Bloc Reviews
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Carolie
My Expierence with Bloc
Bloc is an efficient online coding boot camp. They are very timely and responsive, their mentors are very helpful, and I have not had an issue with them at all. I am very pleased to be going to this school.
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Melanie
Well organized, flexible and supportive
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I am almost two months into the UX Designer track, and I'm very happy with the program so far. I was a bit skeptical about enrolling in an online bootcamp for the obvious reasons: lack of support/community and lack of accountability. I am someone who enjoys being in a classroom setting because I benefit greatly from learning from my peers, and truthfully I was nervous that I would lack the self discipline to stay on track.
1. Community
Bloc definitely fosters a smart, supportive and resourceful community with its Slack channels. Perhaps Slack is not a replacement for a classroom, but in many ways it is better because it offers 24/7 support and anyone can access it anywhere.
2. Accountability
My weekly meetings with my mentor (who is incredible, by the way!) have helped me stay focused and on track. These Skype sessions are student-driven, giving me the chance to discuss any problems or challenges. It's a luxury being able to speak casually with an expert in the industry, and someone who is truly invested in my learning and progress. Plus, the curriculum is well organized and fun -- that in itself keeps me motivated.
3. Flexibility
I ultimately chose to enroll in Bloc because I was impressed by the flexibility the program offers. Students can change the pace of the program at any time, and freeze for up to 4 weeks for personal reasons. I recently lowered my pace in order to begin a side project, and I appreciate that Bloc allows me to do so. Plus, I love that I can work remotely.
I'm very happy with my decision!
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Chase
An amazing and eye-opening experience!
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I initially began my studies at Bloc Inc. back in February of 2017 on the Designer Track. And to this day, Bloc has been one of the smartest decisions I've made to pursue a career field I have a passion for.
At first, coding and design was something I only knew bits and pieces about, particularly doing more digital/traditional artwork. But with the guided coursework from Bloc's instructors via video tutorials, and expert help from my mentor, I've begun to understand more of the ins and outs of webpage and user-interface design. From aesthetics, to overall function, Bloc will teach you the most necessary skills to help you pursue a career in a still-growing field.
If you're looking for a more cost-efficient, yet still hands-on and helpful way to learn how to design and develop webpages and software, Bloc will help you on the way to success.
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Leo Qiu
My experience with BLOC
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I recently finished BLOC part time web devloper track while working as a full time engineer. I signed up for the 54 weeks program, and finished everything in 3 month, all while working. Couple weeks after BLOC, I quit my engineer job, and got an offer doing web devlopment with SalesForce.The overall experience is positive, but I do want to point out a few things to potential students:
1. Intension to join Bloc is important. I dont think it is worth the time and money to join BLOC blindly! I mean do not join BLOC if you have zero experience in coding. I understand they advertise BLOC is for beginners with no experience, but you can learn so much by yourself for free just by Google and watch Youtube videos. I highly suggest to learn as much as you can before joining Bloc. This will make your time a lot better spend in BLOC by yourself and with your mentor. I think you should at least get through HTML/CSS, Javascript and ROR before joining BLOC. This will allow you to ask more advance questions, therefore, make you a better programmer once you complete all your projects.
2. How much you want to learn is totally depends on how much time you want to put it, and how much you love learning the subject. It is really easy to pass all the assigments/checkpoints without learning anything. Those checkpoints/assignments really just strached the surface of certain topics. If you want to understand and make use of what you learnt, YOU have to create problems for yourself. BLOC is not good at challenge you on difficult tasks. SO be brutally honest with yourself, and ask yourself "did I really understand the entire checkpoint? Or am I just getting by?"
3. Material on BLOC is old, but they do teach you HOW TO LEARN. Currently they are teaching you Angularjs 1.x, with ROR. But industry already shifted more towards React/Redux. I spent couple weeks after BLOC to learn React/Redux. To be honest, do not worry too much about what they are teaching you at the moment. Because you will likely to learn something new after BLOC regardless.
4. Projects. Do not spend too much time on HTML/CSS crap unless you really care and want to get good at it. Get all the things working first before you spend time on it. Your mentor probably doens't care about how pretty are your projects, but whether if it does work or not.
5. Jobs. I didn't care about their job assistance. I compared with App academy(friend is in it). They all kind of bad. They just ask you to apply tons of jobs and hopefully it will get it. If you have a college degree, you probably know how to do all that yourself beause your learnt it in school how to build resume and cover letters. I would not bother with their job assistance, so you dont waste too much time applying for jobs you do not really care about. And just spend time and try to meet with company and jobs you want to work with! Do not be scared, you will get a job!
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Mengyi Chen
ux/ui foundamental
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I am currently taking ux/ui foundamental course from Bloc. It's been about one and half month since the course started. The curriculum is well organized. Also, I am happy that the curriculum include some introduction knowledge to code and deploy website. Overall, the program gives me good knowledge of design, and have enough introduction about code too. The mentor is helpful in the projects phase. My mentor guides me to the right direction I need to go for projects.
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Alyssa Broussard
Part Time Web Developer Track
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I'm at the very end of the Part Time Web Developer Track in Bloc working on my capstone project. I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience with Bloc. The curriculum is spot on. I feel like they give you enough code to teach you the important basics, but also give enough room to allow the student to learn on their own. The mentorship has been excellent. My mentor has done a wonderful job of assisting and teaching every step of the way. The job assistance has been non-applicable for me personally, as my current employer has paid for me to take the Bloc training. I have skipped the career prep aspect of Bloc, however, if I were in the market for an engineering position once I completed Bloc training, I have no doubt that I would get one!
