Bloc

I am the quintessential coding school fairytale story. I was a bartender and now I am a few months into a great job as a software engineer and I still can't believe my new life is really mine sometimes.

I picked Bloc partly because of the pacing. Unlike a bootcamp, I could still work my old job and support myself and do the coursework when I had time. You really do sort of set your own pace, too: they had one program that was about 6 months and one that was more like a year, which is the one I took, but when things were going well and I wanted to work ahead they didn't mind so in the end I was done in maybe 7 months.

They do a good job of helping you a lot at first but weaning you off of it. You get a lot of detailed instruction on earlier projects then later ones becomre more like just a set of criteria to meet and you do it your own way. This means you do a lot of googling, and you have a very active Slack channel to ask questions if you get stuck, and you save up questions for you mentor meetings as well. Now that I'm out working in the field I can say this is excellent prep for what it is really like at a programming job: getting a set of criteria for a project, only knowing half of it already, doing research to teach myself the rest, and reaching out to ask a coworker questions if I get stuck, is literally what being a real programmer is on a day to day basis.

This actually helped me a lot in job interviews, too. The way that Bloc works like real tech companies do was something I could really use for selling myself. It does mean that you get out of Bloc what you put in. You do a lot of self-teaching and a lot of self goal-setting and you really have to be internally driven. But if you have those qualities then Bloc will become whatever you want it to be (for instance, on my final project I decided to use several technologies Bloc doesn't even teach, and just figure them out myself, and my Bloc mentor was still totally up for helping me and guiding me with that).

So, if you are an internally-driven person, and someone who just loves to learn for learning's sake, you are the kind of person Bloc is made for.

I started the UX Designer track about 2 months ago and honestly think it is one of the best decisions I have ever made. It is so hard to balance work, kids and education, but the flexibility of this program is allowing me to dive in and accomplish a lot in a short amount of time.

The program is really rigorous but the amount of knowledge and skills I am gaining rapidly is so encouraging. I have taken many courses online in the past (that I enjoyed and learned from) but Bloc is really different from my prior experiences. It is efficient and comprehensive.

The weekly mentor meetings are so helpful, as are the coaches on the slack channel. When I am stuck, I can get help immediately, in real time. Though I am working really hard, I am really enjoying the process and feel excited and hopeful about new career prospects.

The seventh week into the Designer's track program. This program has been a dream course ever since I found about it. The support received from Slack, the community, and the mentors are on the spot.

Just put the effort and hours you need to succeed, but the Bloc team is always looking forward to helping you, on whatever problem you have.

The curriculum is the right amount of information you need. The course builds on it, so you don't have to worry about looking for more info. I say this because in today fast paced world and living you get overwhelmed with all the information you receive, especially in your email and your smartphone, its an issue Bloc has foreseen and embedded into their program.

I highly recommend this program!

This program has already exceeded my expectations and I'm only 1 month into the program! What's incredible about Bloc is that they give you the flexibility and affordability unlike many other bootcamps. I am planning to complete the program in approximately 5 months, so I will only pay ($1250 x #months enrolled). This pro-rated concept within the framework of a bootcamp is very empowering! Not only to influence you to finish within the time frame you'd like, but to save a lot of money as compared to other programs that force you into a set number of months for a set amount of many thousands more than this programs' average rate. Highly recommend this program! 

The Bloc course has been awesome so far! I am 6 weeks enrolled in the Web Developer Track. It has done a great job of building community, mentorship, career preparation, and knowledge. I would definitely suggest this to anyone who has 20-25hrs/week to learn. The reason 'cirriculum' was given a 4star was because I do not feel like each concept is given enough required practice to learn. This is where the instructors and community had a huge impact on me in getting me more resources to truly learn the concepts that I needed to progress. 

I will try to post another update as I progress further in the course! 

I've been enrolled in the Design Track at Bloc for about 4 months now, and I am so happy I did. I shopped around for a design bootcamp for months, but the fact that I held a full-time job I couldn't take a break from and that I didn't live in a massive metropolitan area was really limiting my options. The only thing available locally required a lot of money up front and total M-F, 8-5 commitment.

Bloc lets me pace my curriculum in a way that allows me to work my full-time job while still letting me work towards my future. They also offer payment plans and scholarships - which seemed pretty rare when I was researching similar programs.

I won't lie, you will work hard! There's a lot of commitment even at the slowest pace. And be aware of any changes to your coursework. They're constantly updating and that can sometimes tweak an assignment. However, there's a large community available to help you. As long as you communicate with your mentor and the student success team, they will do as much as they can to help you reach the finish line!