Hi, I’m Elle! I work as a product designer at Getaround and as an industry mentor here at Pathrise. I help our fellows land great jobs in product design through technical workshops and 1-on-1s. Check out my article where I compare Bloc vs Udacity.
- Similarities and differences between Bloc vs Udacity
- Topics offered on Bloc vs Udacity
- Prices for Bloc vs Udacity
- Ratings and reviews of Bloc vs Udacity
- Alternatives to Bloc vs Udacity
- How do Bloc and Udacity compare to Pathrise?
Similarities and differences between Bloc and Udacity
Bloc and Udacity both offer courses in web design and web development, but Udacity also covers many other subjects.
Similarities
- Both programs are remote and self-paced.
- In addition, students work 1-on-1 with mentors.
- Bloc & Udacity are open to anyone with no formal admission process.
- Plus, both programs feature a hands-on web dev/design curriculum where students build portfolio projects.
- Finally, students who graduate from Bloc and Udacity both receive certificates that they can add to their resumes and LinkedIn portfolios
Differences
- Bloc only offers programs in web development and UX design. However, Udacity offers courses in dozens of other tech subjects like data science and digital marketing, often collaborating with big companies like Google on practical courses that teach very specific tech topics.
- Moreover, Bloc can be more intensive, with online courses taking 720-864 hours to complete. Most students finish the self-paced curriculum in 8 months with 15-25 hours of work per week. If you enroll in an Udacity nanodegree, you should only expect to work 5-10 hours per week for 3-7 months.
- Students in Bloc programs have a job guarantee and more scholarship opportunities.
- Udacity offers free and lower-cost courses, but students pay upfront.
Topics offered by Bloc and Udacity
Both Bloc and Udacity offer courses that cover the following topics:
- Web development
- Web design
Udacity teaches a wider variety of tech topics, including:
- Data science
- Digital marketing
- Product management
- Software engineering
- Data analytics
- Machine learning
- Artificial intelligence
- Business analytics
- Interviewing skills
Prices for Bloc and Udacity
Tuition for Bloc’s web dev track is $8,500 and students in the design track pay $9,500. While loans are available through Skills Fund, students can also choose to pay with interest-free monthly payments. In addition, students who pay upfront get a $1,000 discount. Most people can finish the program working 15-25 hours per week for 8 months. But, students who don’t finish in under 8 months must pay an additional $1,200 per month for an extension. Scholarships are also available to women, veterans, and people from communities underrepresented in tech.
Udacity offers both free and paid options, with courses lasting from just a few days to 7+ months. While lots of their introductory courses cost nothing, their more popular and comprehensive “nanodegree” programs range in cost from $599 to $1,199. Students can pay upfront, in monthly installments, or with loans. Nanodegree courses last 4-7 months with 5-10 hours of work per week. The curriculum is hands-on as students build portfolios projects throughout the course. Students also work with both a career coach and a technical mentor.
Ratings and reviews of Bloc and Udacity
Reviews for Bloc are mostly positive. They were rated the #1 bootcamp on Switchup, where the web dev and web design programs hold a 4.72/5 star rating. While they also hold a 4.62/5 star rating on Course Report, some grads were disappointed with limited mentoring opportunities and occasional staff changes. Some students also felt they didn’t have enough time to complete the program in 8 months and needed to pay extra tuition. Others were frustrated that the curriculum did not cover concepts with as much depth as they should have, sometimes having to supplement the curriculum with free online learning platforms Codecademy.
Udacity also holds similarly positive reviews. They have a 4.62/5 star rating on Switchup and a 4.73/5 star rating Course Report. Grads appreciated that the remote courses were still hands-on, describing nanodegree programs as “very practical” programs that teach real-world career skills that students “can immediately apply in the job search.” However, some reviewers were concerned that all the new courses being uploaded may lower course quality.
On the whole though, grads were impressed with Udacity’s flexible yet hands-on courses offered at affordable prices.
