Bloc

I am glad I chose BLOC to be a catalyst in my career change.

I have been in the Design Program for a couple of months now and I already feel I have learnt a lot more than I would have anticipated. The BLOC curriculum is structured quite well and helps you build your skills in an intelligent manner.

Having the continuous guided support of my mentor accelerated my progress, helped me get over my obstacles, and pointed me in the right direction.

BLOC Slack community also allows us to communicate with any BLOC member to discuss concerns, ask questions, share knowledge and much more.  Even though the program is online, it really gives me a feeling that I am learning with every student at BLOC as they share their experiences, frustrations and achievements. 

About 3 months into the program, and a veteran of Codeacademy and TreeHouse and just about every other website you can think of trying to grind my way into web development. I can honestly say that in the 3 MONTHS enrolled i"ve learned more than all my combined time just punching away on these websites. It's challenging and fast paced and above all stressful, but don't let that discourage you. This course is fun and rewarding and there is a safety net of experienced mentors that are just an email away.  

I am currently 6 weeks into the Part Time Web Development Track and my experience with Bloc has been awesome. I am truly happy with how much I've learned in this time. I've tried to learn web development on my own but never made this much progress. Admittedly, the work is difficult and you really need the mental and emotinal stamina to push though. I give credit to Bloc for providing a great curriculum to follow. My mentor has also been an INVALUABLE source of information and support!

I would heartily recommend Bloc to anyone looking for a cost-effective route to a new career in the ever burgeoning tech field.  I'm only several weeks into the course so far, but I have learned plenty about basic user research, design principles, wireframing in Balsamiq and Illustrator, and constructing interfaces in Sketch.  I'm on the part-time schedule (10-15 hrs/wk), which is a great option for people who need to work.  I meet with my mentor once a week and it's a quick 30 mins but we do go through what I've worked on that week and he offers his insights.  This aspect of the program is probably most valuable, having a seasoned professional to learn from.  I know as the course gets more in depth, I'll benefit even more from having a mentor.  

My expereience at bloc has been overwhelmingly postive .Having a mentor makes a night and day difference in learning , any problems that i run into i know ill have a mentor there to help guide me through it instead of me just researching and looking up the answer . The curriculum is updated regularly and is streamlined so you can blaze through it while having a good grasp of the core concepts . I would recommend Bloc to any one looking to change careers or even students who are considering a conventional CSE degree .

After years in Customer Service and Sales jobs, I knew it was time to make a career change. After attending many different open houses and conducting research on all of the different bootcamps and graduate school options, I decided that Bloc was the right choice for me. In just seven months, I have been able to begin building a solid portfolio of design and front-end development work. In this time, I've also learned how to use approximately a dozen design tools and received extensive one-on-one direction from my mentor, who has been there to help me every step of the way. Whenever I've felt stuck on or needed feedback on an assignment, I've been able to connect with fellow students and receive feedback within hours, if not minutes. The cost-coupled with the hands-on mentorship you receive and the tools that you are exposed to-has been absolutely worth it for me. There is a tremendous amount to learn, but I absolutely feel that I made the right choice. There is a long road ahead before I'll be ready to make my mark in the Design field, but I don't feel that any other program could prepare me for the challenge as well as Bloc has thus far. Highly recommended!

First I have to start that I have a full-time job in tech already and I'm not willing to let it go. Part time option of Bloc.io was the perfect predefined solution for me and will be for those who have bills to pay and a family to support. I have received a scholarship as a Veteran. The process of enrollment is smooth and painless. A bit confusing at first with the subcontract to get you up to speed with essential tools, but after you pass that, you will totally value the approach. The format of learning is step by step instruction and assignments to test your knowledge at the end. All the way you have an instructor to answer you questions - the main reason I have chosen this program, btw. You have from 1 to 4 meeting a week depending on the pace you have chosen, you can change pace anytime, as many times as you want. Which gives you a relevant freedom to finish the program as soon as you can/want. If thinking to drop out program offers prorated reimbursement. Watch out, 15% falling behind will exclude you from that privilege. 

Bottom line the program was a great experience so far, that gives you an option to keep your job, challenges you with a rigorous curriculum and a human support. Highly recommended.

