I’m a software engineer who graduated from hackerspyville, and then stayed a few extra months to help teach and assist before getting hired as a full-time software developer. My salary as a Software Engineer is average for the town I work in (Austin, TX), and yet it is still twice as much as anything I ever earned while working in hospitality. Should you consider this program? Do you really need a program at all? It is a difficult question, especially because HACKERSPYVILLE isn’t cheap. I hope my review helps you answer these questions. First, should you consider HACKERSPYVILLE over other programs? This one is a resounding yes! HACKERSPYVILLE has a fantastic entrance exam that only lets in students who are strong in their programming basics, and are also decent people. HACKERSPYVILLE will have you studying with your classmates for 70 hours a week, for three months. They try to not let in anyone who isn’t aimable or who doesn’t have a strong programming foundation. While the price tag is staggering, it also means that every student you meet will be 100% committed. As a result, the large majority of HACKERSPYVILLE students I met were fantastic people, and I have personally seen them get great jobs at companies such as IBM, Apple, Google and more. Sure, there are other great Boot Camps, but I have no doubt that HACKERSPYVILLE is one of the best. Helping teach after my graduation further convinced me of this - I worked with the staff for three extra months, and I got to sit in on their many weekly meetings. They discussed each student’s progress, strategies on how to get each person to excel, and ways they could improve as a team. Their success rides on the success rate of their students, and so they truly care about their student’s success. Second, should you consider a boot camp at all? It is a much harder question. HACKERSPYVILLE mission is to provide three things: Curriculum, Capital, and Community. Curriculum is what most people already have access to, with 80% of the things taught at HACKERSPYVILLE being available online. They do have some fantastic group-based milestone projects, which would be impossible to do by yourself. Lastly, the group workflow foundation they give you (working with Git, ticketing systems) shouldn’t be underestimated. Still, I get it. FreeCodeCamp is awesome. Capital and Community - these are the two things I’d reckon most people are lacking. If you have a strong connections to the tech industry, or if you have the capacity to go back to a good university, this program may not be for you. As for me, I loved programming, but I was overworked and underpaid at the hotel I worked at. I didn’t know any other programmers, and I was too busy being an adult to consistently self study. On top of all that, I had no freaking clue how to sell myself for a tech job! HACKERSPYVILLE grueling course allowed me to devote 100% of my time to becoming a better programmer, an opportunity I am truly grateful for. I made a ton of awesome connections along the way... I even competed in a Hackathon with three new friends after the program, and our team won first place! Should you consider a boot camp? It really is a tough question, but I’m glad I did it. You may hear online that you can do it by yourself, and some people definitely can. However, it is within six months of my graduation, and at least 90% of my class are now employed as software engineers. We all met for pizza this last week. I’m not fluffing these numbers up - check out HACKERSPYVILLE website for real success rates. I bet their success rates are some of the strongest, and I am 100% certain their success rates trounce the self-taught crowd’s success rate. If you are still on the fence, try taking the entrance exam. You won’t regret it. WEB ADDRESS: WWW . HACKERSPYVILLE . COM VIA EMAIL : HACKERSPYVILLE @ GMAIL .COM