Bloc

Beginning to detail my time with Bloc and all of the value this Program/Team has brought me - is itself already another blog post. As I was a community college dropout, moving around the States, no real direction or passion other than art and travel- I want this review to reach those people who are possibly in a similar situation - You can do it, and Bloc has your back. 

The curriculum itself kept me focused, inspired, and motivated to reach my goal of becoming a Designer. The hard skills and soft skills alike, were a refreshing look into the Design world and gave me a whole new perspective on the way I view failures, goals, and hard-work.

I just recently completed the program and the amount of growth I made in a year is inspiring and exciting- I feel that I could write so much about the positive impact Bloc has had on my life, and I see my future is a lot brighter now because of these skills Ive acquired. 

A huge standout that I didnt notice in other programs, was Bloc's Mentorship program. Being paired with a Senior Designer is so invaluable to online-curriculums such as this.  Beyong having the personal relationship and someone to bounce ideas off - it was at the times when I felt discouraged, or that I had no one to reach out to - I always knew that my mentor was one message away. On top of that, the Student Success team was there for me when I was going through some personal tribulations, and they were able to help me stay focused and driven. As I said, I have a lot of writing to do about how this past year has changed my life so significantly- and Bloc's Design Track was the structure I needed that has given me the skills, confidence, and leg up to begin my Design career.

Three years ago I knew I wanted to make a travel app that hadn't existed yet. I had it all planned out, but I had no way of implementing it without hiring designers and developers to do it. I had a desire to make something from nothing, but I didn't have the skills, education, or tools to do so. This realization paired with my yearning to flex my creative muscles led me to explore a career in UX Design. In the end, I chose Bloc because I felt that it provided me with the education, tools, resources, and mentorship that the other programs didn't seem to have or were too expensive for my budget. So I went for it. 

Fast forward to a year later – not only did I make that travel app, but I've now accepted a position as a UX Designer for a travel company in a foreign country, after receiving two other job offers in less than two months of job searching. If you're willing to get serious about what it takes to completely change your life for the better, even with obstacles and difficulties that get in your way, this course is for you. I'll admit, before joining the course, I didn't even know if I was passionate about UX Design or even if I'd be good at it. But once I was exposed to the program and understood the impact of design in bettering our world, I was hooked. Bloc arms you with education and hands-on approach you need to make any app, website, or digital product out there. Finally, having mentors that genuinely cared about my success and who taught me the principles I needed to know along the way, was critical to my professional learning and development. I also really enjoyed participating in the online group-oriented classes and learning about other graduate success stories by utilizing the Slack groups. Bloc provides a holistic experience that takes into account all the facets that you'll need to know to get that first job. And after that, it's all up to you. 

My name is Holly, and I'm a career changer who is about 3/4 of the way through Bloc's Design program.  I came to the school with a background in the fine arts, and way too many years of dead-end administrative support jobs washed under the bridge.  I was definitely in need of a drastic change, and Bloc brings it without hesitation!  I was fortunate to be able to benefit from the Close The Gap scholarship - which supported female and female-identifying students interested in breaking into tech.

When you sign up for Bloc, you are gradually introduced to a wide-ranging and constantly evolving discipline.  There is a vast, interconnected variety of topics to explore in the curriculum.  In addition to covering Experience Design, Visual Design, and Front End Development, there are also ample opportunities to get your hands dirty with branding and content strategy, UX writing, presentation skills, networking, crafting your own personal brand and drafting a solid plan for growing your career.  It is truly a comprehensive program in a way I did not anticipate, and I am so thankful for it.  Students learn extremely valuable skills, and then do the equally important work of learning to share these skills with the world.

Don't get me wrong - it can feel daunting once it occurs to you exactly how much you're about to learn, and exactly how much work you'll need to do in order to make the most of the resources available at the school  - and pull off the career change you're aiming for.  Still, I've had the support of my mentor every week - whether I was crushing it or really struggling to find my footing with some challenging material.  He has always greeted me and whatever I'm going through with a huge knowledge base, real-life experience, honest and valuable feedback, an affable nature and an irreverent sense of humor.  This has been invaluable in helping me on my journey!

Bloc also offers interesting and fun group sessions, and technical support is available on Slack whenever you may need it.  I'll miss studying at Bloc once I graduate, but until then I get more confident each day that I'll be able to do great work in my new field when it's all said and done.  Thanks for reading!

I chose Bloc because of their flexibility, self-paced coursework, and because they were offering a Close the Gap scholarship for women. I had had previous UX and coding experience, which helped a lot, but even so, it took me 5-ish months of full time work to complete the course. However, I was able to land a lot of interviews and even ended up having the option of choosing between two job offers in my chosen field before my program ended. The technical coaches are great in helping you when you're stuck, and I'm glad I enrolled with Bloc. It was a great choice for me--just be sure you have the motivation and the self-discipline to keep yourself on track. 

I recently graduated from the designer track program. The Bloc experience fueled my knowledge about the subject matter to that of a person with decade long mastery in the same. The mentors have been super helpful and super critical in shaping the outcomes of my projects and my portfolio. I have got multiple freelance projects and landed a job within 3 mos of graduation just by putting up my portfolio out there and on LinkedIn. It was quite a journey. Although I am an international student, the amount of skills injected during the program has been a great support for making design decisions at a fresher level. Don't think any other code school provides such a wholistic experience.