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Doward Williams
Graphic Designer
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I started the Designer Track at Bloc recently and am almost to the halfway mark. Prior to Bloc's bootcamp, I specialized in print design and multimedia. I have some experience working in web design but needed proper training in the field and more importantly, I wanted a push into the field of UX Design and UX Research. I had been looking for the right online school and curriculum when I ran across Bloc's website. Their focus on the fundamentals of design as well as their mentor program are what helped me make my decision to sign up.
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Aidan
Awesome Designer Track
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I've been in Bloc's Designer Track for almost nine weeks now. I can definitely say it's been both challenging and fun! I graduated in 2016 from an elite university with a major in Managment Information Systems and have a background in digital art for the past five years. The Design Track does a smooth job of combining my two passions into one.
The coursework makes a lot of sense once you practice the concepts a lot via Illustrator, Photoshop, Git, Sublime Text, etc.
My mentor and fellow designers at Bloc are the best. Anytime you get stuck or need feedback on a part of the project you're working on, they're always there to help. Without them, this track wouldn't have been as enjoyable as it is now for me.
If you're interested in becoming a designer, I highly recommend Bloc. You won't regret it.
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Amy S.
Part-Time Web Developer Course
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I am not far along in my part-time web developer course on Bloc, however, I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience so far. Everyone I have worked with at Bloc, including my mentor and my assesment instructor at the end of Module 1, has been extremely helpful and kind. I was completing the Bloc course at the faster pace, however I did end up slowing my program to the 12 hour/week pace. I currently work full-time while I am in this program, and I felt I was not allowing myself the amount of time I needed to fully and thoroughly understand the concepts before moving to the next checkpoint. I was a little concerned at the end of Module 1 that the curriculum would continue to be mostly CodeSchool videos. I was pleasantly surprised when in Module 2 it's far more hands on involving actually creating a project and coding on my own with the instruction of the Bloc curriculum. I believe that this is what allows me to grasp the concepts and have the experience to apply them in the future. My mentor is extremely helpful and provides excellent insight into any coding troubles I am facing at the time of our mentor meeting. I can not imagine trying to get through a course like this without mentor meetings! I truly believe that is the most valuable asset for a student at Bloc. I look forward to continuing this course and learning more about becoming a web developer.
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Xavier J Ortiz
Bloc's pace and curriculum allows me to work and learn.
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Hello All!
Wanted to share my bloc experience so far, but wanted to give some context as to which other bootcamp types of services I had considered and why.
There were a couple of other bootcamps I wanted to do. I had recently found myself out of a job, and had to consider what to do next by doing some soul searching. I had been doing Coursera specializations in Java and Python, but they were highly academic, and I didn't have ANY git experience whatsoever. In looking to move towards a software developer role, I poked around different courses I could take online, and by chance stumbled upon the "bootcamp" style coding courses.
There were a couple that were $0 up front, and you would be charged on hire after graduation, 20% of your starting salary. These sounded very appealing, mainly because of the no/low cost up front. However, 80-90 hours a week would make it impossible to work. I have a family, and if I'm not working, health insurance costs would go through the roof every day I was without a job.
So, I found Bloc, and some other coding bootcamps that allowed a more lenient time commitment per week.
Of these, I weeded out the ones with what I considered the weaker curriculums, and the ones that forced you to choose between a slow 10hour a week pace OR an 80 hour a week pace.
Bloc was the only one that allowed flexibility to choose the pace I felt comfortable with, and even scale back IF I found myself a bit too over my head. That is, I signed up for the 30ish hour a week pace. Before starting, I asked if I could scale back to 15 hour a week pace if I found that whatever job I found myself in would require me to. They said that it was OK and totally doable. So, this was also a + in my favor.I decided to go with them down the Software developer path. They seemed flexible, and also had a curriculum that would go in the direction I wanted to.
Once I started, they did use some 3rd party company for the basic "get to know Javascript", "get to know git", "get to know HTML/CSS", "get to know HTML5", which was interesting in that I didn't expect to get a redirect for this. Don't re-invent the wheel I guess? :)
However, I looked at it as the "Intro" part of the course where the foundations were laid to move on to the more valueable, interesting, portolio building stuff.
So far, I just finished the first Angular section. Not sure if this is indicative of the following sections, but from my experience, it was good. Let me elaborate.Initially, after the foundation/intro section, there were some projects that were easy in the sense that there was a certain amount of hand holding, and walking through the project. This was great in the sense that it gave you a feel for the code, for angular, for JS, for jquery, as well as building your GIT chops via github, without really having to majorly bust your brains, getting stuck, as well as getting frustrated. There were some places in the hand holding section that I would get stuck, but it was nothing major.
Then came the second section, which was an abrupt awakening. Basically the equivalent of being thrown off of the deep end and given some checkpoints to do on angular.Here, you test out how much you learned previously. Of course, you realize that you didn't learn a dam thing because you were being guided, and your recourse is to dig through documentation, dig through stack overflow, dig through your previous work and lessons to find hints, and ask your mentor for some help to get unstuck.
Definitely more frustrating because there is the potential to get stuck, and that is never a fun feeling. It's like being stuck in the middle of the ocean with a life preserver that is getting slowly waterlogged. You feel like any direction you swim is not giving you any returns.
