Bloc

Im currently enrolled in the UX Design track, I  am scheduled to complete the program February 2018. I sincerely love this program and my mentor is great.

Pros:
Love how flexible the program is. You are able to adjust the pace as well to be able to work a full time job or do the full time course and finish faster
Easy to read checkpoints.I love how the program is allows you to read the lesson, do hands on work and then submit an assignment. So your not just reading and getting bored.
Mentors are awesome.  My mentor Zach is awesome, he is so thorough when we go through the checkpoints together. He gives me positive feedback as well as critique my work to make it better. He also makes sure that all my questions are answered and I'm not confused about anything. Also having the meeting with the mentor keeps you on track and keeps me motivated not to slack off because I know I have my meeting coming up.
Support is always available. When enrolling you will have access to slack which is like one big chatroom full of help.  So if you message your mentor and they aren't available .Ask your question on Slack and someone always answers rather quickly.
Tuition reimbursement guarantee. I love that if I don't find a PAYING position within 6 months of graduating from Bloc , that they will refund my entire tuition. Plus they say they have never had to do that so that just lets me know that the curriculum is awesome. AND IT IS, I'm telling you its great.
I feel like I'm learning so much and Im only a month in. its awesome

Cons
there aren't really any cons except the normal online environment and trying not to procrastinate

Make sure you have time to study and really absorb the material. Try not to be distracted.The program is what you make it. so if you slack off .you can't really blame anyone but yourself because bloc makes sure you. Im still pretty early in the curriculum so I'm not sure about the job support yet but  I will write another review when I complete the program.

**Disclaimer - I have been asked to write a review on Bloc, but I am not getting any particular advantage from doing so at this moment. I have given them positive feedback in the past, which may have prompted them to ask me to write a review, but these are my genuine opinions and experiences thus far. I get the feeling that my experiences are not atypical though.

My Context

• I am about 3 months into the program at this time on a 12 month track.
• I have a full-time job, and I was looking for a way to keep working and break into the field of web development.
• I did not want to pay an exorbitant amount of money.
• I wanted flexibility built into the program to accomodate my current living situation.
• My highest priority was to find a program that would set me up for success when applying for jobs in web development.
• I had a little bit of experience in JS and HTML/CSS through a couple of books and online tutorials. Not enough experience that would qualify me as a 'coder' by any means.

Overall Experience

• The overall experience has been great so far. I am constantly learning, and I would have had a significantly harder time learning all of this by myself from a book.

Instructors

• They let you pick your mentor from long list with personal bios as well as their proficiencies
• My mentor is great. He answers questions, and we go through code and concepts via screen sharing all the time. If I get stuck, he helps me understand the root of the issue. Bloc is of the mentality to teach a person how to fish camp.
• If you don't jive with your mentor, for whatever reason, you can always get another one. This flexibility is nice.

Curriculum

• It seems to me that they put a lot of thought into the sequence and the content of the curriculum. It all flows pretty naturally, and I have not felt overwhelmed at any one point with completely new concepts.
• Everything is project based, which is totally the way to go. I am a learn-by-doing kind of person, so this works perfectly for me. Bloc does not follow an academic approach (thankfully) in which they teach you a ton of theory, and then you get some chances to put that theory into practice later. Bloc is more akin to a trade-school I would say (or at least that is how I describe this program to my friends and family)
• I've had my brother (who is a software engineer) and a couple of my coder friends look through the curriculum before I signed up. They gave their thumbs up, and I have not been disappointed so far.

Job Assistance

• This is the once category that I have the least amount to write about so far. I am only 25% of the way through the program.
• What I can say though, is that they interweave job workshop checkpoints throughout the program to get you thinking/learning early about job prospects. I am a big fan of this approach so far.
• My mentor (and every other mentor I saw on the list) has been in the industry for many many years. My mentor has already given me advice on how to break into the industry.
• Bloc has you set up a portfolio as part of the curriculum. I can't emphasize enough how much I like that part of the program, since your portfolio (as I surmised from my brother and friends) is one of the key elements in your job application.

In conclusion, based on my experiences thus far, I would recommend this program to anyone who wants to break into the field at their own pace. This is not one of those 9 week crazy bootcamps that charge you $15 grand and try to cram as much knowledge as possible. This kind of bootcamp is well suited for my needs, and I think it is priced right.

