Bloc Student Lands Apprenticeship with Apple

After graduating college and working retail for Apple, Robert realized his real passion was for web/mobile design. Instead of going back to college, he decided to enroll in Bloc’s Designer Track where he learned the tools to succeed as a designer and developer. Since working for Apple retail, corporate has always been his dream goal and now he will get that experience as a paid Web Development Apprentice.

Tell me: what were you doing before Bloc?
I worked at three Apple stores over the course of five years as a Technical Expert. I also worked in inventory and sales.

Why did you end up taking Bloc?
I graduated with a Bachelors in Business Administration in spring of 2016 and soon after graduation I realized I had a passion for web/mobile design. Rather than go back to college, I looked into coding bootcamps because I wanted to be the one designing the user experience.

Eventually I came across Bloc and chatted with one of the student advisors for a year before finally enrolling to ensure I could commit fully to the program. Bloc definitely seemed like the best option for me due to it being fully online, having a mentor to work with 1-on-1, and being able to choose a specific category to focus on such as design.

How did taking Bloc impact your career and life?
This program is absolutely the reason I was prepared to apply and interview for the Career Experience (internal internship) with Apple. I honestly never felt more prepared and confident for an interview than I was for this because I could really tell that, one, I knew what I was talking about, and two, I felt passionate about everything regarding the role.

Since working for Apple retail, corporate has always been the dream goal and it’s crazy to think I’m going to get a taste of it. Even though this Career Experience is only 5 months, having this exposure and getting my foot in the door to potentially apply for a full time role is literally a dream come true. Even if I don’t end up in a full time position, having this opportunity to participate and have this Career Experience on my résumé will significantly help with any designer/developer opportunities moving forward.

What was your favorite part of the Bloc curriculum?
Working on the projects that tested my abilities to see something from concept turn into the final product.

Tell us about your favorite project. What was it and what was your process?
https://rwinterstein.com