But you have to keep at it. I've gotten myself unstuck, and then it's glorious. Why? because after you do this, you'll be dam sure you learned. :)
I have also gotten help getting unstuck from my mentor as well, and... after some really difficult sections, we've had a debrief, and he gives me some perspectives/tips on how to look at the section/checkpoint that had just been conquered.
Also, in between these sections, there have been career checkpoints where you're not coding, but rather are looking at the market, at your preferences, and start to prepare you little by little towards landing a job in software development.
It helps to start to think about this stuff early, given that it starts to give you direction, even though you're not actively thinking about it. That way, you're coding, and thinking of projects that you can develop that are in a direction that you want to go in.
As far as mentors go, I've only had 2 so far. For the foundations section, was enthusiastic and excellent. Always on time, always above and beyond with regards to helping out, giving context, and explaining things.
My second instructor I chose because he had a lot of real world experience, and was pleasantly surprised to find out that he was in the same life stage as myself (married). In fact, a bit further along than myself (he's got a wife and kids). I thought it would be good to get a mentor who would understand not only working with code to earn a living, but also understand having a family and get direct or indirect feedback on how to balance as well as possible. As for him as a mentor, he has gotten me unstuck with certain problems, and can point me to very good material to get some more context. Because of his experience, the added value that he's been able to give me is that he tries not to repeat things that I can read on my own, or that have been explained many many times in classical programming material. He gives me his take, from a perspective that is not really found online, or if it is, it is hiding in between the lines & behind the bushes of a stack overflow thread. He gives me a different take from a different angle, and this helps in understanding things in a broader sense.
Ultimately I did get a job somewhere else, and Bloc's pace is perfect in the sense that I can work and learn, without having to give up the quality in the time I put into it for either.
I can't really rate job assistance yet given that I haven't gotten to later within the program, however job guidance so far has been great in setting the context to why I'm coding. -
ATK
Loving Bloc so far
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I started the web developer track 8 weeks ago and have really been impressed with the program so far. Before I started, I was nervous about doing an online-only bootcamp. But Bloc's checkpoint system makes coursework and challenges simple to navigate, and will get you coding in no time. Having a mentor has been key in helping me through my weak points and also keeping me accountable and on track. Beyond programming, they make sure to incorporate checkpoints that keep you career-focused from the beginning.
I did a lot of research on dev bootcamps before I joined bloc. I chose bloc for its flexibility in time and location, giving me the ability to keep my day job. That along with the fact that this bootcamp is significantly cheaper than others makes the program incredibly cost-effective. I have been 100% satisfied with my decision so far. There are a lot of great bootcamps out there but I think Bloc is where you'll get the most value for your money -
Vijay
Bloc is Experience
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So far the designer track has been very informative. Lot of learning and understanding. Having a best mentor to guide you makes it little easier. Glad I have one. Having 10+ years of experience in Visual effects and Animation, UX/UI including scripting languages was a new territory for me to explore. My mentor was on top of my roadblocks which gave me the confidence to move on.
The most rewarding process is, end of the day you learn new things. It gives a satisfaction when you see your checkpoint signed off. The 30mins Skype call with mentor is very encouraging. The resources and references link which is given at the end of each checkpoint is very informative.
Some of the websites used as reference in the tutorial videos are quite outdated with the new ones. My personal thought was this inconsistency might put a layman in ambiguity.
Kudos to Mr.Joey who I hear on every videos. His explanation is very clear , easy to understand and follow.
I will write another review once my program is completed.
Thank you
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Alex Garcia
Wonderful program
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I joined Blocs web design program in October. So far, I am absolutely thrilled. The curriculum is up to date and the coursework and resources are current and relevant. My mentor is wonderful and gives me great advice and helps me stay on track. I have learned so much in so little time, I'm really excited to see where the rest of the program will take me.
I worked in the legal field for a very long time. I felt I needed a huge change because I was miserable. Thats why I joined Bloc. I felt like I was giving myself another chance. I get to actually be creative again. It's wonderful knowing that I'm actually preparing myself for a career that I'm going to love.
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Noel Worden
Happy with experience, got a job before finishing!!
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I wrote a review at the halfway point of my program, but I wanted to write another review now that I have completed it. I took the Full Stack Web Development course while working a full time, 40 hours/week job. Overall I am happy with the curriculum and the mentor that worked with me throughout the program. If you decide to go with Bloc look to see if Ben Neely is available as a mentor, he's great. I ended up finding work on my own before I completed the program, so I cant attest to their career placement capabilities.
Ive also been keeping a blog of my experiences and what Ive been doing to suppliment school, you can find that at noelworden.com
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David S.
Full Stack Web Developer Track
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I had a terrible time. I was getting frustrated when stuck and felt absolutely hopeless most of the time. Why five-star review then?
Without Bloc, I would not know as much as I do now. What Bloc prepared me for was this: I am now able to grab any programming book and just keep going on my own! I understand the concepts and it is now super fun for me to build stuff and just keep going and learn more and more new material. I had four mentors during this process and all of them excellent.
Bridget Landis, Levi Kennedy, Chris Beck and Ben Simmons (no, not the basketball player).
Each of these had pushed me further than I thought was possible. And those reviews that are bitching that mentors are former students, well, for one, you can switch mentors if you're not happy, and for two, my last mentor, Ben is a former student and has taken me the furthest in my knowledge. During our time, there wasn't a single question he couldn't answer! He was always able to explain difficult concepts to me and give helpful hints that helped me to find answers on my own and made me feel like a hero. During the learning process you'll be googling a lot. Everyone does, even people who have been in the industry for ages... But Bloc will give you the ability to find, recognize and apply the solution for a given problem.
