Bloc

Once I decided that I wanted to get into the field of UX design, I did a lot of research on different UX bootcamps. I came across Bloc and was really impressed with all that they offer. I reached out to the admissions team and they immediately scheduled a phone call with me to answer any questions and tell me about the program. I was nervous to jump in, but once I did I knew that it was the right decision!

I think that one of the coolest components of Bloc’s curriculum is the element of front-end development, which is something that most UX bootcamps do not offer. Even though I had absolutely zero coding background, I figured that if I am taking the time and investing in a full-time bootcamp, I may as well get the most out of it by learning the incredibly valuable skill of front-end development which will help me stand out when it comes time to apply for jobs. Bloc’s curriculum gave me the tools to learn front-end development and eventually hand-code my own portfolio/website which I am extremely proud of! 

Another reason why I am so happy that I chose Bloc is because of their incredible student support. My mentor, the student success team, and the career prep team have always been extremely helpful and responsive to any concerns, questions or needs. The general Slack community has also shown itself to be an invaluable resource and proves that even though Bloc is an online program, everyone involved truly is a community and is always there to support one another. I have learned a tremendous amount from Bloc, and I feel that when the time comes I will be totally prepared to enter the professional field of UX design. 

I am taking the design track at Bloc, and I am very happy so far!  The course is thorough, the team helps you stay on top of your work in a positive way, giving very specific and constructive critique on my work. 

They have a ton of extra resources that help you learn to intuitively think, talk, and feel like a more experienced designer, like daily design critiques and other "extracurricular classes" you can join.  

So far Bloc's Design Track has been a solid, professional, and thorough course.  Very happy I chose them for UX/UI design!

In regards to the negative Bloc review because of an Amazon gift card incentive, this doesn't even come from Bloc, it's an incentive given by the review site to anyone who reviews ANY of the schools - and there are about 40 of them.  Has nothing to do with Bloc, and it's a perfectly acceptable thing of them to do...reviews are a very helpful way to decide on a school, and they never asked the review to be positive.

The Bloc program states it's for beginners and even claims that if you have no previous knowledge of coding that you will learn the fundamentals. This is by no means a program for a beginner, let alone a novice. I personally alreadly had some previous experience with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and struggled to follow their very thin lesson plans. Regardless, I'm a good online learner. I've achieved two degrees already predominately that way, both BS degrees with one in Psychology and the other in Pre-Med. I have no problem learning from an online system, however, when the documentation and lesson plans are confusing and not very informational, the courses become a lot more work than neccessary. I learned more from searching information on my own than I did from this program, and when I googled for more information most of the time I found the exact same information Bloc had given me on a W3Schools page. They had literally copied over all the information, so I paid for something that I could have gotten for free. The other issue I had was the lack of clarity and no emphasis on real world coding practice . All of the assessments had you making things you wouldn't in the real world and the constanly used the term 'foo' to name variables. I made it all the way through the second module and determined this program with the lack of clarity and real world experience as well as the mentor's lack of help and tardiness made me determine this wasn't a program for me. It's a lot of money for copied over, rehased information. Do yourself a favor and try to do this on your own first or look into a more in depth program, because this program still has a lot of kinks to work out. It's unfortunate because I had a lot of high expectations of this program from reviews I've seen, but I never had the experience that others have stated they had. I thought it may have just been the first, second module and then I kept going on, wasting money, but really the whole program is just not up to par. I unfortunately don't see how anyone could be prepared after taking this program. 

 

My background is in knitwear design. After a few years of learning to code as a side hobby I decided that programming is something that I really enjoy and want to delve deeper into. I spent a couple years working through Code Acadamy, Skillcrush, Udemy, and LinkedIn courses. I was comfortable writing HTML, CSS, and creating static websites. I decided to make a career change and knew that I would need a mentor moving forward.

I contacted Bloc, explained that I would like to pursue frontend development and that I had an idea that I would like to develop. I was guided towards the Design track and ensured that the Design Track offered enough frontend skills to qualify me as a frontend developer while teaching me the design skills I would need to bring my idea to life.

I registered and cleared my calendar so that I could be fully invested in my learning. I was extremely dedicated and excited and saw the program through until the end.

Mentorship:

The experience with my mentor was great. We had weekly meetings where he answered questions, shared resources, and gave me feedback on my designs. I definitely picked up a few design skills and have gained a sharper eye for design.

Bloc:

The student dashboard is misleading. There are three modules to work through 1.Design Fundamentals, 2.Design Foundations, 3.Frontend Foundations. After you complete the modules there are 7 projects that are shown as disabled. As you complete each step of a project it is highlighted and checked. The final student portfolio counting as 1 of the 7 projects. The reality is that I only completed 3 projects (one being my portfolio). This was not because I fell behind, I was ahead of time throughout the course. There just simply is not time to complete the projects that are shown in the dashboard. I never did have time to even start my Capstone project (the initial reason for signing up for Bloc).

