Bloc

I left my 15 yr career as a sales profesional 2 years ago with the thought that I would teach myself and become a remote iOS dev.  After a year and a half I was starting to get interviews, but when it came time for the technical interview I was always being told that I needed a bit more knowledge and skill before I was hireable.  So I started looking at bootcamps.

bloc.io seemed like the best situation for me because I live far from a major metropolitan area and I liked the idea of 1 on 1 mentorship.  I carefully looked at the mentors and chose one(Brandon Alexander) who looked like they were living the career I wanted.  Turns out my choice could not have been better.  My mentor, though tough, was a wealth of knowledge and went above and beyond when it cam to helping me learn the skills I needed.  I credit him with my ability to land the job I did.

I would highly recomend bloc.io if you are self motivated and willing to put in the time.  The support structure is great.  Thank you bloc!!!

I enrolled in the 3 month intensive Ruby and Rails bootcamp through Bloc. I have to say I honestly thought that I wouldn't be as prepared as I am. I still have 2 weeks left and I am currently on a plane to San Francisco from NYC for a job interview. I couldn't have gotten here without Bloc and my mentor, Brittany. (HIGHLY RECOMMEND HER!)

I've been able to work on several projects including one that is close to my heart. My favorite part about Bloc is that I am able to find my own solutions for problems. We all know in coding that there is always more than one way to solve a problem. Some schools want you to learn one way and they really try to drive that way into your head. At Bloc I am encouraged to learn ALL the solutions and then use which one I think is most useful.

I also love their mentors. I meet with mine 3 times a week and even through severe sickness she kept on me and encouraged me to do my best. She has become more than just a teacher but a friend. Bloc really puts a lot of effort into the mentor mentee relationship and I think that is a huge reason why I've been so successful!

The lessons are easy to follow and keep up with. Even when they get hard and you inevitably fall behind, your mentor will work with you to catch you up and make sure you are truly understanding everything rather than just finishing the lesson to get it over with.

I really can recommend Bloc enough. I might have a job by the end of the week and I haven’t even graduated yet. You won’t be sorry, trust me!

I started the Full Stack Developer program in February and I am happy with the progress I have made so far. I am taking the course part time (15-18 hours a week) while still working a 40+ hours a week job M-F. I haven't completed the program, so I cannot attest to every single aspect, I wanted to write a review about what I have experienced so far in order to help others looking into a program like Bloc make an educated decision.

The coursework is thorough and they step you into new elements gradually. I am a week away from completing the foundation block of the  Ruby course which means I will soon be getting into the projects phase, and I feel that I have been adequately setup to complete those projects.

When starting the program you are able to chose which mentor you would like to work with. I was able to choose from 8 different people, all of which appeared to fit many different student personalities. My mentor is incredibly knowledgeable, he responds to my messages in less than a day, and makes the most of our weekly Screenhero meetings.

I looked in depth at several other online mentor-led programs, with Thinkful and Careerfoundry also rising to the top of my list. In the end I felt like Bloc had the best combination of total classroom hours (many programs are much shorter) and a good price structure. You most definitely have to be self-motivated to succeed with this, or any other, online program, but if you have the drive Bloc gives you the tools. What is nice about a program like this is that if you have the momentum you can work beyond the 18 hours a week and finish the foundation block ahead of the pace, which leaves you more time for the projects.

In summary, I am happy with everything I have experienced up to this point. I would -and have- recommend Bloc to anyone wanting to learn to program. I will update this review as a progress through the program. If you want more details I am also keeping a weekly blog about my experience noelworden.com.

i started the full stack track at Bloc around 4-5 months ago.  I enrolled in the part time 15-20 hours a week.  I am currently working full time, 40/ hr a week, on top of my Bloc curriculum.  This is why I picked Bloc.  I didn't want to quit my job or give up my life, but I still really wanted to enroll in a dev boot camp.  Bloc gave me this opportunity.  I have learned so much since I first started, and my mentor is an awesome guy.  I am currently working on my first project with backend!  Super excited about that.  The only problem I've found with this program is that with the mentor meetings only occurring once a week for 30 minutes (because I'm in the slowest program), I often wish I could have a session sooner or more frequently.  Overall I am extremely pleased, and I will be sure to post an update the further I get in the program!!!

Bloc’s Ruby on Rails program provided an excellent introduction to the field of web development.  Bloc really makes an effort to return a good value for your investment by making the most of the Ruby gems and the capabilities that they provide in the Rails framework.  The program covered a lot of ground.  I took the course after retiring from the Marine Corps and it was a steep learning curve.  What I would recommend to anyone taking the Ruby on Rails course is that you have some HTML/CSS/JS/front-end skills as part of your foundation, it will help to make the most of the instruction.  The mentorship part of the course is where the real value lies; as a beginner there were things I wouldn’t have known to ask, and then later the pair-programming really tied it all together.  My mentor was professional and very helpful, in terms of providing insights, engaging in dialog and responding quickly; I always felt part of a solid program going through the course.  