Ben helped me fall in love with programming. Super knowledgable and professional guy. I wouldn't be where I am today without him.
There is no easy path to become a programmer, but if you're willing to suffer and suck it up and keep going, you'll be happy in the end. That is, if programming is trully what you want to do. You have to want to do it for that, not for the salary, otherwise you won't go very far.
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Dan
Wonderful
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I got into programming b/c a few friends were doing it and recommended me to jump on it. So I started w/ Codecademy and Khan Academy. I definitely enjoyed it and wanted to keep learning.
First I tried a coding bootcamp at a near by campus that I was hearing over and over on Pandora Radio. It was a 12 week course, 8 hour days, on just Front-End Engineering and had good reviews. But after 4 weeks into the course, it wasn't for me because working part time didn't fit in the schedule properly and I couldn't keep up with the learning. It was either quit my job and not make rent, or quit their coding program and find a new institute.
I explored more institutes and found Bloc with some great reviews and feedback. Going with Bloc was a wonderful idea. Bloc wasn't as expensive as the campus site one and I'm getting to learn more than just Frontend Engineering.
The mentoring at Bloc is great. The teachers at the campus site location were always busy with other students who had previous coding experience and ahead of the class. The method they taught was very vague, fast, and frustrating. At Bloc, the mentors help you get thru the problem with explanations, examples, and reasonings.
Bloc is awesome for helping me out in a tough situation when I got let go at my job. They refunded my last payment and made different payment options available so I can continue my learning at Bloc and find a new part-time job.
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JC Dela Cuesta
Designer Track Program
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I'm currently enrolled in the Designer Track at Bloc. Since I'm transitioning from a different industry I did quite a bit of research on the various coding bootcamps (online & in-person) before settling on Bloc. Many other programs such as General Assembly and UCLA's in-person were appealing to me, but I ended up choosing Bloc because of the flexible schedule, one-on-one mentorship, and how the curriculum was set up. My previous background includes photography, digital media, and graphic design.
I am now 11 weeks through the program and I could not be happier with my decision to make a career change. My mentor has been extremely accomodating so far and tailored the program so that I could focus on UX/UI design, mobile design, and visual design as my main focuses. In the beginning, you outline to your mentor what your goals are after the program and how you two can work together to meet those goals. This is extremely important especially if you are new to the field and need some sense of direction. It takes a lot of hard work and effort to self-learn by yourself and be successful, but I've found the mentorship model to hold true to the fact that one-on-one mentoring is a very efficient way to learn in such as short span of time.
Also, the Slack community for Bloc is awesome and the networking opportunities are endless. Also, if you are in a minority group, I highly suggest you apply for the New Relic Scholarship! I was able to actually get the Directors Scholarship which helped out with the overall cost of the program. And while I can't comment on this yet, Bloc offers career support during and after completing the program. Overall, I'm happy with the skills I've been developing so far and I can't stress enough how helpful it is to have a mentor in the industry that has the relevant experience to set you in the right direction.
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Bobby S.
I am a current design student with Bloc.
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I'm about a month and a half in and my experience with Bloc, so far, has been positive. What really sets Bloc apart from the competition is its mentorship program. It's great to have someone to meet with every few days or so in order to keep you accountable and on track, as well as giving you much needed criticism and support. I can't speak for for all of Bloc's mentors, but I can say that my mentor, Terry, is incredibly knowledgeable about design and genuinely cares about my journey here.
The curriculum seems to be constantly updating and evolving, which is good when something needs to remain up to date and effective. This is an online program, and in such, a great deal of willpower is necessary to stay on track. In the "traditional" bootcamp experience, you and a group of your peers meet in a room for 8 or so hours a day, 5 days a week where you have very little option other than to just learn. Online, it's very easy to get lost on Facebook, or TV, or go out to dinner, etc. I'm sure your mentor would very quickly call you out for that, though.
If there's anywhere that Bloc might fall short, it is there. It's difficult to translate collaboration and teamwork with your peers through an online experience. This is not Bloc's fault at all, but just the nature of the experience.
Would I reccommend Bloc? Yes, absolutely. (No stars for the Job Assistance because I haven't made it there yet.)
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Blair L
Bloc Software Development Track
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I'm currently enrolled in the Software Engineering Track at Bloc. I just finished the Front-End section where I delved into JavaScript and Angular, and I'm about to start the Back-End section. I work a full-time job during the day, so I work on the course on nights and weekends.
My experience has been nothing short of fantastic so far. You start working on applications within the first couple weeks in the program, and Bloc does a great job of teaching concepts in the context of building applications - what we all want to do for a living after the program! I also can't say enough great things about my mentor. He's been helpful, encouraging and understanding. And those attributes are true for everyone I've interacted with at Bloc.
If you're passionate about software development like I am, but just need a solid part-time course to learn the subject, Bloc is the choice. I haven't gone through the job assistance yet, that is still months away for me, but from what I've seen, they do a great job.
It does take some self discipline, though, as it's online. For me, I've been so excited that it hasn't been hard to be motivated. But it's definitely a factor to consider.
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Corey B
Bloc with a full-time job
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I'm about half way through the front-end fundamentals track right now and I've had such a great experience so far. My mentor is top-notch! He's been able to speak into my world even beyond the technical coding parts.
I'm working full time right now, so I ended up choosing the 15/hrs a week route. With my schedule, it works out really well. My current study schedule is 1-2 hours before work each morning and a few hours on the weekend to hit my goals. I've learned way more and way faster than I expected too.
