Bloc

I am a BLOC student on the Web Developer Track who is a 50-year-old African-American woman and a European resident. I desire a career change that allows me to work from home and on my schedule. I come from an electrical engineering background but with limited coding experience.  However, I have been doing websites using an editor the last five years as a volunteer at my church and work. I wanted to take my skills to a higher level but needed an online program that offered flexibility and accountability without having to earn another degree. I found BLOC!

After numerous hours searching online, I found BLOC and was very impressed by the program offering and testimonies. I could relate to the alumni. Regular meetings with a Mentor and the flexibility of obtaining new skills online sold me on the program. I like its structure, the encouraging feedback from the Grading Team, and the course content. BLOC also offers Group Sessions which allow me to supplement the curriculum and interact with other students and mentors. BLOC’s Student Portal has an excellent layout. I can chart my progress and also see the next steps. 

My education at BLOC started to pay off during my first month. On my job, I serve as my team’s webmaster and help with online communications in addition to other duties. I was able to troubleshoot code and even code an entire page without the web editor. I had surprised myself. Also, I noticed I could better understand my peers in IT and direct vendors who I outsource e-marketing jobs. 

BLOC’s curriculum is very intense, but the key is that you go at your own pace. You are not in competition with anyone. I commit 20 hours a week to my studies. At times with the demands of my job, serving in the church, and being a wife, I may do less. But the key for me is dedicating set hours to schooling and keeping my Mentor apprised of any concerns I may have. Once persons found out I was going to school, I started getting support in different ways. My interns and the younger members of my church are in awe that someone my age is going back to school and doing something they consider “hard.” My husband is my biggest cheerleader.

BLOC’s curriculum, focus on customer satisfaction, and flexibility is equipping me to bring my dream to fruition. I recommend BLOC to everyone.

The full stack web development program is well thought out. There are many checkpoints, reasons and things to keep you busy. Regular mentor meeting keep you on track and help when you get stuck. There is also a good community on slack to ask for help.

The program is also about what you put into it. You can put in the bare minimum or go the extra mile. I am satisfied with my experience at block and think that the program provides great value for what it costs. The part time option is also perfect for working professional. And the ability to slow or speed up your pace is great. I had take a few days off and it was perfectly fine. If you find the coursework overwhelming you can slow down your pace and have fewer weekly mentor meetings.

I think that my time with bloc really prepared me to attack any coding challenge put in front of me. More than learning how to code, you are also learning how to learn and creatively solve problems.

I completed the Web Developer Track of Bloc, and overall I enjoyed the program.  I came in with little experience, and while initially overwhelmed with the fast-paced learning, things began to click as I progressed. It was the project portion of the course that helped to tie everything together.

I guess that’s the case with learning any new skill. You can learn the details, you can understand their meaning, but if you can’t combine the smaller pieces into a greater whole then you haven’t begun to master it. When I initially tried learning to code on my own, I felt like I was stuck in that situation of studying piece after piece of information but unable to integrate that info into anything useful. Bloc offered the glue to connect the selected languages, frameworks, libraries, etc. for greater comprehension through projects that you might use in every day-to-day life.

Not to mention, the projects are great for portfolios – especially for those just entering the development field.  Rather than simply stating you know certain techs, you have substantial proof of your knowledge to back up the assertions.

I'm so happy I chose Bloc!  I considered several other paths for UX/UI design and frontend code (General Assembly, Codecademy, Treehouse, UC Extension, and others), but I ultimately chose Bloc because I was so impressed by the design portfolios I found online that were made by Bloc alum, and I really appreciate the flexible/remote format they offer.  

I wanted a program that would be very results-driven, and Bloc is absolutely that!  Even though it's a remote course, I feel they offer even more support than I received back when I was an undergrad at UC Berkeley.  At Cal Berkeley, it was sometimes hard to get one-on-one assistance or feedback on your work or level of understanding, and you didn't want to schedule office hours with your professor or TA just for a couple small questions.  With Bloc, you have tons of people at your service to help you learn.

With Bloc you get: 

1 - A COMMUNITY & TEAM. On Slack, they have a mentor team available around the clock to help with any questions (big or small) that you post. I've literally aways received helpful responses within the hour. And via Slack you can interact with other Bloc students, see what students ahead of you in the program are up to, get inspired by the things peers are making, ask each other for feedback, even collaborate...  You never feel like you're alone in the program.

2- A HELPFUL GRADING TEAM. They also have a grading team that doesn't just gloss over the work you submit. The graders give thoughtful feedback and actionable advice on every submission -- helping you grow into a legit designer.  

3- MENTORSHIP. You have a specific mentor (you get to select) who you meet with every week via video conference.  Your mentor is there to look out for you, answer questions, show you how to do things, and provide insight as you progress through the course.  