I had very little coding experience before joining Bloc's full stack web developer track. It has been a very challenging course, however, I am satisfied with my progress thus far. It's amazing to see the fruit of your efforts during the project and capstone project phases.

I've completed the backend portion and am halfway through the frontend. I've worked with several mentors and have found each one to be very knowledgeable, helpful and unique in their teaching approaches.

I work full-time, so Bloc's flexible schedule was very appealing to me. I also like Bloc's ongoing course improvements and offerings such as the new software engineering track. I'd strongly recommend Bloc for busy working professionals looking to make a career change.

I'm currently enrolled in the full stack program at Bloc.io. Bloc is an awesome bootcamp that really believes in you learning the material. I did months of research prior to choosing a bootcamp and Bloc checked all the boxes for me. Little did I know that it would exceed my expectations even further once I started.

The course material itself is very informative and challenging (in a good way). It really challenges you in a way that makes you actually learn the concepts. There are many websites out there where you can code Ruby on Rails and other languages but when it's all done, you quickly forget some of the important features of that specific language. Bloc's course requires you to code it in a way that makes it "stick" in your head.

If you still struggle with the material, you have a mentor available to help you 1-on-1 which is a priceless tool in my opinion. I've attempted to learn programming on my own with constant failing attempts. Having a mentor available to ask questions and talk to really helps me get over those rough times where I get stuck on certain code.

Blocks maintains the rhythm of learning and the Rspec material is latest and the best. No other sources has such a material on Rspec up-to-date.

I'm currently enrolled in the full stack program at Bloc.io. I just finished the back end portion and I'm getting ready to start the front end here in a few days. Bloc is an awesome bootcamp that really believes in you learning the material. I did months of research prior to choosing a bootcamp and Bloc checked all the boxes for me. Little did I know that it would exceed my expectations even further once I started.

The course material itself is very informative and challenging (in a good way). It really challenges you in a way that makes you actually learn the concepts. There are many websites out there where you can code Ruby on Rails and other languages but when it's all done, you quickly forget some of the important features of that specific language. Bloc's course requires you to code it in a way that makes it "stick" in your head.

If you still struggle with the material, you have a mentor available to help you 1-on-1 which is a priceless tool in my opinion. I've attempted to learn programming on my own with constant failing attempts. Having a mentor available to ask questions and talk to really helps me get over those rough times where I get stuck on certain code. I'm not sure on the different options you can choose from on meeting with your mentor but I meet with mine twice a week which is perfect in my opinion.

Overall, like I said earlier, I researched a lot of bootcamps prior to starting last fall and I'm glad I did because Bloc really is the camp you should choose over the rest!

I am an FST student almost done with my program.  The curriculum is very thorough, and the team at Bloc is very passionate about seeing students succeed, providing a lot of job support, moch interviews, etc. The apps we make during the program are fun to work through and leave you feeling accomplished. Having a good mentor is important as it can increase your productivity drastically, and give you someone you can ask questions to anytime.  There is also a great community of students through Slack, and Facebook that is great for networking and just meeting like minded people.

One thing that I think would help with students looking for jobs is some time spent on data structures and Big O, as they are important going into the interview process.

Overall great experience with a dedicated team of people to help.

Hi,

I am student at Bloc on "Full stack web development" track.  I am traffic engineer and I had some porgramming experience before Bloc, but not as a developer which is big difference. I  just finished Rails back-end development and I have to say that I am very pleased with a whole experience at the school. 

Curriculum is good with very logical "work flow" , which is very helpfull. However, I think that the most important thing is to use your meetings with mentors in a best possible way. I have been encouraged to ask any kind of questions when I was stuck with the curriculum or projects. I asked a lot of things which are connected directly to the rails development but they were not part of the cirruclum and my mentor answered on all of them.

It is very important that a student is self-driven and eager to study alone too. You have to be prepared to work as a developer and that means that you have to learn new things all the time. I think that the main role of the mentors is to teach you how to be independent and to push you forward when you are scared. It is not easy and those who want to learn development on a bootcamp, have to be prepared to work hard and to be challanged and frustrated from time to time. 

I have to mention that people who works in administartion are very responsive and flexible and I haven't had any problems there.

If I need to say something negative about the school, I would say that the curriculum should be slighty changed. Bloc has Software engineer track, but I think some of CS fundamentals should be presented in other curriculms too. 

Anyway,  I would recomend Bloc to anyone who knows what he/she wants and who sees the bootcamp as a service that can help them (especially in the begining) to find a way to developer's world. There are a lot of things online too, but it is much better and more efficient when somebody just filters those information and teach you what good practice is. 

A

I am currently enrolled in the Full-Stack Web Developer track. I have been in retail in the tech industry for over 5 years now and I quickly learned that Bloc has the right idea about education in the booming technology age we live in. I have never been a "Technition" by nature but more of a "Sales" guy that is good at talking with people. The mentorship has been the biggest game changer for me as I have tried to learn this desired skillset. I've struggled, I've wanted to pull my hair out at times, and I've had break throughs that have given me confidence that I have a bright future in this field of work.