I'd definitely recommend trying out Bloc. I did extensive research on several other front end development courses and in my opinion Bloc's is the best one out there right now. The amount of knowledge you receive paired with a great mentor makes this program a no-brainer.
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Logan
Review of Bloc's Software Development Track
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I'm a little over a month into the Software Development Track at Bloc, and it has honestly exceeded my expectations. Coming from a non-tech background, I was nervous that I'd find myself way over my head and constantly stressed out trying to learn the fundamentals of development. The program, however, is terrific for career-changers. They start at the most basic level and walk you through everything you need to know in a comprehensive and efficient manner. It's been said before, but the mentorship is definitely the highlight of the program. Having an expert to walk you through problems when you're stuck or challenge you when you're feeling overly confident makes all the difference. Overall, I'd recommend this program to anyone looking to break into the development world, and particularly to those who are self-motivated and thrive at independent learning.
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Cesar
Bloc Student
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I am new to Bloc and so far my experience has been really smooth. I chose the 20 hr per week track and was unable to do that many hours do to my long hours at work. All I did was inform my mentor and he easily switched me to 12 hrs per week.
I also had to switch mentors do to a schedule change at my work and they easily transitioned me to a different mentor that matched my schedule.
Both of my mentors have been great. They have always been there when I needed help and they have always been very patient even though they had to explain things several times to me (because coding was completely new to me).
I understand Bloc is a little expensive but I think it will definitiely pay out in the long run. I will definitely be recommending Bloc to anyone interested in learning to code.
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Abey Varghese
Bloc Software Development
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Right now, I'm in 3rd week and I learned HTML, CSS, & JS. Now in the next week or so, I'm going to be applying my knowledge by creating a similar website to spotify. I am excited and ready to start. Bloc has a mentor-student program where the mentor meets with you certain times per week depending on how much time you are commiting per week. I'm committing 15 hrs/week so my mentor meets with me once per week and asks me if i had any questions as to what I've learned prior or we start brainstorming over how we can accomplish the course by doing a side project. Doing a side project while learning is fun because you eventually apply the fundamentals into the side project which becomes more motivating since you are actually doing something that you want to do and is fun.
My mentor has been very effective in answering my questions even when I didn't get it after he explained it a few times. I don't think there was a point where I left off confused. When he meets with me, he goes beyond 30 minutes and we cover everything that I wanted/expected to cover from the past week. My mentor has never missed a meeting even when I thought that it would be a waste of his time, he still insisted that we should meet and brainstorm on project ideas and figure out how to start. I would definitely recommend my mentor to other bloc students.
He is very enthusiastic and is willing to help the students understand the topics. Of course, prioritizing the bloc program is up to you, if you really want to learn web dev/software/ux/ui, bloc is the way to go. Without the support/mentorship, all the things I've learned over the past 3 weeks would have taken a little more over a month. And since I'm in the bloc program, I get resources to other software frameworks and developments. I'm very satisfied with bloc because it provides an expansive curriculum for a beginner who's new to web/software development.
As for the job department, even though I tended to avoid the jobs part, my mentor kept pushing to do the jobs to find each job under a vertical industry and to figure out what type of job would be a good fit for me. It's still too early for me to pick a job at this point, however, I've learned a lot more of what employers are looking for when I start this early, then I know what I've to focus on. -
amanda lee
So great
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I'm about 25% of the way through my Bloc course and I couldn't ask for anything better. I've worked in technology for years and also done a lot of self-directed study, but one of the best things is being able to build things as you learn. Previously I'd been in a unique situation of knowing how some programming concepts work, and understanding some of the syntax, but not really knowing where to start when I set out to build a real thing. Bloc has taken care of all of that. My mentor is great and most of the other mentors in the program are available for questions as well; our conversations range from assignments to best practices to interview tips and practice. Everyone on the staff of Bloc has been immensely helpful whenever I have a question about curriculum, schedules, or requirements. The program requires a good deal of focus and self-discipline, because you're working remotely without a teacher over your shoulder, but if you're looking for a way to get into a development career without uprooting your life for a full-time, on-campus bootcamp, Bloc is the way to go.
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Amna Aftab
Bloc UX/UI Designment Fundamentals
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I enrolled in Bloc's UX/UI Design Fundamentals program. I was debating between this program and the designer track course since I was making a career switch (from Business Development for a SaaS company). However, after doing a bit of research and speaking to one of Bloc's advisors I elected to go with the design fundamentals course. I am so happy with my decision! The course has a great curriculum and you are able to develop a solid understanding of UX/UI. You start off with your first project pretty fast, and your mentor is there with you along the way. One of my favorite parts has been to be able to present your work every week to your mentor and discussing it.
You also get to develope a solid portfolio that you can present when you start your job search.
I've already landed a product management internship :) I'm so happy with my decision, Id reccommend Bloc to anyone.
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Rachel
Loving it!
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I came into this with very little experience with coding. I have worked in some form of customer service my whole life but always wanted more tangible skills. I spent some time researching boot camps and ultimately decided on Bloc because of the mentorship part of it. I am loving it so far! My mentor is awesome. He both pushes me and encourages me and is always available when I need him. The curriculum is great as well. You are given enough to point you in the right direction and then challenged to finish things on your own. I am very happy about my decision to attend Bloc and I can't wait to see what I can build by the end of the program!
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Katie Riley
Great school!