4- DAILY DESIGN CRITIQUES. They also host daily design critiques via video conference which are super informative; you can learn so much by listening in on critiques of other students' work, and by submitting your work for critique!  At first I felt intimidated to submit my work for critique, but I listened in on one and realized that they're actually very constructive and positive.  Instead of sarcasm or tearing your work apart (the way movie critics do, for example) they really just focus on actionable advice for improving and learning what you need.  

5- CURRICULUM. They've put together strong and relevant curriculum.  While tech and design trends and tools can change rather fast, Bloc keeps their curriculum and assignments up-to-date. 

6- TUTORING.  They monitor students' progress through the curriculum in REAL TIME.  When they notice that students are getting jammed up in a particular area, they'll host video conferences that students can dial into and basically get tailored tutoring in the specific area you need help with.  How awesome is that?!  They had no way to do that for us back at Berkeley, so in this regard I've even say the tailored, skills-oriented/results-oriented education you get with Bloc rivals an Ivy League education!

7-HIGH STANDARDS.  They keep high standards so that you'll be highly interview- and work-ready when you complete the program.  They don't want to simply pass people through the program, because it would make both you and Bloc look bad when you go to an interview and turn up poorly equipped.  Bloc has it in their own best interest to look out for your best interest!

For me, Bloc feels like a big sandbox that you get to have fun digging in and begin building cool things!  We're all here to learn, and, as such, there's no such thing as failure.  Like Thomas Edison said, "I haven't failed; I've just found 10,000 ways that don't work." Bloc is there for the sole purpose of helping you succeed and discover what works well....as quickly as possible and with as much guidance and support as you need.  

Needless to say, I'm more than satisfied with my Bloc experience.  I wish this existed back when I was in college, because not only is design and code fun and interesting, but in bang-for-the-buck, I feel Bloc's design track is more valuable than my liberal arts degree from a top university.

I am about 30% through my Bloc program and so far, have enjoyed my experience. I decided I needed a career change after feeling unchallenged and unmotivated in my current job and realized I needed some hard skills. I started teaching myself HTML, CSS and JavaScript but decided I needed a program to hold myself accountable if anything was going to come of it. I looked at several coding boot camps but Bloc seemed like the best choice financially and fit best with my schedule. It was part-time and online so I wouldn’t need to quit my job while I completed the program. I applied for a scholarship for women in tech and was able to get my tuition reduced, which made the decision even easier. It’s self-paced, but they do recommend how many hours you should work to finish in a certain amount of time. I decided I would do 25 hours a week and fully commit to the program. It’s hard work, but it’s enjoyable and rewarding. The program is broken into 4 modules with checkpoints that you need to submit to a grading team, and each module has a career prep section that will help you with your job search. I have a mentor that I meet with online once a week and am able to walk through anything I was having problems with. There is also a Slack community that is incredibly helpful. I think the best part about Bloc is that they hold you accountable. They will not give you the answers so you need to do the work in order to understand. Part of being a developer is being resourceful and they really put you to the test. Bloc also shows you how to use some of the tools that real developers use like the command line and GitHub. Some weeks are really hard and tiring, but the hard work pays off when you see the fruits of your labor. I do not have a background in tech so most of the material is completely new to me and I’m learning so much every day. I actually can’t wait to get online and work on my program. I feel like I’m finally using my brain again and that I have a second chance at having a challenging and rewarding career. I would highly recommend Bloc to anyone who is looking for a career change to web development and is willing to put in the hard work. 

I'm 5 weeks into the Bloc Web Developer Track, and so far, I love it!

The curiculum seems up to date, and thorough, and the community support is amazing.

The staff seem to be genuinely interested in the success of the students. I can't say whether or not I was able to get a job from what I have learned yet, because I still have a few months to go, but I am finally feeling like I'm getting somewhere.

I would definitely recommend Bloc to any family or friends.

I've been a new student into the tech design world as I was looking at a plan B career or even possibly a new plan A career once the course is finished. So far, Bloc has provided so many useful tools and resources to help get you through each section with full confidence. They just added student design discussions webinars that you can attend weekly that goes over some checkpoints in the track to give you more insight of how to go about that certain project/checkpoint. Overall I would definately recommened Bloc and I can't wait to see what happens when I finish the program!

I started the Bloc Design Track a few months ago and am incredibly satisfied. I currently work full time job and a part time job and the slowest track is definitely a manageable option. I was worried that the program would be too hard considering my background is in teaching and I have NO design or coding experience.

The information is delivered in a straightforward way and progresses logically. The exercises are al hands on explorations of the skills you just learned and focus on real UX design challenges. They are a good mix of challenging yet doable.

