Lucian studied illustration in college, but his first job out of school was scanning land title deeds and creating digital images. (Let’s just say, it wasn’t his dream job!) He explored different career paths and even took a position as an English teacher in South Korea.

Eager to expand his design skill set, Lucian realized it was time to learn design in a flexible, remote environment with Bloc’s Designer Track. See why Lucian chose Bloc and learn about his new job as a Junior Product Designer at SalesLoft in Atlanta!

Tell us: what were you doing before Bloc?

I studied illustration in college, but I did not work in a related industry straight out of school (imagine that!). My first full-time job was scanning land title deeds and creating digital images of them. After being laid off when the company downsized, I had a brief stint working at a dry cleaning shop. I then moved to South Korea where I taught English for several years. I co-developed a mobile game (Slime-Ball-Istic Mr. Missile) on the side with a friend, as I also did freelance illustration on and off since graduating college. I moved back to the U.S., but when I couldn’t find work I decided to enroll in Bloc.

What made you decide to enroll at Bloc specifically?

I did research on different bootcamps, and Bloc was attractive to me for a few reasons. If I couldn’t get a job within six months, the money-back guarantee definitely made me feel better about the price of tuition. The price was also lower than on-site bootcamps I found in my city (Atlanta, Georgia). Since the program is remote, I could also save time and money without a commute. I liked that the program was self-paced, and the course was highly-rated on Course Report and SwitchUp.

Describe your learning experience. Is the program what you expected?

I thought the curriculum at Bloc was great. There were moments when I didn’t know exactly what to do, and it was a bit challenging not having an instructor or someone I could ask for an immediate answer. However, I felt that I learned a lot from the instructors, video classes, and mentor sessions. The Slack channels were also helpful, especially for questions about coding.

How was your mentor relationship beneficial to your learning experience?

I had two mentors during my time at Bloc because one mentor only handled the first module. I spent more time with my second mentor and really appreciated that relationship. He was always prepared for our meetings as he would be aware of projects/assignments I had completed since our last meeting. He regularly sent me helpful and relevant articles and web resources related to different questions I had. He provided great suggestions and insight for my projects and definitely helped me to be more successful than I could have been on my own.

What was your favorite aspect about the program?

The longer projects for the UX Intensive module and Solo Project were perhaps my favorite aspect. The opportunity to repeat techniques I had learned and put them into practice was very helpful. It was rewarding to see all of the steps of the design process culminate into a large project. Another aspect I enjoyed was the video sessions — I generally felt I learned a lot from these.

Describe your new job!

I am a Junior Product Designer at a mid-sized company called SalesLoft. I started just about a month ago, so I am still very new. Thus far, I have been shadowing our other designers, each of whom is assigned to a particular product team within our company. SalesLoft creates and sells software to help salespeople engage with customers in an authentic, personal way. Each product team handles a particular surface (ie: phone dialer, email composer, etc). Each team includes a team manager, a product manager/owner, a few full-stack engineers, a UI engineer, and a product designer. Product designers work closely with the product managers to understand the new features to be designed. We also work closely with UI engineers to review their coded versions of designs we make. We work on Macs and use Sketch.

Do you have any advice for potential Bloc students?

Though I have a background in visual arts (illustration), I didn’t have any “real” industry experience. I also graduated college many years ago (more than I care to admit). However, I think working in tech is a great career choice, and I am very happy about where I am now after my months of studying at Bloc.

I believe the program has prepared and equipped me to enter a new career, and I am very grateful for it. I would recommend that anyone considering Bloc do their homework researching bootcamps or other avenues of education and that they soberly consider if UX design (or development) is a good fit for them. A lot of time and hard work is required, so it is not for the faint of heart. But I believe it is worth it for someone who is committed and is otherwise a good fit for the tech industry. Good luck!