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I'm currently a student at bloc in the part time web developer track and I'm loving it! I came into the program with some programming knowledge, so far (I'm about 6 weeks in) I feel as though my mentor and everyone at bloc really wants me to succeed. My goal in finishing this is to change careers and from day one they are helping you with that. I also work anywhere from 24 - 48 hours, and the 20 hour time commitment has been more than manageable. I've already learned so much and I love having a mentor I can contact if I get stuck. I'm so glad I started this journey with bloc and I can't wait to see where it takes me
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Asai
Truly Amazing!
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I'm currently taking the Software Developer track and I must say that I am having an amazing journey so far. My mentor answers all of my questions and guides me in the right direction to whenever I'm not fully grasping a concept. I could honestly say that I have learned a ton already and can apply my knowledge to have a technical conversation with other developers/engineers.
Its okay to seek additional help and if nothing is fully connecting, this is where your mentor comes into play. I like the fact that there are several tests, a checkpoint where a different mentor will ask you questions based on what you've learned, checkpoints that get you prepared for a job search and that its project based.
My mentor encourages me to get involved and attend meetups to network with other developers. There's a whole slack community dedicated for Bloc students to network and seek help.
All in all, I really enjoy the program and the Bloc community. -
Craig A Schotch II
Amazing Course
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Just a little bit about myself so you can understand why I am writing the review as it is. I am married over 40, with a Full-time job and some other responsibilities. Since I got out of the Military my career prospects haven't been what I want for a good work/life balance, so I decided to start out on a new career branch. I had previously gotten an 'Occupational AA Degree with Computer Networking' from a Trade school and knew I liked Computer field, just not the hardware portion of it.
Now onto the training stuff. I, like many other people, have used the usual ‘free’ courses on the internet along with some paid courses like Treehouse, Codecademy, Codeschool, Khan, etc. They are pretty good for self-learning the basics but it seemed to me that's all you could get. I won’t denigrate anybody that can actually use these to build a career. It just wasn't for me in fact, I would give you applause.
It’s as if the bridge from Basics to Intermediate “I can build something” was missing for me and I needed to find something else.
After close to 2 years I had to ask myself;
- Do you want to keep sitting on that chair looking up information, doing tutorials that seem easy and doesnt really let you do anything significant?
- Or do you want to get off your duff, take the leap, and start to learn something that you,
- Honestly like to do
- And can see yourself doing for a career well into retirement?
After sifting through course reviews and deciding between 3 different programs I decided to go with Bloc with the Web Developer track.
The condensed course structure, ability to do this completely online with a flexible schedule and challenging coursework that makes you actually search for an answer instead of handing it to you is awesome.
Best part is a Mentor, I feel like I hit a jackpot with mine. Always responds quickly with informative questions to my questions that makes me think differently and approach a problem from a different angle. Mentor meetings have helped let me ‘talk’ through code which has helped even more.
I am not finished with the course yet but as far as I am concerned it is worth the money and time and I recommend it highly.
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Harsha Malhotra
A great place to develop skills
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I am currently half way through with Bloc's UX/UI program. My experience so far has been great. I got to know about bloc through Quora. I do not have any formal background in design but I can see myself looking at subtleties of design in all things now.
My mentor Sharon is very helpful. At this stage I require a lot of feedback and I get a lot of answers for my all design related questions. She is prompt and has created a great rapport with me. I trust her and find her critique on my design problems very helpful. Bloc is more of a self learning experience. Knowledge is limitless and bloc offers a lot of resources. It basically gives more structure and more organization to what needs to be learned. I have not used the Career Support as yet but I expect it to be helpful. Even, their operations team were very prompt and helped me with switching my program from the fastest pace to the medium pace. My main aim is to create a portfolio. I am currently working on a project with my mentor and I expect by the end of this course I will be able to complete at least 4 projects. I would definitely recommend bloc to all my friends who are self starters and want to learn new skills. -
John
Bloc is awesome!
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Bloc was an awesome choice for me. I feel 100% more confident with rails than I did before.
To be clear: it's not like you can't learn yourself what Bloc is teaching you. You can. But, you will probably be trying to learn a bunch of other (maybe pointless) things along the way.
Bloc clearly puts a lot of effort in their curriculums and making sure you learn the skills that are not only current with the times but are focused on getting you a job. With Bloc's curriculum, you end up *kind of* learning things on your own, but there is tons of value knowing that you are learning what you need to learn. And if you get hung up on something, it's not long before your next mentor call who can help you get back on your feet. By the end of the course, I felt way more confident with my programming ability.
Bottom line: If you are already somewhat of a self-learner, but want to maximize your time learning (and skip the fluff), go with Bloc.
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Rafael Liranzo
Amazing Experience
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My experience at Bloc was amazing. I just finished my UX/UI program and I couldn't be any happier. Having a mentor with a vast experience in the field allows you to focus on the things that really matter. My mentor was super helpful and pushed me to go beyond my skills.
Bloc is project based, so you get to have several projects to show in your portfolio at the end of the program. The courses are well done and easy to follow.
I'm getting ready to enroll in another program next year.