The best part if the amount of support I get. I have a great mentor- she always shares best practices from someone actually working in the field. Her feedback always pushes me to the next level (without making me feel overwhelmed.) In addition to that we have access to a whole network of professionals, mentors and other students on Slack. If you have a specific question it is answered within the hour, often minutes, by a mentor. Students share their work for feedback and there are always great resources being posted. There are now also daily live critiques on zoom and optional live group lectures. I haven't had a chance to jump into these yet but I am excited about the prospect.

I would definitely reccommend this to anyone working full time who is looking to change their career. It is also one of the only programs out there that offers an affordable repayment plan. 

I'm about 5 weeks into Bloc's 24 week design track, and am really satisfied with the program. My mentor has been great, and is always giving me feedback as to how my projects would be treated "in the real world," which means I'm already being prepped for the job search. She asks me questions about my projects as if we were in an interview, which again is very helpful for job search prep.

Bloc has lived up to all of the rave reviews I read here before selecting a bootcamp. The student success team is great and always has a solution. The curriculum allows you to learn quickly, but is also the right amount of challenging. Bloc recently implemented a new system where your projects are reviewed by multiple mentors instead of just one, so you receive a wide variety of experienced perspectives, which is crucial for growth. 

Right now I'm in the middle of frontend fundamentals, which based on my research with the UX / Design job market, makes Bloc design grads more competitive. This was also a key reason for choosing Bloc - I didn't see a lot of other design programs that had the intensive frontend component. 

I’m doing the web developer track at Bloc and my first month has been an awesome experience. I like that it’s self paced and I get to make my own schedule. It’s challenging but they have mentors available everyday to help answer questions. My personal mentor Jacob is the best. He patiently answers all of my questions and helps me get through any kinks in my code. They also have group discussions you can sign up for that’s related to your course. Signing up for Bloc has best the best personal decision I’ve ever made and I’m confident that I’ll be job ready when I graduate! 

This was my first time taking an online course, and I was worried that I wouldn't get as much out of it or wouldn't be able to connect with my peers. Plus, I'm working full time while going through this course, so I was worried about flexibility and falling behind. But at Bloc, that's not the case. The 1 on 1 mentor system is critical. My mentor is great, keeps me on track, answers my questions, and gives me real life advice about the career trajectory I'm looking to get on.

In addition, Bloc is continuosly improving their offerings to make it easier to connect with other students and get feedback from multiple mentors. The slack community is very active, they've just implemented group video chats open to all and focused on specific topis like design critiques, UX, Front-end dev fundamentals, etc and switched up the grading system so that you get feedback from various experts and not just your mentor. 

The curriculum is solid and the courses are easy to understand, but challenging to complete. I'm thankful to have a mentor and slack community of other students to get me through the tough parts. Overall, I highly recommend Bloc. It may be on the expensive side for an online bootcamp, but you get what you pay for, with the added flexibility of being able to take these courses from home or on the road. 

I've been in the UX Design program with Bloc for over a month  now and honestly, I'ved never been so motivated to learn. The content is broken down into checkpoints and after each reading you complete an exercise to practice what you've just learned. For those who are visual/kinetic learners, this is the BEST way to absorb new material. You can work at your own pace and they give you plenty of resources if you need help. Besides tutorials built into the checkpoints, you have a personal mentor, grading team and a slack channel all dedicated to helping you do your best work. After investing so much time and money into college, I was devastated when I couldn't get a position in my field. But with bloc, you learn content that is relevant to the design field right now and I'm confident that I will get a design job when I finish, if not before. If you're struggling with your career and what to do next, I HIGHLY recommend checking out the different programs with Bloc. I would've skipped college altogether if I had learned about Bloc sooner. 

I started the Bloc Designer Track in December 2017. I decided to quit my previous job and make a career change. I did some coding on my own but I would classify myself as a complete beginner. Bloc has been an awesome learning experience. I decided on the Designer Track because it is a mix of User Experience, Visual Design and Frontend Basics. 

The curriculum is set up great in my opinion. Bloc gives you the resources but they also make you work to find some more answers and complete projects. I like the online aspect because for me I pick up some skills quickly and others I need more practice on (like Javascript). I have had awesome mentors who give you valuable feedback throughout your time at Bloc. They are constantly upgrading the curriculum and adding to it.

I am about 30% into my program and they are already preparing me to start my job search. The support is awesome and I would highly recommend the program to anyone looking for a career change or advancement.

When I decided last year that it was time to double down and enroll in a coding program to level up my web development skills, I looked into a number of schools. I do not recall any other program offering a part-time track that would allow me to keep my current gig. I know it's not important for everyone, but I absolutely do not have time to stop everything in my life for several months, as many bootcamps demand. So, for me, the availability of a part-time track was the stand-out feature, and the single most important reason I ultimately chose them.

