing how much you can learn in two-months with the right support system. Throughout the course I was really impressed by how much care and attention went into every detail. As we were learning the instructors would make notes as they went. After ever cohort they take weeks to re-evaluate and iterate on the course, and they're constantly updating the curriculum to ensure HY grads are on the cutting edge, so that the class I took was different than the class my friend took a few months before me, and different than the one another friend is taking now. You really have the feeling of being part of a well-oiled machine, but also on the edge of something new. 

There are layers and layers of mentorship built in. The staff and instructors and fellow students are all wonderful, but there's also a huge component of alumni mentorship and involvement which I think really speaks to what HackerYou get's right. The students in my cohort came from all different industries and backgrounds, with different strength and challenges, and HY really created an environment in which we all could thrive. We became very close as well.

In addition to the really supportive class environment, there's a support system upon graduation as well. I've never seen anything like the program they have in place to help students get work out of the bootcamp. I was lucky enough to get my dream-job right out of school, thanks to a connection I made in the HackerYou-organized networking event. 

And now that HY's been in action for some time, it's getting a reputation built on the quality and success of it's grads. I really felt it opened a lot of doors for me. 10/10. I'd do it again. 

I’ve been working as a developer in telecommunications for the past several years, but am learning new skills to transition into web development. The HackerYou Full-Stack course has been an ideal journey through the ins and outs of a modern web stack. It takes students from the front-end, to the back-end, to the database, and explains the roles of and coordination among various parts of an app. Along the way it covers up-to-date best practices, options for tools, and fundamentals such as computer science concepts and clean coding practices. The course manages to get across a breadth and depth of knowledge far beyond what I would have thought possible in nine weeks of part-time.

HackerYou is also a wonderful community and supportive learning environment. The teachers and mentors have a deep understanding of their craft and communicate the material with clarity, charisma and humour. The staff, students, and partners of HackerYou always seem happy to help each other learn. I’m applying what I’ve learned at my time here to my current job and in my job search, and feel that I’ve really leveled up as a developer as a result of the course. I have nothing but good things to say about my experience, and I won’t be surprised if I find myself taking another course or workshop here in the near future. 

I have taken Web Development, Winter 2018, which is a part-time course of six-hour lectures each Saturday, running for 3 months.

I based my school choice on the reddit posts about programming academies around Toronto and on CourseReport reviews. Hackeryou got the most glowing reviews.

The school occupies a bright open-space floor in downtown Toronto. The location has study area, classrooms and a kitchen, so it is possible to bring lunch. The space is very inviting and reminiscent of a sunny airy café, rather than a school.

Every lesson has a main instructor and two mentors present so each student get enough attention to have their questions answered. The instructor and mentors were very supportive and available either during class or online to answer any queries. Teaching staff are all employed in the programming industry so they speak from the most current experience, which is a big plus.

The projects are mostly recreating existing website mock-ups, which is a great way to apply the skills learned right away.