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Nancy
Web Development
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Ok! This is a real experience at Bloc. 2 mentorship sections per week. 30 minutes for each. Don't expect that your mentor will spend more than 30 minutes to clear your concerns. I rarely got enough attention as my mentors did not have enough time for me. I asked a question. She replied me with a single sentence. Then, I have another question. Then, I waited for one or two days from the mentor to answer my question. For each, project, you need to go through each checkpoint. Sometimes, that checkpoint is not necessary to push to git hub as it is very little change. Mentor asked you to update, make new branch, and push your code to that new branch. Then merge them to master. One project has at least 10 checkpoints. So, you spend times playing around with git hub. Career support is not helpful at all. I rarely got notifications of career support sessions. I checked my inbox and spam, I did not get any notification from career support team for any upcoming sessions. They said, 'Guarantee Money Back' if you cannot find job within 6 months. Don't trust. Something can be happened during the program. You might end up dropping out because of unsatisfication. They will took your money based on how far and time you go within the program. I registered into this program because I expected that I would get answers to my questions if I got stuck in coding. But, it is time consuming waiting for your mentor. They are judgmental. They said most mentor has experience in programming 10 to 15 years. That's not true. Most of the mentors are only having 2-3 year experience in programming. Those of them are our alumni who took WD at Bloc. Don't waste your time in online program. If you really want to code and become a real programmer, you should go to on-site bootcamp. Then, don't expect that you would become a professional Web developer. Graduation from those bootcamp is just a beginning of your journey. -
Topher
Web Developer Track Review
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I am currently in Week 8 of the program. Overall, I am very satisfied with the program considering all of it is down online. So far the curriculum layout provides a nice balance between being easy to follow along, providing some challenging exercises and getting to choose interesting projects for your portfolio. There are often a lot of great resources added to each section to expand on the topics covered and workshops to provide supplemental material. With this in mind, the curriculum does not hold your hand and it is not meant for those that need someone telling you how to do something every step of the way. It will help you start thinking like a developer, utilizing the power of the Google and many other resources.
One of the things that I struggled with other online courses is that I didn't have someone to often ask questions and check my work. One thing that makes Bloc a bit different from some other online courses is that students are all paired with a mentor that they get to pick from before they start. Rather than get matched with one, students get to pick a mentor that may have a background that is similar to what they are looking to get out of the program. My Mentor, Brian, has been a big help for me when I am struggling with a particular topic. It is great to have someone that has been in your shoes before and is really there to help you succeed. During our weekly check-ins, we cover any obstacles I ran into through the week and often go into discussions about some coding best practices or about some interesting projects to explore.
I recently took my first progress assessment. These assessments are spaced through different sections of the curriculum and is meant to simulate a technical interview while reinforcing your knowledge of the subject you just covered. The assessment was a great way to get feedback and help me refocus on particular topics.
In terms of job assistance, the program interspaces checkpoints that get students to focus on a specific vertical and provide some advice on how to network and find jobs within these verticals. As there isn't specific 1-1 career guidance in this section, it's something that I hope Bloc may be able to support in the future. I marked it as N/A since I haven't completed the program yet. While this isn't quite an option yet, Bloc has a great community of alums and mentors that are often active on the community Slack and are willing to provide some advice.
All in all, I would highly recommend giving it a shot and at least getting in touch with one of their student advisors to see if it would be a good fit for you.
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Mike Branski
Mentorship combined with projects creates a unique and valuable journey
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I've been a web developer for 16 years, professionally for ten. I'm currently in Bloc's UX Design fundamental, and a friend is a full-time software engineering mentor at Bloc, so I get a lot of insight into the program that others may not.
What sold me on Bloc is the dedicated mentor that you get. I'm on a slowest pace, but still get dedicated 1:1 time every week and have never felt rushed, despite being at the "lowest tier". Choosing one was hard, but it is nice to know that you can request a different one should things not work out with your current one (personalities don't mesh, time slots don't line up, whatever).
Bloc's project approach is also something that won me over. After the fundamental lessons, you get to choose from a handful of different projects to take on (or do them all, if you have the time - which I would highly recommend). I feel like these are as close to real world experience as you're going to get, short of having an actual client throwing the work at you. I am not saying this is unique, but when you combine it with having a dedicated mentor, *it is invaluable*.
Finally, it is going to challenge you. They will not do the work for you. My friend is one of the brightest and most talented developers I know, and he was required to go through the software engineering projects just like a student before becoming a mentor, and he still enjoyed it.
Besides, if you discover you do not like it, they do have a refund policy, which was another draw for me.
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CDMac
Bloc
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Bloc has been a very rewarding experience so far. I am currently enrolled in their Web Development track (9 weeks into a 54 week program).
The initial stages of the Web Development track used to rely heavily on the codeschool courses but they have now developed their own platform to deliver the fundamental courses. If you've ever done any Codeschool work, you will have an idea of what the course will be like early on (web course instruction and code challenges to practice the skills taught).
I have been in the course 9 weeks and now it's starting to get beyond the early, fundamentals of HTML/CSS, JavaScript, Ruby, and t's really challenging me.
The best part of Bloc's curriculum so far is having a mentor who is able to help you with challenging aspects of code, and who helps keep you motivated when things get challenging.
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Marie
Why Didn't I Do This Sooner?!?
