Bloc

As a 54 year old female with a computer science degree programming in Cobol, I was ready to learn new skills and learn about web development.  I thought the Bloc online program was perfect for me as I am self-motivated and have good time management skills.  The program was perfect.  I have almost completed the program and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in web developement.  Not only did I learn front-end and back-end programming, Bloc also helped me with career development.  I learned how to network, how best ro apply to jobs and was given guidance with my resume and cover letter.  I had a terrific mentor who helped me along the way.  My success in the program is directly linked to my mentor.

I completed Bloc's UX/UI Design Course. I took roughly 9 months while still working fulltime, and had weekly calls with a mentor. I feel my mentor was more a guide to keep me on track and not feel alone while doing this online program than someone who helped me level up with my skillset, but you don't get to have everything in life and what I did get from the program I am beyond satisfied with.

My four star rating is because I struggled with learning HTML, CSS, github stuff alone on my couch, and found the online bootcamp with once per week 30 min calls with a mentor format impossible for my learning style when you don't have the words to be able to describe the problems you're having to get help.

Through what I learned at Bloc, networking with Bloc grads, networking like it was my job in my hometown going to 2-3 meetups most weeks for 5 months, and capitalizing on my soft skills, professional strengths, and experience in digital marketing and communications from previous jobs, I now work as a UX Architect at my dream company and couldn't like what I do or the organization I spend all my time at more. My success is due to leveraging past work experiences, committing myself to learning everything I could with Bloc, networking hustle, and good timing.

I found the people at Bloc I interacted with genuinely interested in answering my questions, helping me, and in my being successful after the program. Like most things in life, what you get out of it depends on what you put into it. I was able to change careers and am happy where I am at. For that I am thankful I invested in Bloc and in myself.

When I first decided to enroll at Bloc in 2015, there were a few things that convinced me to do so. Some of them were:

• Flexibility (online and could chose a slower pace)
• Course content 
• Price

However, sometime during the course, I felt a bit of bait-and-switch. When I enrolled, my course was called Full Stack Web Development Apprenticeship, and I was led to believe that I would learn both backend and frontend. And that by the end of the course I would receive assistance with my job search. I think at some point, there was some rebranding done at Bloc, and they changed things around. My course became the Rails Web Development course, now showcased as one of those courses you might take to learn new skills, not necessarily to switch careers. 

But let's leave that aside for now. The curriculum was actually pretty wide, and I genuinely learned a lot about Rails. There was quite a bit of handholding at first, but I genuinely felt that I learned by doing. My first mentor was fantastic, but at some point he was moved to a different position, and I had to change my mentor. My second one was still helpful, but lacked a bit in mentorship. 

Once the course was done, I started applying to multiple jobs and apprenticeships. I quickly realized that I was very unprepared for the real world, and then I realized there was no way I could land a job after just taking this course. I reached out to Bloc, and I have to give credit where credit is due. Prachi from Bloc called me and she listened to what I had to say. They extended my course a few weeks to meet a few more times with my mentor. Courtland also did a couple mock interviews with me, and I think he realized that I had many weak spots. He also sent me a book for free to help me out with algorithms. 

At the end, I landed the best job I ever had, but it is not in web dev and it has nothing to do with taking Bloc's course. All I can say that the stars sort of lined up for me, and all in all, I'm glad I took a year off to study because it led me to where I'm at now.

After months of researching coding bootcamps, I chose Bloc for the 1 to 1 mentorship, commitment to job placement, and because it’s remote (I knew I would move to a new city during the program). I'm 3 weeks away from completing the Part Time Web Developer Track and I can say that I'm very happy with my experience at Bloc.

Mentors: I meet with a mentor twice a week for about 30 minutes. I have had 3 different mentors and each one has taught me a lot about programming and what it's like to work as a developer. Because of the curriculum and my mentors, I have learned more in 6 months than I have over the last 4 years of trying to learn on my own.

Curriculum: Bloc's curriculum starts by holding your hand and showing you how to make a working thing from thin air. It's very exciting to publish the first project. As time goes one, the curriculum gives you some guidance but it's up to you to solve the problems. I was very impressed with the curriculum.

Job Placement: Because of Bloc’s tuition reimbursement guarantee, I knew they had a vested interested in me getting a role as a developer. I just started applying for jobs so I can’t comment on receiving a developer role but, because of the career preparation sprinkled throughout the entire program, I feel prepared to apply and interview. More importantly, I feel confident that I can actively and passively look for developer jobs throughout my career.

Time Commitment: Bloc suggests to dedicate 12-20 hrs per week. In order to dedicate 20 hours a week and keep my current job, I cut down on many social engagements. I was okay doing this but it is something to think about before enrolling in any bootcamp.

Portfolio and Projects: By the end of the program, I’ll have a rockin’ personal website and 9 projects to show off my skills in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, AngularJS, Firebase, a couple other minor libraries, Ruby on Rails, and a whole lot of Ruby gems.