PROS:
The learning process is project based, meaning you learn through creating real-world projects (ie. a Reddit Clone, a Wiki site) that will not only give you a great learning experience but will give you a basis of work for your portfolio when it comes time to apply for jobs. 

The Slack channel runs 24/7 with tech agents that are there to help you work through any bugs or confusion you are having. They don't give you the answers, they teach you how to debug and solve it yourself so you can learn how to get unstuck in the future.

You have a mentor meeting once a week to get one on one help from Bloc alums who are actively working in the field. 

Bloc forces you to learn to network and then to put it into practice. You will have to attend in person events, do some cold outreach emails to get in touch with local professionals, and write to companies you are interested in. It's stressful at first, but it is worth it, and it also allows you to create an in-person community which makes up for the fact that you are learning online. 

Each module ends with a career development section where you spend a few checkpoints working on things like resumes, active networking, interview practice, and doing research on the job market where you are applying. Having this spread out across your time at Bloc is really useful and is a great primer for the final job search module. 

The assessments at the end of each module are structured like a technical interview. Which like the rest of the Bloc curriculum is great practice for when you are going into the professional world.

CONS:

It is self paced, there is no given timeline and no one setting deadlines for you to finish checkpoints. I actually liked the self paced nature, but you are someone who needs more structure in order to stay on track then Bloc is not the best choice for you. However, if you are able to self-motivate and keep yourself on track and accountable then you will be fine.

Bloc was my first experience with an online bootcamp but I have to say I doubt it gets much better than this. I was very careful with my selection and reviewed many programs before I made my choice because it is a pretty significant time and money investment. I have been really impressed with the thoughtfulness and relevance of the curriculum and depth of knowledge you can obtain if you put in the time. That said, it is definitely not a course for people not willing or able to put in the time. If you work full-time it's challenging to keep up but it's definitely worthwhile. The mentors are knowledgeable and great to work with and I've definitley learned a lot.

I am nearing the completion of my Bloc program (only one week left!) Bloc has been a great experience for me all around. When you sign up for the program, they say that you will be able to keep your current job and complete the program at the same time. For me personally, I kept my 9-5 current job for the first 2 months with the plans of quitting after that. When I did that, I temped/freelanced (I was a photographer before my 9-5) which worked perfectly with the program since I was able to choose how much I wanted to work.

Once you get past the first module, I am not sure if it is realistic to keep up the 40-50 work hour pace on top of the 25-30 hour a week dedication time, although I am sure some people do it! For me, it was better to work part time and focus on not only my studies, but learning beyond that. I think that to get the most out of your experience you need to attending their group sessions. Attending meetups. Practice online tutorials. There are so many resources out there and you should be ready to embrace them, beyond what is taught through Bloc. The great thing about this program is that they encourage you to learn beyond what is taught in their material. 

In terms of jobs, I have had several interviews, which I am sort of in the middle of so I can't say whether I do/don't have a job because I am still completeling that process. What I CAN say that before I attended Bloc, I had tried to apply to soft skill marketing jobs and didn't hear back from ONE company (even with several years of experience). Now, I have gotten interviews from 25% of the applications I have put out which is a HUGE progression. 

The only cons I can think of are that the program is going through some growing pains right now so some of the resources that I have depended on (like their career assistance team and student success team) have been understaffed/slow to reply to emails. I am hoping they fix that up soon because I think they are a huge perk to the program, but I think it's because they are currently going through some transition/growth issues. Otherwise, the mentors have been great, the material is good, and I have had an overall fantastic experience. 

Hello There!

I'm currently a student with Bloc and finishing up the last leg of my assignment/apprenticeship with the UX Design program and I must say that it has been quite a ride. 

The amount of support you get in the program is on point - the slack channel is a large community on a global scale all pushing each other to finish, the technical coaches are almost always a key stroke away from getting you "unstuck" from a problem, the recorded and live class sessions are an extremely helpful resource, the student success team constantly check on your progress to ensure you are getting the best out of the program, and the mentors you meet have years of experience behind them to help you unlock your potential into a career you will break into at the conclusion of the program. 

When I was researching a program to enroll with, I came across a TON of them online, but ended up narrowing down my options to two: 

1. Bloc

2. Thinkful

And at the end of it all, Thinkful ended up acquiring Bloc, so that in itself speaks great volumes as to what Bloc has been achieving alongside the reputation it has built throughout the years since its inception. I'm glad I chose Bloc!

I'm halfway through the Designer track, and I have been enjoying the course so far! Everything they teach is relevant, and I love that you will finish the program with three case studies under your belt. My mentor, Lauren Smith, is amazing and willing to help wherever she can. I can talk to her about the course, job advice, and anything else related to UX design!

If you're thinking about choosing a Bootcamp for UX Design, I highly recommend Bloc. This isn't to say that the coursework is easy, but I truly find UXD fun. What you put in is what you get out. You have to make sure you don't slack off. I supplement this education by going to Meetups and meeting professionals in the industry.