Hi, I’m Sam! I have been a product manager for years. Now, I work as an industry mentor for the product, strategy, and operations track at Pathrise. I help people land their dream job through workshops and 1-on-1 mentorship. Check out my review of RocketBlocks to learn about their program, including costs and student reviews.
- What does RocketBlocks do?
- Who is RocketBlocks for?
- What does RocketBlocks cost?
- Ratings and reviews of RocketBlocks
- Alternatives to RocketBlocks
- How does RocketBlocks compare to Pathrise?
What does RocketBlocks do?
RocketBlocks is an online interview preparation platform for aspiring product managers, marketers, consultants, and business operations professionals. They offer technical drills, 1-on-1 coaching, and technical lessons to help people land their dream job.
Their “drill” challenges mirror real technical interview questions. Users drill case studies to quickly solve math problems, analyze graphs, structure their responses, and communicate solutions to interviewers under pressure. Product management drills include analytical questions from executional root-cause analyses (ie DAU drop), market opportunity estimation, and full product cases. Aspiring product managers also familiarize themselves with key technical product vocabulary like APIs, databases, and tech stacks. The marketing drills include go-to market questions, growth strategy challenges, PS score analyses, as well as conversation-rate problems based on marketing campaign data. Aspiring marketers also practice improving copy on a homepage, promoting a new feature launch, and other practical digital marketing skills.
The platform’s career coaches come from top tech companies like Google, Amazon, Uber and more. Coaches can help with both technical challenges and soft professional skills like self-promotion. Users continue to meet virtually with career coaches for as long as they need help.
The “concept reviews” cover key product management and marketing concepts that help job seekers prepare for technical interviews as well as their new careers. Rather than lectures, the technical curriculum consists mostly of written articles, worksheets, and hands-on exercises. Product management concept reviews cover modern APIs, tech stacks, skeuomorphism, estimation interview questions, bundling vs. unbundling, and much more. The marketing curriculum focuses on product positioning, user funnels, and other digital marketing fundamentals that tend to come up in interviews. Aspiring marketers also learn to quickly interpret charts and data, a skill that sharpens both interview performance and marketing communication.
Who is RocketBlocks for?
Professionals and recent grads who want to land a non-coding role in tech could be a good fit for RocketBlocks. Job seekers looking for a mix of both technical training and 1-on-1 coaching could be a good match as well. People seeking extensive technical interview practice, with both coaches and online drills, may also benefit from the program.
What does RocketBlocks cost? How much work is involved?
The basic monthly subscription costs $35 per month and includes unlimited drills as well as all conceptual reviews. A yearly subscription is also available for $155. However, coaching costs $200 per hour and is not included in the subscription costs.
Ratings and reviews
As a relatively new platform, RocketBlocks does not have many reviews. However, they host over 40 verified testimonials on their own website. Their program has also been featured on MIT’s career development website. One user on WallStreetOasis described the drills as “very interesting because they come up with a completely new structure every time.” The user felt “the math practice is very helpful”, but warned about bugs, commenting that “the system sometimes tells you your answer was incorrect, even though it was correct. Also, sometimes the frameworks don’t match up with the case provided.”
An MBA career coach on Quora said he recommended RocketBlocks to his students. He was confident that the “drills and tips build critical skills which make learning to case more efficient and provide an excellent supplement to the mock casing we do on campus.” Another user on Quora thought that the technical curriculum was effective for math practice and for learning to make quick graph inferences, but they warned that the program was “less effective when it comes to practicing the other aspects of the case interview that are not related to math.” On the whole though, most users seem satisfied with the affordable interview practice, coaching, and technical curriculum for non-coders.
Alternatives to RocketBlocks
If you choose not to work with RocketBlocks, there are still a number of alternative career accelerators and resources that can help you start a career in tech.
- Another career accelerator with 1-on-1 coaching is The Job Sauce. However, instead of specializing in technical training like RocketBlocks, The Job Sauce offers extensive resume rewrites with a professional writer familiar with the job seeker’s industry and desired role.
- People seeking non-coding roles can check out the career accelerator Praxis. The full 1-year program is designed for young people looking to land an entry level job at a startup in roles like marketing, ops, sales, or customer success.
- The career accelerator Break into Tech offers career coaching and job search courses to help people land a non-coding tech job. Their self-paced courses come with a free resume review.
- Job seekers looking for online coaching can check out Mentmento. This platform connects job seekers to expert mentors with experience in product management, web design, software development, and more.
- Sphere is an online platform that connects people to expert mentors on topics like career advancement, leadership, and other soft professional skills.
- Another coaching platform, Dorm pairs users with coaches to help job seekers launch a career they love.
- People who want to work with a modern talent agency can check out Free Agency. Although the program is completely remote and largely self-paced, 24/7 support is available. Their clients have been placed at top tech companies like Facebook and Amazon.
- The online interview resources Pramp and Gainlo both pair aspiring software engineers with peers or engineers for mock interviews.
Aspiring software engineers seeking mock interview opportunities can check out Interviewing.io. The platform pairs users with FAANG engineers for mock interviews and extensive feedback. Find out if Interviewing.io is right for your career goals in our review.
How does RocketBlocks compare to Pathrise?
RocketBlocks is a career accelerator that helps people land a tech job through technical training and 1-on-1 coaching. While their program helps users navigate the job search and prepare for technical interviews, their coaches do not specialize in technical aspects of the job search like resume writing or salary negotiation.
Pathrise is a full-service career accelerator that helps with all phases of the job search. Our full curriculum includes technical training, behavioral interview training, resume writing, LinkedIn optimization, portfolio building, reverse recruiting lessons, and negotiation guidance. Fellows in the Pathrise program have 2-4 hours of weekly group sessions to master specific technical interview skills and learn to answer common questions from top tech companies.
RocketBlocks clients pay upfront for coaching and technical training. Pathrise offers an income share agreement, so fellows pay nothing until they land a tech job. Our mentors have already helped 1,000+ people land tech jobs faster than they would on their own. Unlike RocketBlocks, our mentors can help fellows negotiate their salaries after getting an offer. Pathrise fellows usually see their salaries increase 10-20% through negotiation alone.
Pathrise is a career accelerator that works with students and professionals 1-on-1 to help them land their dream job. If you are interested in working with any of our mentors to optimize your job search, join Pathrise.
Apply today.