That being said, there are plenty of other reasons I've come to deeply appreciate how Bloc works, now that I'm 8 weeks into their Web Developer track. The fact that Bloc's programs are based on mentorship is absolutely crucial to the success I'm having, and brings home the importance of personal relationships to the profession of web development. I feel that too many bootcamps promote the "lone genius" stereotype, and it's refreshing to see networking and emotional intelligence given their due. Also, the mentor helps you keep pace. Some online coding schools are entirely free-form, and let you work at your own pace. If you're like me, that could mean putting off assignments...forever! Knowing that I will see my mentor on a regular basis, once a week, helps keep me honest.

Another benefit of Bloc's mentorship model is that it is failure-positive and non-shaming. It's great to learn that failure as a coder or designer is simply unavoidable, and that it's not the end of your world if you need to reach out for help. 

If you sign up for Bloc's web developer track, as I did, you may be pleasantly surprised that you can learn a React/Node stack as well as Angular/Rails. This is a relatively recent development, and not all of their branding material makes this clear. I am just getting started in React, and couldn't be more delighted about it! In a similar vein, expect to learn to use up-to-date tools, like git and Atom, that are used in real world workplaces.

Finally, they're serious about helping you find a job. Basically, there are assignments that force you to identify potential employers and to reach out to them. This is just what I needed to get over thinking "they'll never hire me".

Oh, one more thing: financing is flexible. Love that!!!

I researched the best UX design courses for weeks before deciding on Bloc and I honestly think it was the best decision I've made in a very long time. It's been six weeks since I began the Bloc design track and I'm very satisfied with the program so far. After being a digital marketer for a couple years, I decided to transition into learning everything within design, specifically within user experience design. The program supplies each student with a plethora of resources to learn about each aspect of the design world. From mentor meetings to tons of supplementary links to step-by-step video tutorials, Bloc arms you with the knowledge you'll need for the real world.

The one-on-one mentor meetings are incrediby helpful and thorough. Be ready to have your work critiqued and undergo several iterations before turning in the final submission. You'll also need to utilize outside help like the Bloc community Slack channel and the internet to get through some checkpoint assignments, but it's all a great learning experience and the Slack channel helps you build a pretty good network of people who are all in the same industry. At the end of the day though, it's those "stuck" moments, mentor critique feedback, and iterations that teach you the most about each assignment/checkpoint, so I honestly welcome them with open arms. Very happy with my mentor Angie Ellis who is an incredible teacher and very knowledgeable about all the subjects we've reviewed so far. 

I'm currently on the 25-30 hour per week track and I'd say I'm putting in 35+ hours per week. It's definitely not a breeze. You need to put a lot of work into it, and if you take learning slowly like me, you'll want to devote more time. Regardless, in general, I'm very happy with the amount of material I've learned so far even though I've only gone through the UX and Visual Design fundamentals portion of the course. It's all about the journey though! Very excited to see what else is in store for the remainder of the course. 

I have completed about a quarter of the program so far, and so far I have learned a lot more than I was expecting. I think the most important thing to be aware of right away is that Bloc is challenging. There has been times when I wanted to punch my laptop screen repeatedly. But Bloc is also very much as rewarding as it is challenging. After all, there is a demand for the kinds of skills that Bloc teaches.

I did alot of research on other online bootcamps, but I was sold on Bloc because of it's well-rounded curriculum; The Designer Track focuses not only on design, but front-end development as well. This understanding of development will totally leverage your knowledge on collaborating with developers and understanding the process. The Designer Track provides structure to the projects as if you were dealing with client work, which ultimately leads to a polished portfolio piece. From understanding user experience, to implementing design, and finally development, you have insight of every part of a project. 

The one-on-one mentorship is very essential in a challenging program. A huge advantage of personal mentorship is the accountability. My mentor is aware of my career goals and my desired outcome of Bloc, and he leverages my learning to accomodate that. I respect and trust his feedback and advice as he is a working designer in the field. 

Overall, Bloc is awesome. It has taught me how to be discipline and consistent and especially how to learn. And it accomodates to a busy adult wanting a career change. 

Hi, 

I started looking into a bootcamp style online web class after I wasn't feeling challenged enough at my current job. Though what I do now is related to the web, it only approached it from a marketing perspective. I'm about half way through the Bloc course now and I am loving it! 

It does a great job at starting out slow, building the fundementals, but then once you are comfortable, it really kicks it up, and you start coding awesome projects that always tie to real-world use cases. 

If you are thinking about doing an online web dev course, and you want to leave each lesson feeling accomplished, Bloc is for you! Though there have been times I wanted to rip the computer off the table and chuck it across the room, my mentor and the team has always been there to support me and turn those moments into learning experiences.

Would recommend: 10/10

Thanks,
Bobby