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I'm currently enrolled in the Software Engineering Track (recently renamed "Software Developer Track") and so far, the program has exceeded my expectations. By far! I spent quite a while researching coding schools this year and in the end, Bloc was the best fit for my situation. 1. I wasn't in a position to return to school full-time, much less relocate across country for a bootcamp, so I knew I would need a fully-online course of study. That narrowed down the list quite a bit. 2. I'd been looking primarily into Full Stack programs because I wanted exposure to as many programming languages as possible. When I came across the SE Track at Bloc, I was immediately interested in the idea of learning CS fundamentals along with FS skills. 3. I work FT and PT to pay the bills, so I needed a program that was flexible. Bloc offers a few program paces which can be adjusted during your track if needed. So if you have unanticipated life events, you can work around it without derailing your studies. My reasons to enroll aside, Bloc has been a wonderful experience so far. The course materials are well-organized, thorough, and challenging. I can't believe how much material I've covered since starting the program! Working with a mentor has been more valuable than I could have imagined and now I understand why people rave so much about it. My mentor is knowledgeable, responsive, and always willing to answer my (many) questions. I was a bit apprehensive about starting down this career path. Coming from a non-tech background, it felt like jumping into uncharted waters. But I have no regrets---other than wishing I'd discovered Bloc sooner! -
Neil Ranada
Design Track Student
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Hi, I'm a design student at Bloc so a little different from all the other students on this thread commenting on the developer programs. But in case anyone out there is interested in design, here are the top 3 reasons why I personally chose Bloc:
1) Mentorship. I believe the most effective way to learn is by interacting with someone considered an expert in the field. Mentorship works. I'm a former Navy pilot and learning from a more senior pilot was the best way to develop my skills. Basically the process goes like this: Brief – Fly – Debrief. Bloc’s mentorship program essentially works the same way: Learn – Do – Feedback.
I picked up a lot of valuable resources that my mentor personally uses. My mentor has been great for learning and discussing real design practices, theory, industry language, as well as focusing my learning efforts.
Experiences with mentors will differ from student to student, but if you communicate your expectations early, Bloc will pair you up with the best one. And if it doesn’t work out, you can ask to switch. But in general, the mentors at Bloc are awesome!
2) Structured Program. Sure, one can argue that there are tons of free online courses floating around. But do you know which courses are most aligned with the tools and skills relevant to the job you want? Because I didn't, and I didn't want to waste my time blindly coming up with my own program. Additionally, one of the most valuable things that Bloc offers is helping you build a portfolio of projects.
3) Schedule Flexibility. I recently moved from Washington state to San Diego while working on lessons at the same time. I made the move with the encouragement of my mentor. My mentor recommended attending meetup groups and building my network while in the early stages of the program (see mentorship mentioned in bullet #1).
I attended my first meetup group in San Diego where I met senior designers who recommended having a portfolio to apply for jobs (see portfolio mentioned in bullet #2). As I build my portfolio, I now have new contacts who can help critique and share my work, and are a great source for job leads.
To find out the difference between the Design Track vs UX/UI design fundamentals: https://blog.bloc.io/designer-track-vs-uxui-design-fundamentals/
Hope that helps!
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Drew H.
Part-Time Web Developer Track
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I've been working as a project manager the last three years for a call center, assisting groups to enhance current applications and develop new programs. I work closely with developers and development managers on a daily basis and became more interested in the programming side within the last 6-12 months. I've grown a little tired of what I do and decided it was time for a change.
I knew that a four year university to get a degree in CIT or another related track wasn't an option. The cost of tuition for a bachelor's degree is outrageous and quitting my job and going to school full time isn't possible when you have a mortgage and a kid on the way. I needed a way to gain the knowledge in a structured manner and in a reasonable amount of time, at an affordable price. So glad I found Bloc.
Bloc offered everything I needed, packaged into a great product that was hard to pass up. I elected to take the slower track (12 hrs per week) as I still work full time and need a life outside of work/Bloc. I'm still able to work as much as my time permits, sometimes 15-20 hours in a week. My weekly meetings with my mentor are always constructive and he's available throughout the week should I have any questions or hit any roadblocks.
Bloc is challenging and you'll get out of it what you put in. The first phase was very demanding while learning JavaScript, HTML, CSS, Git and Command Line. Right now I'm in phase two, where I apply the concepts I've learned to build a website. The career prep is also very helpful and built so that you'll be in the best position to land a job right after graduation. So far, I'm loving the experience and I'm so glad I found Bloc.
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Seth Jones
Full-Stack Curriculum Review
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I would like to say that although the Bloc Full-Stack curriculum was extremely challenging, it was truly a rewarding experience. My mentor, Tim, and I met twice a week, and it was in these meetings that I had the opportunity to ask any questions that I wanted to ask. Not only did we cover the topics presented in the comprehensive curriculum, but I also had the chance to ask for advice in building my own web application. This was invaluable. Tim would even carve out time on the weekends to go over more advanced topics with me if I needed clarification.
The Full-Stack curriculum is awesome because by the end of it, although you don't know everything about web development (who does?), you have a high level overview of what is involved in building modern web apps. That being said, you get out of the course what you put into it. If you dive into the extra credit and really utilize the resources Bloc provides for you, including your mentor, you will truly benefit. No prior experience building web applications is necessary, as the curriculum starts with the basics of programing. However, I would recommend it. The program can be quite intensive, and a lot of ground is covered. The course starts with the fundamentals of object oriented programming and the Ruby programming language, then dives into building web applications in Ruby on Rails. This was my absolute favorite part of the course, as you get to build a Reddit replica, and see what all goes into creating a web application. Topics covered in the back-end portion of the course (the first half) are programming in Ruby, building web apps with Ruby on Rails, testing with RSpec, and building APIs in Rails. The front-end portion of the course (the second half) covers the fundamentals of programming in Javascript and introduces you to building single page apps in Javascript/jQuery and AngularJS. Overall, it was a tremendous experience, and I would recommend to anybody who is on the fence. Now that I have finished the Bloc curriculum, I have the skills required to build whatever I can imagine. #hacktheplanet