After finishing the Bloc program and landing a job with a great startup, I would say Bloc is probably one of the best choices that exist for a software developer bootcamp. The curriculum is solid, and since it focuses on Ruby on Rails and JavaScript, you're going to come out with knowledge that is relevant for the current job market. Most of my mentors were a huge help and really made me feel like Bloc was worth every penny, but I did have one mentor for a portion of the program that was underwhelming. Bloc doesn't have a placement program or much of an established network when it comes to the job search, but they do equip you with the tools to make sure you're able to land an interview. Overall I would say it's definitely worth it, and if you get a mentor that just isn't a great fit, request a new one sooner than later.

Having to check-in with a mentor on a weekly basis really helped me to stay on track and push through when I'm feeling lazy. My mentor was also a great support system for me, he pushed me to get feedback from our online community and go out to the real world to join meetups. Now I feel much more comfortable seeking and giving feedback to other designers and I know what type of feedback people are looking for. The program is well paced, I did it while I was working full-time. It is a great way to fast-track your learning in a systematic way.

I enrolled in Bloc as a Full Time Designer Track student and loved every second of it.  My job, at the time, was such that I could handle a 40 hour a week commitment to doing the Bloc work, but when life threw a wrench at me and I had to pick up an extra 15 hours of work a week, Bloc made it super easy for me to adjust my pacing with no repercussions.  I got an awesome foundation of UX/UI and Frontend principles, got to work on developing assets for some cool projects that formulated my portfolio in the end. Prior to Bloc, I would not have been able to put together a UX portfolio coded by hand.  Now I have a fully-coded portfolio, and was given amazing career support that led to me getting a job with a startup in Los Angeles, alongside advice on how to negotiate for a higher salary than the one initially offered (which, as a woman who had NEVER negotiated her salary before, was not only super helpful but incredibly empowering and it's something I'll continue to do in the future)!  I would definitely recommend Bloc to anyone, especially career changers, who know they have the drive and the passion, and just need a regimented curriculum to help them realize their career aspirations. 

Bloc is an intensive and intense program especially if you are full time employed. Curriculum is always up to date and mentors are very knowlegable. I chose the part time path and now I'm almost at the end of the program. I learn much more than what I expected at the beginning and I can build fully working apps totally on my own. Mentorship is great and I think that's the key of success. I suggest Bloc to anyone who is highly motivated in starting a highly satisfing career.

The Bloc curriculum for web development is divided up into modules, a set of projects, and career preparation which are estimated at about six months of work. So far I've completed about 20% of the curriculum so please keep in mind that the review is for that, not the entire course

The pluses:

(1) Since it's a home study course, the work can be done on your own time and your own schedule.

(2) It's not easy. I've had previous experience with programming and web development, yet am being challenged and am learning quite a bit.

(3) Curriculum is further subdivided into "checkpoints" where you're required to complete a specific task. The combination of typing in code you're given plus having to look for your own solutions works for me. There have been some videos too, but they've mostly been short and to the point. 

 (4) Decent variety. The coursework so far has introduced source control through Git, HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript, plus doing exercises and tutorials at different sites like codewars and codeschool. 

(5) Mentor. It definitely helps to have someone there that you're accountable to.

(6)  Bloc staff has been courteous and prompt in their replies. 

The (possible) minuses:

(1) None for me personally.

(2) The curriculum is very challenging, so those who have no experience with programming or web development may need to slow down and get help from their mentor to absorb the material.

(3) You need to be self-motivated, but that's always been true in a home study course.

I have had a successful career in the Aerospace industry and have always had many web startup ideas in my head, but never took the time to learn to code. Well, I passed my 40th birthday and thought that I'm not getting any younger or that there would never be the right time to plan with family. So after previous failed attempts to learn to code, I finally took the plunge and applied to Bloc's Part-Time Web Development Track program at end of 2016.

Now, I'm asking myself, why I didn't start earlier! I've always been a life long learner, with BS Mechanical Engineering and MBA, but I have learned so much! I have enjoyed my mentors as they have provided startup perspectives by helping me go beyond the curriculum to understand how everything relates to a founder assembling a team and launching a product.

Overall, this is the best decision and I look forward to my future endeavors as I focus on launching my startup.