Hello,

I began the Part-Time Web Developement Track at Bloc early March. I must say, I am thoroughly enjoying it. The curriculum is clear, concise, and has always left me with feeling comfortable with what I have learned. I recently just completed my first "bigger" project, Bloc-Jams, and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire process. I learned more than I could imagine throughout these past 3 weeks, and my mentor always replied within hours to help whenever I had an issue. The hands-on and mastery learning style that Bloc achieves is a true testiment to the strength of the program overall. I know I have enjoyed the past weeks, partly to the constant support Bloc provides. I have never been this excited to put my nose to the grindstone before!

My experience so far with Bloc has been fantastic. I am coming from a background in Mechanical engineering and robotics, so I was really hoping that the curriculum would go in depth about concepts and not just scratch the surface. It did this incredibly well. Between having access to a very qualified mentor, an beautifuly designed curriculum, and excellent resources for whatever you need, Bloc sets you up to become a junior developer as quickly as possible. 

I would absolutely recommend them to anyone who is interested in learning the skills to become a software developer. 

Bloc has been an incredibly positive experience for me, especially relative to my independent forays into teaching myself computer programming.

The curriculum not only teaches discrete skills.  It applies them immediately to create a functional app as early as three weeks into the program.  Furthermore, the mentor support fosters further learning.  Because I had access to an experienced programmer at all times, I never had to stew too long in a skill that I did not understand.  

Overall, Bloc combines integrated curriculum with impeccable staff support to ensure student success.

I recently finished the part time web developer track with Bloc.  I started last summer with basically no coding experience, and came out with a portfoilio full of projects, a solid understanding of object oriented programming, and a lot of support for finding a job.

The mentorship is the best part of Bloc.  I had the privilege of having two mentors throughout the course, both of whom were fantastic.  They both had a great way of breaking down abstract ideas into something I could understand, were always willing to answer my questions, and continue to provide me support even after the completion of the course.  

Along with a great mentorship program, the Bloc community is amazing as well. The slack channel for Bloc is very supportive for those that have questions, want to network, and basically anything else. I always felt at ease knowing that my Bloc buddies on slack were there for me if I needed them.  Having graduated, I have reached out to some Bloc graduates in the area, and they have been very kind in terms of connecting me with people and giving me advice.

Web development is a large field, and there is only so much you can learn in six months. Bloc does a great job at teaching you enough to feel confident moving forward, and enough to put on your portfolio and resume as you apply for jobs.  Bloc not only taught me alot, but made me even more excited as I enter the tech world.  

While Bloc is great, it is only as good as you make it for yourself. You have to put in the work, and at times it can be very challenging learning new topics.  Programming is hard and requires a lot of work and dedication. I worked a full time job while enrolled in Bloc; and while it was hard at times, I am glad I did it and would recommend it to anyone looking for a challenge and taking a next step in their career!  If you are hesitant ( like I was in the beginning ), I would say go for it!


 

If you are deciding on a career change into UX or UI design, I would highly recommend you to look into Bloc's Designer Track program. The material that Bloc teaches you is very practical and you learn how to use design software that current UX/UI designers use. Before the program, I had always thought that the Adobe Creative Suite was out of reach and that it would be very difficult to learn. However, going through Bloc's curriculum has proved me wrong, and thankfully it did! I have also had the chance to use other software and services such as Sketch, Balsamiq, and inVision.

Furthermore, you do a deep-dive learning into Frontend Development, and learning how to code never hurts anyone, right? Though debugging code can be a pain, it is very rewarding when you can code your own project. 

My mentor, Sharon, is also wonderful and provides me great feedback and suggestions.

I am currently a full-time student doing the 36 week track, and I can tell you that you really do need to dedicate time and hours to learning at Bloc. However, your effort and dedication will pay off. I'm almost 3 months into the program and have already completed my first project!

Overall, I would say that it has been a great ride so far. No major complaints :)

I've been wanting to learn web development for a long time now but I have a hard to learning by myself through websites that teach you to code. (teamtreehouse.com, codeacademy.com, etc.) Bloc has given me that accounatbility to learn what I need to learn and help me reach my goal of finding a job as a web devloper. The mentorship is amazing and my mentor helps push me along. He's really great at helping me solve the issues that I'm having and always answers any questions that I may have. I would reccomend Bloc to anyone that wants to get into Web Devleopment!!