Bloc

Im currently enrolled in the UX Design track, I  am scheduled to complete the program February 2018. I sincerely love this program and my mentor is great.

Pros:
Love how flexible the program is. You are able to adjust the pace as well to be able to work a full time job or do the full time course and finish faster
Easy to read checkpoints.I love how the program is allows you to read the lesson, do hands on work and then submit an assignment. So your not just reading and getting bored.
Mentors are awesome.  My mentor Zach is awesome, he is so thorough when we go through the checkpoints together. He gives me positive feedback as well as critique my work to make it better. He also makes sure that all my questions are answered and I'm not confused about anything. Also having the meeting with the mentor keeps you on track and keeps me motivated not to slack off because I know I have my meeting coming up.
Support is always available. When enrolling you will have access to slack which is like one big chatroom full of help.  So if you message your mentor and they aren't available .Ask your question on Slack and someone always answers rather quickly.
Tuition reimbursement guarantee. I love that if I don't find a PAYING position within 6 months of graduating from Bloc , that they will refund my entire tuition. Plus they say they have never had to do that so that just lets me know that the curriculum is awesome. AND IT IS, I'm telling you its great.
I feel like I'm learning so much and Im only a month in. its awesome

Cons
there aren't really any cons except the normal online environment and trying not to procrastinate

Make sure you have time to study and really absorb the material. Try not to be distracted.The program is what you make it. so if you slack off .you can't really blame anyone but yourself because bloc makes sure you. Im still pretty early in the curriculum so I'm not sure about the job support yet but  I will write another review when I complete the program.

**Disclaimer - I have been asked to write a review on Bloc, but I am not getting any particular advantage from doing so at this moment. I have given them positive feedback in the past, which may have prompted them to ask me to write a review, but these are my genuine opinions and experiences thus far. I get the feeling that my experiences are not atypical though.

My Context

• I am about 3 months into the program at this time on a 12 month track.
• I have a full-time job, and I was looking for a way to keep working and break into the field of web development.
• I did not want to pay an exorbitant amount of money.
• I wanted flexibility built into the program to accomodate my current living situation.
• My highest priority was to find a program that would set me up for success when applying for jobs in web development.
• I had a little bit of experience in JS and HTML/CSS through a couple of books and online tutorials. Not enough experience that would qualify me as a 'coder' by any means.

Overall Experience

• The overall experience has been great so far. I am constantly learning, and I would have had a significantly harder time learning all of this by myself from a book.

Instructors

• They let you pick your mentor from long list with personal bios as well as their proficiencies
• My mentor is great. He answers questions, and we go through code and concepts via screen sharing all the time. If I get stuck, he helps me understand the root of the issue. Bloc is of the mentality to teach a person how to fish camp.
• If you don't jive with your mentor, for whatever reason, you can always get another one. This flexibility is nice.

Curriculum

• It seems to me that they put a lot of thought into the sequence and the content of the curriculum. It all flows pretty naturally, and I have not felt overwhelmed at any one point with completely new concepts.
• Everything is project based, which is totally the way to go. I am a learn-by-doing kind of person, so this works perfectly for me. Bloc does not follow an academic approach (thankfully) in which they teach you a ton of theory, and then you get some chances to put that theory into practice later. Bloc is more akin to a trade-school I would say (or at least that is how I describe this program to my friends and family)
• I've had my brother (who is a software engineer) and a couple of my coder friends look through the curriculum before I signed up. They gave their thumbs up, and I have not been disappointed so far.

Job Assistance

• This is the once category that I have the least amount to write about so far. I am only 25% of the way through the program.
• What I can say though, is that they interweave job workshop checkpoints throughout the program to get you thinking/learning early about job prospects. I am a big fan of this approach so far.
• My mentor (and every other mentor I saw on the list) has been in the industry for many many years. My mentor has already given me advice on how to break into the industry.
• Bloc has you set up a portfolio as part of the curriculum. I can't emphasize enough how much I like that part of the program, since your portfolio (as I surmised from my brother and friends) is one of the key elements in your job application.

In conclusion, based on my experiences thus far, I would recommend this program to anyone who wants to break into the field at their own pace. This is not one of those 9 week crazy bootcamps that charge you $15 grand and try to cram as much knowledge as possible. This kind of bootcamp is well suited for my needs, and I think it is priced right.

