Bloc is now Thinkful

As of 2/4/21, Bloc is now Thinkful; the curriculum and community will not change.

If you graduated from Bloc prior to Feb 4, 2021, please leave your review for Bloc. Otherwise, please leave your review for Thinkful.

To view updated and accurate information, please visit the Thinkful Course Report page.

bloc-logo

Bloc

Average Rating4.61
477 Reviews
2 Courses

Bloc is an online coding bootcamp that incorporates 1-on-1 mentorship to prepare each student for a career as a professional software engineer or UX/UI designer. Bloc's apprenticeship approach is tailored specifically to each student's learning needs. In the Web Developer Bootcamp, the curriculum is centered around frontend JavaScript and students can choose whether to learn Ruby on Rails or server-side JavaScript with Node. Bloc’s project-based curriculum is written by expert curriculum developers and vetted by their advisory board comprised of hiring managers. Students work with mentors 1-on-1 to clarify concepts, pair program, and build a portfolio of sites that will demonstrate job readiness as a professional software engineer. Not everyone can quit their job or move to a new city for a bootcamp, so Bloc has designed a comprehensive bootcamp with this in mind. Students can enroll full-time, or complete the program at a part-time pace. Bloc also offers 80 hours per week of real-time access to an experienced developer to answer any questions students may have. 

No prior development experience is required to enroll in Bloc, but a strong desire to learn and take on challenges will be important in each student's success! Bloc has a 100% acceptance rate, but is looking for students who are driven, hard-working, and ready to learn.

Career readiness is important to Bloc- their flagship Track programs include job preparation material and career prep workshops. Mentors will help students put together a portfolio and prepare technical interview questions. When ready, students work with the Career Support team to navigate the job search process with an individualized game plan and exposure to Bloc's Employer Network.

Write A Review

477 Bloc Reviews

Schools can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Course Report never suppresses negative reviews
Sort by
Filter by
  • Lucas
    Lucas
    Graduate • Web Developer Track • Online
    May 09, 2020
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance

    Web Development Student

    Pros - Price, decent curriculum, able to go at your own pace, good mentors, fun projects, great careers coach, resources for when you are stuck.

    Cons - Not as good mentors, always assumes everyone is taking 8 months, slow response time to assignment reviews, no React Hooks, data structures and algorithms is rushed.

    Overall, I think taking this Bloc program was really rewarding and I believe that for the most part they kept up their end of the bargain. I learned a lot in a p...
    Report
  • Paul
    Paul
    Graduate • Frontend Web Development • Online
    Apr 19, 2020
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance

    Bloc. Is a scam, never followed through on tuition reimbursement

    I took the course in 2016 for front end web development. During that time they promised 6 month tuition reimbursement guarantee. Which was one of the things that attracted me. It made me feel comfortable. I finished the course within the given time frame and followed their rules. I applied for jobs for 6 months and was not able to find job. They promised job after 6 months of job searching. If you weren't able to find work within then they promised tuition guarantee. If you are planning ...
    Report
  • Sihao Cao
    Sihao Cao
    Bloc Graduate • Graduate • Web Developer Track • Online
    Mar 30, 2020
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance

    Good Experience with Bloc's Web Developer Track!

    I am a Bloc graduate after being in the Web Developer Track from July, 2019 to March, 2020. I feel this bootcamp does a great job of teaching you the essentials of modern-day web development. My mentor was great at answering questions and the technical coaches on Slack were superb in addressing my coding issues. I liked the fact that mock interviews and job prep were integrated into the curriculum as they are a great primer for getting me ready for the job market. I liked the online self...
    Report
  • Christie Chang
    Christie Chang
    UX Designer • Graduate • Design Track • Online
    Mar 26, 2020
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance

    Bloc's Designer Track

    I was previously a graphic designer at my job stuck in my career. I decided to enroll myself in Bloc's Designer Track hoping to transition my career from a graphic designer into a UX Designer. Bloc's Designer Track is incredibly challenging and a lot of work. However, out of the program, I was able to understand UX Research methods, obtain more knowledge in Visual Design, and also learned how to Front-end Code. We took all that we learned and was required to create our own website from s...
    Report
  • A
    A
    Graduate • Web Developer Track • Online
    Mar 02, 2020
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance

    A Brutally Honest Review of the Web Developer Track

    There are a lot of things I wish I had known about this program before signing up so I'm here to tell my story hoping someone finds it useful if you're on the fence about this. I'm surprised at how many 5 star reviews are on here. The program pesters you to complete a review 2 - 3 weeks into the curriculum which was really annoying. I'd take some of these 5-star reviews with a grain of salt.