Curriculum:

My biggest take away after completing the Design Track is the Design Process. Bloc has taught me how to breakdown the steps of the design process for any project as well as how to present the problem and solution that my design is solving. The resource links for each lesson were often outdated and linked to non-proprietary content. I managed to develop my portfolio by taking Udemy courses and using the time with my mentor to answer questions.

Develpment:

The actual frontend development portion of the Design Track was a complete waste of time. To pass this section students are required to build a Bloc Jams music app. It was extremely difficult to learn as most of the code is given to you to copy and paste and you lose context as to how and why things are working. If students were instead reqired to use one of their own designs and write the code to get their own design functioning, so much could be gained from this portion of the course. sadly, that was not the case.

Structure:

There was a lot of change taking place during my time with Bloc. The way that students communicate and post questions was changed midway through the course causing a lot of confusion and students posting questions in the wrong place. We started the design program learning Sketch and midway through the program switched to Figma.

Career Support:

The career support team is very on point. They were quick to follow up and always available to share tips and resources. The problem is that I simply do not have the job skills necessary for frontend development. Bloc has since been aquired by Thinkful. A Thinkful representative reached out to me to address my concerns. I was given a $10 Amazon gift card and offered 4 sessions with a Bloc dev mentor.

After speaking with the dev mentor and sharing my goals I have been instructed to go and learn Vue.js and get back in touch. So I am once again taking Udemy courses trying to learn the frontend foundations that I need for an entry level job.

During my sign off meeting with Bloc I was told that my portfolio is alright - not great- but alright.

My honest review of my experience with Bloc:

Meh, it's alright - Not great - just alright.

Definitely not worth the time I invested or the $9k+ pricetag. Not even close.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is very honest review. I was pretty nervous to try Bloc, Im a social person and by nature not one who likes the idea of sitting on my computer all day or taking online classes (college really gives those a bad rep, I know). I did a TON of research on bootcamps because I had a friend who had taken one and got screwed (i.e. didn't learn anything) so I called every bootcamp I heard of or found to learn about what really went on - and surprisingly, many of the in-person bootcamps were low on the rankings. I have to say I was surprised, but after dong all that research I chose Bloc and it has been amazing, They really figured out how to make online learning stimulating and enjoyable. One of the things I was told but only realized how big of a difference it makes once I started is the fact that you have Mentors grading your work within 24 hours (which is amazing because the constant feedback keeps you motivated to get better) and the Slack Channel is SUPER active - which is super encouraging because its as if you have the teacher at your service whenever you have a question. Lastly, the curriculum is structured really well and gives you a really great understanding of the PROCESS behind UX Design -- which in my opinion pays off more than learning how to make "dope" and "minimalist" designs because it means you actually know what you're doing and can EXPLAIN  why you're doing it - something that's super important once you start to have clients who have no clue what a wireframe or user stories are and just "want an app asap". So yeah, who knew. 

 

I am enrolled in the Designer track at Bloc. When I graduated from Michigan State University this past May, I knew I wanted to dive into UX Research & Design as a career, but the program at MSU was newly being developed and left me missing a lot of crucial necessities to make it in the design world.

I'm a bit over. a month in, and I could not be happier that I decided to start this program. It is challenging, but I can really tell how much I am learning. Every day I am surprising myself - between finding interest in things like Typography, and overall just gravitating towards concepts I'd never considered studying - I am very happy with the way this program goes together.

My mentor is extremely helpful, and she really has helped me in assignments, in understanding concepts, and has helped me fuel my mind to think of ideas and other UX-related things I can do outside of Bloc. 

I'm really excited about how Bloc is and will continue to help me in the future. Every resource with this program holds value, and with every assignment I do, I can tell how much I really am learning.

Hi, I am a Bloc student who is currently 4 months into the Web Dev Track with Bloc and I am at about 66% completion. Learning a new skill is never easy, and I started Bloc with absolutely ZERO coding experience. So when you're told their curriculum can and will be diffcult, you can believe them! But with those challenges come learning oppertunities and chances to deepen your understanding. The curriculum thus far has been challenging but rewarding, and I've truly enjoyed learning an entirely new skill. As long as you are willing to commit the time and effort, I believe anyone can excel with Bloc. Even if you are struggling, you can feel confident that their mentors, techincal coaches, and success team will be ready to assist you along your journey.

Some facts: Completed software developer track from Sep 2017 to Jun 2018 (10 months) at a full-time (~50hrs/week) pace. Had 3 years of programming experience as a Mechanical Engineer prior to enrolling in Bloc.   Bloc provides you with a great structure to speed up your learning and progress towards a software engineering job. They are not going to teach you anything that you can't already find online for free. However, the value from Bloc comes from having a structured curriculum that lays down boundaries of how much learning is enough for a junior developer. In addition, Bloc mentors are a good resource to help you develop best practices and give you a glimpse of what software engineering looks like. The quality of mentors varied quite a bit. Some mentors were truly committed and invested in my success. Others, not so much. But, Bloc gives you the opportunity to switch mentors whenever you need to. Most importantly for me, was their tuition reimbursement guarantee. This is great peace of mind, specially since you are paying a substantial amount in hopes of a job. The newly-added certification process is great. It exposes you to the natural pressures and anxiety that comes with interviewing in a comfortable and friendly setting where everyone involved wants you to succeed. If you work hard during the program, you shouldn't have a difficult time completing the certification. After graduating, the career success team will help you and guide you through the job search process. They do a great job at giving specific feedback for your particular situation and needs.