After finishing the Bloc program and landing a job with a great startup, I would say Bloc is probably one of the best choices that exist for a software developer bootcamp. The curriculum is solid, and since it focuses on Ruby on Rails and JavaScript, you're going to come out with knowledge that is relevant for the current job market. Most of my mentors were a huge help and really made me feel like Bloc was worth every penny, but I did have one mentor for a portion of the program that was underwhelming. Bloc doesn't have a placement program or much of an established network when it comes to the job search, but they do equip you with the tools to make sure you're able to land an interview. Overall I would say it's definitely worth it, and if you get a mentor that just isn't a great fit, request a new one sooner than later.

Having to check-in with a mentor on a weekly basis really helped me to stay on track and push through when I'm feeling lazy. My mentor was also a great support system for me, he pushed me to get feedback from our online community and go out to the real world to join meetups. Now I feel much more comfortable seeking and giving feedback to other designers and I know what type of feedback people are looking for. The program is well paced, I did it while I was working full-time. It is a great way to fast-track your learning in a systematic way.

I enrolled in Bloc as a Full Time Designer Track student and loved every second of it.  My job, at the time, was such that I could handle a 40 hour a week commitment to doing the Bloc work, but when life threw a wrench at me and I had to pick up an extra 15 hours of work a week, Bloc made it super easy for me to adjust my pacing with no repercussions.  I got an awesome foundation of UX/UI and Frontend principles, got to work on developing assets for some cool projects that formulated my portfolio in the end. Prior to Bloc, I would not have been able to put together a UX portfolio coded by hand.  Now I have a fully-coded portfolio, and was given amazing career support that led to me getting a job with a startup in Los Angeles, alongside advice on how to negotiate for a higher salary than the one initially offered (which, as a woman who had NEVER negotiated her salary before, was not only super helpful but incredibly empowering and it's something I'll continue to do in the future)!  I would definitely recommend Bloc to anyone, especially career changers, who know they have the drive and the passion, and just need a regimented curriculum to help them realize their career aspirations. 

Bloc is an intensive and intense program especially if you are full time employed. Curriculum is always up to date and mentors are very knowlegable. I chose the part time path and now I'm almost at the end of the program. I learn much more than what I expected at the beginning and I can build fully working apps totally on my own. Mentorship is great and I think that's the key of success. I suggest Bloc to anyone who is highly motivated in starting a highly satisfing career.

The Bloc curriculum for web development is divided up into modules, a set of projects, and career preparation which are estimated at about six months of work. So far I've completed about 20% of the curriculum so please keep in mind that the review is for that, not the entire course

The pluses:

(1) Since it's a home study course, the work can be done on your own time and your own schedule.

(2) It's not easy. I've had previous experience with programming and web development, yet am being challenged and am learning quite a bit.

(3) Curriculum is further subdivided into "checkpoints" where you're required to complete a specific task. The combination of typing in code you're given plus having to look for your own solutions works for me. There have been some videos too, but they've mostly been short and to the point. 

 (4) Decent variety. The coursework so far has introduced source control through Git, HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript, plus doing exercises and tutorials at different sites like codewars and codeschool. 

(5) Mentor. It definitely helps to have someone there that you're accountable to.

(6)  Bloc staff has been courteous and prompt in their replies. 

The (possible) minuses:

(1) None for me personally.

(2) The curriculum is very challenging, so those who have no experience with programming or web development may need to slow down and get help from their mentor to absorb the material.

(3) You need to be self-motivated, but that's always been true in a home study course.

I have had a successful career in the Aerospace industry and have always had many web startup ideas in my head, but never took the time to learn to code. Well, I passed my 40th birthday and thought that I'm not getting any younger or that there would never be the right time to plan with family. So after previous failed attempts to learn to code, I finally took the plunge and applied to Bloc's Part-Time Web Development Track program at end of 2016.

Now, I'm asking myself, why I didn't start earlier! I've always been a life long learner, with BS Mechanical Engineering and MBA, but I have learned so much! I have enjoyed my mentors as they have provided startup perspectives by helping me go beyond the curriculum to understand how everything relates to a founder assembling a team and launching a product.