    Curriculum: Once you're enrolled, you're given access to their Slack channels ...
    Report
  • Eduardo Hirao
    Eduardo Hirao
    Product Designer • Graduate • Design Track • Online
    Jan 17, 2020
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance
    N/A

    Designer Track

    I recently graduated Bloc's Designer Track and I'm very happy with the results

    The curriculum is very well detailed and easily explains how the design process works, and even goes a bit deeper and teaches you front-end development, such as HTML5, CSS3, VanillaJS, and jQuery.

    My mentor was amazing, whenever I had any doubts or felt like my projects needed a few tweaks, she was always willing to help, even on her days off, she told me to send her an email if I ran into an...

    Report
  • Paul Cho
    Paul Cho
    Graduate • Part-Time Web Developer Track • Online
    Jan 12, 2020
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance

    Bloc Screwed Me Over, Policy On Guaranteed Tuition Reimbursement Not Upheld

    Bloc did not honor their guaranteed tuition reimbursement policy even though I followed protocol and adhered it's policies. I was finished with the intense 6 month track on web development and transitioning into the final stages of the program. But before I get there, I just want to give a background on why I chose Bloc over all other web developer alternative programs. Among many features that stood out, one stood out to me more than any. Bloc is an online course that boasts one to one m...
    Report
  • Leanna Marsh
    Leanna Marsh
    Graduate • Design Track • Online
    Nov 13, 2019
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance

    Grateful for Bloc

    I honestly feel really lucky and happy that I chose to go through Bloc to learn UX Design. As compared to other programs, I found Bloc to be really extensive and feel confident now that I'm a graduate, that I am ready to find a job with those skills. 

    I had a good experience with my first mentor, but felt that my second was not helpful in ways that I needed. I also noticed that some students finished the program and got their certificates, even though their actual designs were no...

    Report
  • Karina Gaulin
    Karina Gaulin
    Student • Web Developer Track • Online
    Oct 28, 2019
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance
    N/A

    Huge lack of help with React and Node

    Though the curriculum is fair, there are VERY few live office hours for React and Node to get the help you need, which are the most important parts in my opinion. And also, the help on Slack is terrible. Once the coaches finally understand your issue, their shift ends and you have to start over with someone new. I have been on Slack for up to 6 hours without getting the help I need.

    Report
  • Jake Kandl
    Jake Kandl
    Graduate • Online
    Sep 05, 2019
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance
    N/A

    Recent UX Design Bloc Graduate

    I graduated last week.  It took me just over 15 months to finish the program. I had an overall good experience with the program and feel it is a good value and useful for accelerating my new career path. 

    Pros:  Student success really listens well and has always responded in a timely fashion with relevant information.  The actual content is engaging and well drilled, each time in greater detail and demanding of more refinement.  There was no filler content.  Every checkpoint I f...

    Report
  • Miguel Niblock
    Miguel Niblock
    Intern Data Scientist • Graduate • Online
    Aug 18, 2019
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance

    Bloc/ Thinkful- Data Science Outcomes

    This review is for both Thinkful and Bloc, since they are actually the same company now.

    I started Thinkful's Data Science program in August 2018 and finished in May 2019. It took me 2 extra months than the scheduled 6 months, but I made it, and finished strongly. Since before enrolling, I knew I wanted a longer type of program, to really allow myself the chance to learn things in depth.

    The program was very hard, but also very good. There's some rough edges in the curr...