Remote Bootcamp: Working with a remote mentor was great. We shared screens, communicated face to face, and took control of each other’s mouse when necessary. Bloc does encourage you to attend meetups and conferences in person to network and learn from others in person.

Because of Bloc, I have learned more about programming than any other method I tried on my own and I feel prepared to search for developer roles. I recommend enrolling in Bloc’s Part Time Developer Track to anyone who wants to learn how to program and work as a developer in a relatively short period.

I had been trying to learn JavaScript since 2009 before I enrolled in Bloc in 2015. I attemped to learn from books, blogs, both written and video tutorials, and pairing with professional engineers, but all lead to a steep learning curve with no measurable results. I had learned Rails during 10 weeks of project-based pairing in 2013, so I was looking for a similar experience to learn JavaScript (and Angular.js), and found exactly what I needed with Bloc. The program exceeded my expectations, and I still use all the skills I learned during that program in my job today as a product designer and front-end developer. I don't code full-time, but I regularly review PRs to our various code bases, can understand technical tradeoffs during implementation discussions, can debug code on my own, and can even branch features and make my own small contributions for UI updates. Upon finishing Bloc, I even had a full-time job offer as an Angular developer, although in the end I decided I didn't want to switch from Design to Engineering. That said, I would have never had the choice if it wasn't for Bloc.

My company had a need for a custom application that would tie directly to our existing Accounting software.  We researched using outside developers and determined that it would be less expensive and faster for me to learn the technologies required than it would be to teach the outside developers the intricacies of our industry.  Being able to work with my Mentor to develop my application as part of my capstone requirement for my course meant that I had a seasoned developer helping me develop the app my company required while I learned the languages cutting down the overall time of development even more.  All in all I was able to develop a working application and learn new skills with this course.  Couldn't have worked out better for me. 

I also took the Android developers course and used this course to develop a mobile version of our custom application.

I started the Designer Track Apprenticeship back in January. It has been an incredible journey so far and I would recommend anyone interested in an online design program give Bloc serious consideration. Choosing to join a bootcamp program should not be taken lightly and I encourage anyone who is thinking about doing so really weigh their options carefully to make sure A) This is something they are serious about pursuing and B) Whatever option they pick best suits their needs. It may be Bloc, it may be something else do right by yourself all I can say is that I have had a fantastic experience thus far. 

To try and keep this brief by highlighting two of key examples as to why I am so impressed with Bloc:

1. Mentorship/Support-My mentor is NOT 24/7. BUT my mentor has been invaluable in walking me through every stage of the program and when I couldn't reach him for an immediate answer on something I've been able get questions answered and feedback via the program director, other mentors and fellow students in the Slack/FB Community. 
   When I was getting crushed by the demands of the 9-month pace (They say it is 25-hours a week of work but it was closer to 40 for me) and my current job or when I had a medical issue that I thought was going to force me to drop out the Student Success team went above and beyond in accommodating me. Bloc is a thriving and supportive community beyond being a program. 
  Heck, when I was considering between Bloc and another program I reached out to a Bloc alum on my own and she was so giving and so positive and candid about her experience that it really sealed the deal. 

2. Bloc is a Work in Progress- The curriculum has changed noticeably since I started back in January. There've been additions, and some major changes in the order of sections. There is one section that is being updated just because the tools changed a month or so ago. So things are constantly shifting and I appreciate that to no end. The team at Bloc is constantly assessing feedback from current students and alums and making changes and adjustments. So no, the program is not perfect. The curriculum is not perfect. But it is constantly evolving and improving and we are a major part in that. 

TL;DR - Do your due diligence on if the field is right for you. Spend the time researching all your options and find the right one for you. If you decide on Bloc, know it is challenging but know that you are supported by a great staff and community who will go out of their way for you. 

Bloc has a great course for web development, and i have really learned alot since joining the program. I went in already knowing c++ which made the course even easier to learn, but i think their teaching method is great. They have you do projects while teaching you the materal, so that you know how to implement and try out the information taught which makes it stick to my brain. They also provide many refrence material for eveything new they teach so that i can look up and learn more about what is being taught if i choose to have a better understanding on the material. Bloc also provides a mentor to help with any problems and qustions needing answers. All in all, i have no problems at Bloc, and staying on track isnt all that difficult. I can't wait for more to come.

I am in my second month of the part time Software Developer Track program (20-25 hrs/week).

At this pace, I meet with a mentor twice a week for about 1/2 hour via Screenhero (an app where you can make phone calls and also share your screen with the person you are connected with).

So far I am very happy with the Bloc Curriculum.  They split up the program into Modules. Throughout each module there are quizzes to test your knowledge, and at the end of each module you have to pass an assessment (which is like a mock interview via google video chat) to make sure you have a good enough understanding of the content to move onto the next module. 