Overall, this is the best decision and I look forward to my future endeavors as I focus on launching my startup.

I started Bloc while majoring in CS. After a month of Bloc I was able to find a job as an iOS Developer at a fast pacing startup and 4 months later started my own and dropped out of college.

HeyCheff started to take off later last year (2016) and through the entire journey I was able to develop not only the iOS app but also help and assist with the Android and web dev.

Bloc is great, the community is strong and really important, but the most valuable thing for me, is been able to learn directly from an experienced developer, such as my mentor (Falko Butler)

Can't recommend it enough. Best of luck for everyone joining and happy coding.

I finished the Rails Development program two years ago.

I entered with very basic coding experience (variables, loops, conditionals) but I didn't know how to build web apps at all, just some very basic HTML and CSS sites, at the end of the course I knew how to build complex web apps in Ruby on Rails.

My struggle two/three years ago was that I had a lot of ideas I wanted to build but didn't know how to start, I read tutorials and books but I didn't know how to build real stuff, and that was a real frustration because I couldn't call myself a programmer, but now I am thanks to Bloc and its amazing mentors.

Now I can dive myself into documentation sites and learn new stuff in a couple of weeks, I know Javascript, jQuery, React, React Native, Vue, Webpack, Gulp, Ruby on Rails (of course) and databases and deployment (among other development stuff).

I'm very happy I entered Bloc!

Bloc has worked out exactly as I had hoped. Nothing more, nothing less. As an online bootcamp I feel that there is only so much support you can get from that setting but Bloc has been very prompt and the community is very supportive (ie. slack, facebook, support services, mentors). I started out with a degree in a completely different field and zero experience in development except a couple of codecademy courses I had done just prior to enrolling to make sure I actually enjoyed coding. Now, I'm a full time developer for a 'unicorn' company and I have earned back the tuition cost through contract work on the side while still learning in the program. So really, I've already broken even before any discussion about my career change and the amazing life change that has been. Bloc will show you what to do, but it's up to you to actually do it and figure out how to do it. The longer time frame and working with a mentor will allow you to explore your own interests and go beyond the curriculum which I would encourage. You get what you put into it just like anything, but that very much applies to this as well. Mentors are there to guide and coach not cram it into your brain. It takes hard work on your part too. No curriculum will just instantly make you a developer including 4 year degrees, I know plenty of people that just graduated an undergrad and are in programs just like this still. Try hard, work hard and Bloc is definitly worth it.

I just graduated from Bloc's Part-Time Web Developer Track. I did the 27 week pace, 2 mentor meetings a week. This was a very rigorous program and pace but I was able to take the time off work to do the curriculum full-time. (Whatever time Bloc says you need, just double/triple it.) It is a tough program.

I was a pro photographer for 20 years. I knew a fair amount of html and css. I knew how to set up Wordpress sites, tweak a WP template here or there. I also managed a Drupal site for a while, but that was about it. No real code or logic. I took several one-off courses before Bloc, but struggled to grasp tougher concepts.

Why Bloc? I am a 40-year-old mom so leaving to NYC or else where for 6 months was not my jam. Bloc offered a rigorous online program with the one-on-one with weekly mentoring. You can start and stop your program (with some limits) which is great for when my kiddo got sick, or my family needed me to work at our studio... basic life stuff. 

As a female, I was awarded the Bloc/ Women Who Code #Civic Hacking Scholarship which was awesome! I think the tuition was worth it, scholarship or not, for the education you receive with mentoring.

I prepared for 6 months prior to Bloc by doing as much free online coding classes as possible just to get my brain ready. I knew this program would be tough for me.

Learning to code is emotional. There were many times I wanted to give up! But you get out what you put in! I kept showing up and fighting. I worked my tail off and sacrificed. It was well worth it.  Painful at times, but the pain is short and in the end so so so rewarding. 

My mentor really made this an amazing experience. Bloc has great mentors. Alex was so knowlegable, a brilliant Rails developer with tons of real-world tales about how he solved problems for his clients. He is also THE best teacher. He was always so understanding-- knowing when to push me  and when just to help. I can not say enough about the Bloc's mentorship program. I would have never made it through without it. BUT, by the end of the program I was creating web apps on my own with confidence. Thanks Alex! Amazing!