    Report
  • Tyler Leroy Poore
    Tyler Leroy Poore
    Compliance Manager • Student • Web Developer Track • Online
    Aug 08, 2019
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance

    The Career Help is Invaluable!

    In my opinion the pros of attending bloc are the always helpful slack community and the meticulously informative support teams. I may be biased, but, the coursework for career advice and searching is incredibly invaluable.

    I would say the downsides, seems I was a one off in this case, is the mentoring. In my case most of my mentors were no shows, not to mention I missed a few along the way as well, though we ended up just forfeiting mentor meetings near the end either way.

    Report

Bloc Alumni Outcomes

75%
Employment Rate
0%
Graduation Rate
$62,400
Median Salary
cirr-logo
77% of students intended to seek in-field employment within 180 days of graduating. 23% of students did not intend to seek in-field employment. Below is the 180 Day Employment Breakdown for 40 graduates included in report:
180 Day employment breakdown
Employed in-field75.0%
Full-time employee52.5%
Full-time apprenticeship, internship or contract position22.5%
Short-term contract, part-time, or freelance0.0%
Started a new company or venture after graduation0.0%
Not seeking in-field employment0.0%
Employed out-of-field0.0%
Continuing to higher education0.0%
Not seeking a job for health, family, or personal reasons0.0%
Still seeking job in-field25.0%
Could not contact0.0%
salary breakdown
Notes and Caveats
Read the full Bloc CIRR Jobs Report here

Recent Bloc News

Rachel Meltzer
Rachel Meltzer
Updated May 10, 2024
Remote jobs are rapidly becoming more popular in nearly every industry, growing by over 173% in the past decade. This phenomenon is sweeping the US, Canda, and most of Europe as millennials demand a better work-life balance. Over 3% of US employees work from home at least half of the time, and over 5% of the US works full-time remote jobs. Whether you want to work from home, become a digita...
Imogen Crispe
Imogen Crispe
Updated December 27, 2018
As we near the end of 2018, we're rewinding and reflecting on the most interesting and impactful coding bootcamp news of the year. Come with us as we look at trends, digest thought pieces, break down the ~$175 million in new funding, and more. We’ll also look at our predictions for 2019 and our hopes for the future of coding bootcamps! 2018: Course Report in Numbers We added 89 n...
Imogen Crispe
Imogen Crispe
Updated October 31, 2018
With a passion for spoken languages, Sami wanted to challenge himself in the world of programming languages. As a Hebrew teacher and parent in London, UK, with various commitments, he enrolled in Bloc’s remote self-paced Web Developer Track to learn Ruby on Rails and JavaScript on his own schedule. Sami tells us about the similarities between learning spoken languages and programming lang...
Liz Eggleston
Liz Eggleston
Updated June 05, 2018
Thinkful recently acquired Bloc, which means that two of the largest and most established online coding bootcamps are now joining forces. But what does this mean for students? We sat down with Darrell Silver, the CEO of Thinkful, to get the scoop on job guarantees, career support, mentorship approaches, and how students can choose the right program for their needs. Our Takeaways on the Thi...
Imogen Crispe
Imogen Crispe
Updated July 16, 2021
  Welcome to the first News Roundup of 2018! We’re already having a busy 2018 – we published our latest outcomes and demographics report, and we’re seeing a promising focus on diversity in tech! In January we saw a significant fundraising announcement from an online bootcamp, we saw journalists exploring why employers should hire bootcamp and apprenticeship graduates, we read about communi...
Liz Eggleston
Liz Eggleston
Updated December 20, 2017
After receiving valuable employer feedback, online coding bootcamp Bloc has taken the best parts of its two previous curriculums and combined them into the new and improved Web Development Track! The Bloc team has also added increased real-time mentor support (80 hours per week), and added a choice of programming stacks (Ruby on Rails or Full Stack JavaScript) for students. We asked CEO C...
Imogen Crispe
Imogen Crispe
Updated December 05, 2017
October 2017 was a busy month for the coding bootcamp industry with news about growing pains in bootcamp outcomes, mergers, acquisitions, investments, a trend towards bootcamp B2B training, and diversity initiatives. To help you out, we’ve collected all the most important news in this blog post and podcast. Plus, we added 12 new schools from around the world to the Course Report school di...
Imogen Crispe
Imogen Crispe
Updated September 28, 2017
Need a rundown of everything that happened in the coding bootcamp industry this September? You’re in luck! We’ve collected all the most important news in this blog post and podcast. This month, we kept up with the status of the bootcamp industry, learned about how bootcamps are thriving in smaller markets, and explored different ways to pay for bootcamp. Plus, we added 7 new schools from ar...
Imogen Crispe
Imogen Crispe
Updated September 20, 2017
After working at Mint, Netflix, and founding two tech companies, Ryan Balfanz wanted to pay it forward and mentor career changers. Now, as a mentor for Bloc’s online coding bootcamp, Ryan balances his day job as a software engineer at Square with ensuring that his students meet their career goals. Ryan tells us about his background in teaching, how he opens up his network to help students w...
Imogen Crispe
Imogen Crispe
Updated October 21, 2020
Although he had a solid career in technical support, Tim Martinak wanted to take his love for technology to the next level. He started learning Rails in Bloc’s Software Developer Track while balancing his full-time job at Braintree in Chicago, and when a Software Engineering Apprenticeship opened up at Braintree, Tim went for it! Tim tells us why a Skills Fund loan made his learning possibl...
Lauren Stewart
Lauren Stewart
Updated February 07, 2020
There’s something about a good mobile app that just helps you throughout the day– be it your Linkedin, Google maps, CNN, Nike+ Training, or ESPN app– we depend on our smartphones for a lot. Due to the global rise of smartphones and tablets, mobile apps can be the go-to source for information, entertainment, productivity, e-commerce, and more. By 2020, global mobile app store downloads wil...
Lauren Stewart
Lauren Stewart
Updated October 25, 2016
There are many reasons to attend a bootcamp- maybe you’re ready to take the plunge into a coding career or you want to update your current programming skills. Or maybe you’re part of a rising generation of aspiring technical founders and you’re ready to launch your own startup…you just need tech skills. Should you go to a coding bootcamp to start a company? Many bootcamp alumni are enjoyi...
Locations