When I signed up for Bloc's Front-End Dev Course, there were so many good reviews here on Course Report, I thought it must be due to having an amazing curriculum. Having been through the program, I think what's actually happening is that whenever they send feedback surveys to enrolled students they look for respondents who are having a 100% positive experience, and just invite those students to post here. 

Most of the students with whom I spoke in the program were disassistfied with Bloc, many quite upset at the poor program design. 

I recently finished the Bloc curriculum and am now setting up to look for work. I cannot believe that they expect us to feel ready to apply for jobs at this point in our development. 

The curriculum appears to be largely designed to ship you through as fast as possible so that you have a cookie-cutter portfolio (your portfolio will likely look exactly like what all the other students' portfolios look like) and try to rush you into a job. Hopefully, in the job, you can get paid to keep learning...

If you're already living in a major metropolis, this might work? Maybe? 

For those of us who are supposed to move to a metropolis, or find work remotely, it's completely unrealistic to think that the skill set we have at completion would be enticing to a potential employer.

Within the curriculum, they are too ambitious with building their own curriculum and don't spend enough time explaining basic concepts. For every idea that they mention, there's dozens that they just throw at you and expect you to "mind read" to understand. For example, the .prototype. and .__proto__. aspects of JS, the GET/POST aspects of HTML, what a Router is, and how to build an app. All of those ideas are just handed to you as a template, with little explanation, and then when you don't understand what's going on later... it must have been you, the student, who just didn't get it. 

The latter mentors I dealt with were okay, but I had some big issues with a few of them. One of them skipped meetings and blamed it on me, and another just dumped meeting with me as he was quitting the job. To the administration's credit, they tried to make amends, and I do appreciate that. The latter few mentors I had were quite good, although the weekly meetings were so short, we were always rushing to try to cover my questions.

What would be better is if they stopped trying to write their all of their own curriculum from scratch, utilized some quality textbooks to get some basics down, and then used the freed time that would allow to restructure their curriculum. They should instead focus on getting students to be able to conceptually repeat basic concepts without having to read instructions or follow step-by-step tutorials. They really need to hire someone with a master's degree in curriculum/instructional design.

Since finishing, I've had to buy three textbooks and three Udemy courses, just to put together my first self-created portfolio piece. It took an extra two months of full-time (40+ hrs/week) individual study just to put together a basic web app, and I'm not sure that Bloc's curriculum was all that helpful.

The only thing that really was helpful from Bloc was to get an idea into current practices, and get an overview of the topics we're supposed to cover. 

Is that worth the $8K/9K that they're asking. 

No. No, no, no, no, no.

Here's all you really need to know: If you're doing JavaScript for the front end, there's a few topics you need to cover.

Study basic JavaScript. Just get your hands on lots of textbooks and go through them from front to back.

Then, once you've got basic JavaScript down, there's a few routes you can take. There are different aspects to the "front end" of development, and they tend to fall into acronyms for whatever you specialize in.

MERN is a popular one. It stands for MongoDB (a database system that's fairly popular, as it doesn't use the complicated SQL language), Express.js (a framework that goes between Mongo and Node), React.js (a framework that is active within your browser, helping you see things quickly), and Node.js (the JavaScript-built framework that helps you interact with your database).

There's also PERN, where the P stands for PostgreSQL. This is gaining in popularity, as MongoDB is universally hated in the development world, despite its usefulness.

If you just go through Amazon text books, Udemy courses, Lynda.com, and then go to intermittent workshops every now and then to get feedback from experienced professionals, I honestly think you'd get the same result, but without having to shell out thousands of dollars. 

Another thing worth mentioning: The gold rush for web and front-end development is kind of over. The industry is now overloaded with cheap talent. You can still do it and get paid, but you won't find as many desperate clients as there were several years ago, when all this stuff was built.

If you're looking for a computer skill set that's extremely in demand, you might consider Python and TensorFlow, for their Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning potential. Many of the web coding Bootcamps are now consolidating in the web field, due to the change in the industry, and expanding into the data/machine-learning space.

Good luck!

Bloc was one of the best decisions I've ever made. They've taught me so much that I certainly wouldn't have thought to learn if I was self taught. Of course they go very in depth on using Figma, Sketch, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and so much more. The feedback I get on my submissions is invaluable, and being able to ask questions on Slack is a game changer. Trying to Google answers is a nightmare but having one on one help for 12 hours a day is making my education relatively low stress and fun! They've helped me grow as a designer and I have nothing negative to say. There's also a scholarship for women, so sign up ladies!!!