I live in the small town of Portland, Maine and enjoy running a business so will likely freelance and create my own shop now. However, if I were in a mid-sized city, I could get hired with Bloc's training, no doubt. They offer a lot of help and training on finding work.

I highly recommend Bloc if you are willing to work hard. Loved, loved, loved  it and so excited about my new career!

I am 7 weeks into the software developer track and so far, my experience has been awesome.  I started learning to code on my own before enrolling in Bloc using a variety of free and paid online courses through Coursera, Udemy, EdX, etc.  While those were good introductions to programming, what I have learned so far at Bloc has far exceeded what I had done on my own.  Since I am stlil working a full time job, the online, self-paced format was a key part of my decision to go with Bloc, and I have not been disappointed.  The content and order of topics (organized in modules and checkpoints) is very well thought out, and breaks down development into bite-sized pieces that make learning it seem much more feasible.  At the same time, they are challenging and push me to learn, and so far have never felt bored.  When I initially chose Bloc for the online platform, I now think that one of the best parts of the program is the 1-on-1 mentoring.  I loved that I got to pick my mentor (from a huge list of qualified people), and so far it's been awesome.  My mentor and I clicked right away, and she is very supportive and responsive to my questions, even outside of our weekly meetings.  She has a great balance of helping me and directing me on how to solve/debug issues on my own.  

Overall, I am so glad that I decided to start this program with Bloc.  This has been a great fit for me based upon my stage in life.  I am married with two young daughters, so this program has allowed me to still pursue a dream of learning software development and eventually switching careers into the tech industry, while still mainting my current job since I am the main breadwinner/insurance provider/etc.  I can't wait to keep learning more in the coming months!  

I enrolled in the Designer Track course (6 months at full-time pace) and accepted a job offer 4 months in!  I spent a lot of time researching the best option to get into the digital design industry.  I came from a financial consulting role, so support when switching from another industry was important to me.  Also, I loved that in addition to the entire design process, front-end development is also included in the curriculum.  it's helped me a lot so far in my new product designer position within a software development agency in Chicago.  The best part of Bloc, however, is the mentorship.  3 times a week I met with my amazing mentor Terry as he helped guide me (and push me when needed) as I discovered the world of design.  His guidance throughout the program and specifically on my projects directly influenced my confidence as a new designer and is not only the reason I got a job - but the reason I'm doing well in my new role.  I can't imagine I would have gotten the same level of education in another online bootcamp as I did with Bloc. Additionally, the ability to interact and work with other students and mentors in the very large Slack community is extremely valuable.  Highly recommend if you're ready to take the leap into design or development and looking for a bootcamp/apprenticeship.  Hard work but worth it.

I am currently in my second month of the UI/UX Design Fundamentals with Bloc. I really like and appreciate the fact that this course is built around projects. We might not have accomplished too many designs, but we’ve been hands-on in every single stage of the whole designing and coding of an actual product / service. And in most checkpoints, we have the chance to practice and transfer what we have learned from the instruction videos to our own designs or projects. I think this type of teaching style is providing us with real ability and skills, as it can be very hard to keep the project going without knowing what we are doing. It is also very helpful because as UI/UX designers we will need to work alongside people that are in charge of different stages like visual design and front-end development,and we need to have at least working experience with all the necessary tools to understand their job. 

My company sponsored me to learn more about programming so I could help with maintaining some of our internal tools (I'm an HR technology specialist), and after doing some research I decided Bloc fit my needs and schedule the best. Prior to enrolling in Bloc's full stack web developer track, I had some working knowledge of some basic web languages like HTML and CSS, but I was very intimidated to learn more about Ruby on Rails, JavaScript, and the like. Bloc's guided self-paced curriculum in conjunction with 1:1 mentor meetings made grasping the complex programming topics involved in the curriculum not only manageable but also fun. My mentor Alex has been fantastic throughout my entire time with Bloc; always responding to inquiries quickly and providing support and expertise whenever I need it. Because of the great program and expertise Bloc and their mentors provide, I've gone from being intimidated by programming to confident in my abilities and I've even landed a more specialized job as an internal product developer for a major tech company. I would highly recommend this program for anyone looking to build skills and make a lateral career move into programming.