Bloc Alumni Reviews Summary

Overall Experience
4.6
Instructors
4.7
Curriculum
4.5
Job Assistance
4.3
Write A Review
More Information
Guarantees Job
Job Assistance
Includes Housing
Offers Corporate Training
Accepts GI Bill
FAQs

How much does Bloc cost?

Bloc costs around $9,600. On the lower end, some Bloc courses like Web Developer Track cost $8,500.

What courses does Bloc teach?

Bloc offers courses like Design Track, Web Developer Track.

Where does Bloc have campuses?

Bloc teaches students Online in a remote classroom.

Is Bloc worth it?

The data says yes! In 2019, Bloc reported a 0% graduation rate, a median salary of $62,400, and 75% of Bloc alumni are employed. The data says yes! In 2016, Bloc reported a 41% graduation rate, a median salary of $65,411, and 80% of Bloc alumni are employed.

Is Bloc legit?

We let alumni answer that question. 477 Bloc alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Bloc and rate their overall experience a 4.61 out of 5.

Does Bloc offer scholarships or accept the GI Bill?

Right now, it doesn't look like Bloc offers scholarships or accepts the GI Bill. We're always adding to the list of schools that do offer Exclusive Course Report Scholarships and a list of the bootcamps that accept the GI Bill.

Can I read Bloc reviews?

You can read 477 reviews of Bloc on Course Report! Bloc alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Bloc and rate their overall experience a 4.61 out of 5.

Is Bloc accredited?

While bootcamps must be approved to operate, accreditation is relatively rare. Bloc doesn't yet share information about their accreditation status.

Get Free Bootcamp Advice

Sign up for our newsletter and receive our free guide to paying for a bootcamp.

By submitting this form, you agree to receive email marketing from Course Report.

Get Matched in Minutes

Just tell us who you are and what you’re searching for, we’ll handle the rest.

Match Me