The first module is basically online tutorials to learn the very basic concepts of HTML, CSS, Javascript, Git, and GitHub (great for someone like me who had close to zero experience with coding!)  It is understandable why they would have you go through these tutorials on your own to learn the very basics. You still meet with your mentor during this time, take quizzes, and take the assessment at the end.

I have a great mentor that is consistent and helpful.  The mentor piece of Bloc's curriculum is a huge part of why I feel like I am learning so well.  If I am stuck, he helps me by guiding me with questions to help me solve a problem, and doesn't just give me the answer.  

Your mentor has a good understanding of Bloc's curriculum, how it all works, etc. So they are a great help to getting everything set up, and beyond that, knowing how you are doing.  They should have a good idea of your strengths and weaknesses and get you prepared for your assessments so you can feel confident going into them.

Overall I am very happy with Bloc!  It is a big time commitment, so make sure you actually have the time and motivation to work on it for the time you need to, sometimes more.

My previous full-time job was completely unrelated to programming. I had a few hobbies that surrounded computers (gaming, computer building) and I had spent some previous time with self study using free online resources and taking a couple community college CS courses. I had tried teaching myself C++ as a young teen and quickly realized how difficult that was, thus abandoning my early CS career. My current job was very stressful with long hours and no appreciation and little to show for it. So I can to the conclusion something had to be done and decided to look back at something that had interested me enough to attempt self learning with C++.

The Course: 
I spent 12 months in the Full Stack Web Developer course. The material was broad and deep. Their curriculum spans a huge range of topics and they push you in their projects to dig deeper. They help you develop a foundation and ensure you cover the basics, but very soon you will move past that as you attempt to put together real projects. It is in those projects where most of the learning takes place. Problem solving, debugging, and just trying stuff out. These projects were great in that they were advanced enough to showcase to potential employers and to push you to learn new things, but not so advanced that it was too challenging to complete in the necessary time frame. Most of the resources were developed in house and would only sometimes refer to outside resources for their course content.

To really excel in this course, you must have great discipline and self motivation. It is an online bootcamp with only occasional meetings with a mentor to push you along. You must come with the desire to move forward and persevere or you will not make it a success. I felt that I was pretty close to where I needed to be to land a job after completion. I only required a little bit longer in the job prep area to hone my interview skills and touch up on topics I was lacking.

Mentors: 
The course was broken into two sections, front end and back end. I had a different mentor for each section. For the back end section I had a ruby expert that had spent a large portion of his career in ruby and was very proficient. When it came to being a mentor however, I felt that I was spending too much money for the valuing I was receiving. He did not come to meetings with anything prepared and relied on me asking questions. This was not a good thing as I did not know what I did not know and was relying on him to help guide me along, which is one of the biggest advantages of having a mentor. He would also be unable to answer some questions where I wanted to do something in Rails that was, I guess, uncommon. I felt that it was a little weird for him to not have any idea about SQL for example. I did end up complaining about him after that section finished and Bloc offered me attention time in the course as a form of compensation. This was not sufficient but it was at least something.

For the second portion of the course, front end, I was matched with a more design oriented mentor. She was very much the opposite of my first mentor and probably the best mentor I’ve had. She came to all meetings with her own agenda before getting to any questions I had. I learned a great deal from her and she was always available to assist with questions or general advice. She was much younger and less experienced than my previous mentors, but she seemed to care more and be more in touch with the general industry. Her advice was much more meaningful in my eventual job search and employment than my previous mentors. She was also very involved, or at least had the knowledge, of how Bloc was structured and was able to keep me in tuned to the course and how the projects were designed to be approached. This helped ensure I was on topic and learning the things I should to make myself the most employable I could. Having the right mentor for you is key for these types of programs.

Job assistance: 
Bloc heavily advertises their career assistance before you join, however, overall I felt this to be lacking at the time of taking the course. I will say that they were in the process of changing a few things as I finished so I did not get the full benefit, though the items that were advertised at the beginning were still lacking. My assistance amounted to a couple technical mock interviews. While super helpful, I did not receive much more than this. I was anticipating a portfolio review, Linkedin review, other online presence reviews, and other tangible guidance. They did have written course guidance on the steps to prepping yourself for the job hunt, but that was all solo work with no overview from a trained professional as was advertised. This was a huge disappointment. Also, there was no follow up after I finished my mentor sessions. They did not check on me, offer me any help, or even respond with the promised T-shirt after I completed their exit survey. It was almost like, ‘OK, you’re done, c-ya’. This was absolutely terrible customer service as this is now the last thing I remember from them.

Overall:
This course was decent. It is very expensive and the content is pretty good. I would say that if you get a great mentor and connect with them, then it could be worth the cost, however, if you do not or even just get a mediocre mentor, it is completely not worth it. I would recommend taking freecodecamp and if you feel you need a mentor, there is a website that offer paid time with a professional where you can get that mentor-ship help, but only as you need it and save a huge amount of money. As described above, my lasting impressions of Bloc are sub-par in consideration of the cost and promises, with the except of my second mentor.