Alternatives to Bloc and Udacity
If you decide not to enroll in Bloc or Udacity, you might want to look into one of the alternative resources and bootcamps below instead:
- Aspiring web designers and software engineers can check out Kenzie Academy, a full-time tech bootcamp that offers in-person and online courses. Like Udacity and Bloc, their bootcamp includes opportunities for portfolio building and mentoring. Learn more about Kenzie Academy in our review.
- People interested in self-paced learning with mentoring can look into Springboard. Students in their tech career tracks build 14 portfolio projects with weekly mentorship meetings, similar to Udacity’s nanodegree program. They offer a job guarantee like Bloc, so if grads don’t land a great job after 6 months, they get a full refund. Learn more about Springboard in our review.
- Aspiring software engineers and web developers can also consider CodeX Academy, a self-paced coding bootcamp with mentorship opportunities. Learn more about CodeX Academy in our review.
- If you’re seeking an online product design bootcamp with both self-guided and instructor-led options, check out DesignerUp. Read about DesignerUp in our program review.
- Similarly, Designlab is an online bootcamp that teaches people the necessary skills to land a job as an entry level UX designer. See if Designlab matches your goals in our review.
- BrainStation is a popular bootcamp with tracks in web development, UX design, data science, marketing, and product management. Like Bloc and Udacity’s nanodegree courses, BrainStation features project-based learning and 1-on-1 feedback.
- People seeking UX design, digital marketing, sales, or business development courses can look into GrowthX Academy. The program includes 1-on-1 mentoring with hands-on assignments.
More alternatives
- The online learning platform Skillshare hosts 19,000+ free and paid courses in a wide variety of tech topics, including web dev/design. The program is self-paced and flexible.
- Similarly, the massive online learning platform Udemy hosts 100k+ courses on both tech and humanities topics. Their courses are self-paced and mostly consist of video lectures, with a much wider selection of course topics than even Udacity.
- Another low cost coding resource, Codecademy teaches students web development, with dozens of programming languages. Their program is also hands-on, with lots of assignments and projects. Courses are free, with a $20-$40 a month membership option for increased course options and support. Learn more about Codecademy in our review.
- The online platform Coursera hosts thousands of online courses on tech topics like web development, UX design, software engineering, data science, and more.
- Likewise, GW Bootcamps teaches courses in web dev, data science, marketing, and UX design. Or check out Avocademy, which is an online design bootcamp that helps students build up their portfolios. DevPoint Labs and Perpetual Education also have courses in web dev.
- You can also check out Boise CodeWorks, which is a full-time, in-person coding bootcamp.
- Similarly, edX is an online learning platform that hosts university courses. Their self-paced courses come from top schools like Harvard as well as big tech companies like Microsoft, similar to Udacity. They cover a variety of tech topics, including web development and web design. Learn more about edX in our review.
How do Bloc and Udacity compare to Pathrise?
Bloc and Udacity offer courses that teach people the skills they need to launch a career in tech. While both programs offer online and self-paced courses in web development and web design, Udacity covers a much wider range of courses, including data science, software engineering, digital marketing, data analytics, and more.
Pathrise is a full service organization that helps with all phases of the job search. Fellows in our program work 1-on-1 with mentors on their resume, LinkedIn, and portfolio optimization, reverse recruiting and cold emailing, behavioral and technical interview prep, salary negotiation, and much more. Our mentors have experience on both sides of the hiring table and have already helped 1,000+ people land great tech jobs.
Pathrise optimizes the job search through 1-on-1 mentoring and training. While Udacity and Bloc students usually start with no experience, fellows in our program should have some background in their chosen field so that they can fully benefit from our technical workshops. We have tracks in software engineering, product design, data science, digital marketing, sales, product management, strategy, and ops. The Pathrise income share agreement (ISA) means that fellows don’t pay anything until they land a job they love and start working. We never require any upfront payments.
Pathrise is a career accelerator that helps people land their dream job in tech. With our tips and guidance, fellows have seen their interview scores double and their application responses triple. If you would like to work with any of our mentors to land your dream job sooner, become a Pathrise fellow.
Apply today.
