Le Wagon

After 15 years in corporate finance, I decided to change something in my career, something that will allow me to have a different lifestyle - I wanted to be a freelancer, to work on projects and to have a better use of my daily schedule. In the same time, I always had an interest in what stands behind the applications we all use every day on our devices. This is how I decided I wanted to learn how to code.

    Without knowing too much about what a bootcamp means and without too much time for preparation, I jumped in one of the best experiences in my life. First impression - user friendly learning platform and good quality online lectures - it gave me the feeling I am in good hands. What came next during the bootcamp was really above my expectations - teachers are not only technically skilled, but they are great educators and, very important, they share a very positive energy. One very nice perk of doing the bootcamp with the best school was that I met there the most diverse mix of colleagues, both from culture and career background perspective. And they all share a strong attitude, they want to learn and change their lives.

    Still deciding what was the best thing about doing the bootcamp - that I learned to build modern web apps in 9 weeks, that I met amazing people and we are still connected and help each other, or that I have continuous access to the learning platform. It is hard to choose one because I enjoy them all.

I'm 46 years old, geek in 80', began to code in basic on Amstrad, and having good time in swimming.
After a career as surf life saver, then coach, diving into Linux, I began system administrator in a printing factory... 11 years.
I realy wanted to dive in code to be a good devops in... 4-5 years.
Then I did le Wagon, batch 220, Paris, with a class of very diversified profiles but  from the people I had met so far which was an experience as rewarding as intriguing.

The program is dense but enlightened as well as enlightening, with a staff of teaching and coaching willing to make you reach a complete autonomy.

Now, I am leaving my job in order to dive into the code and not to reproduce the mistake of not coding at the end of my training and losing this skills.

The Wagon, both in its teaching format and pedagogy and in its active and international community allows the wildest dreams.
The glass ceiling is broken. The new paradigm: sky is the limit.

Thanks to The Wagon

Why coding?

Tech has always been my first love. At age 20, I started an online store selling ethnic groceries out of my parents’ shop. It featured a full working cart, a card payment gateway and an order tracking page.

The site was all duck taped and glued together using visual editing software. It was the year 2000, way before Google and Paypal were a thing. It would take 10 years until Amazon would land in Italy and educate Italians how convenient, reliable and time-saving online shopping can be.

In the meanwhile, my store was starting to pick up momentum when I felt I still wanted to travel and see the world.

My thirst for adventure took me to places like Bermuda, United States and even somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean working aboard a Mickey Mouse Themed cruise ship.

(if during summer time you see a DIsney Ship docked at the Barcelona Port, that’s the ship where I worked! Make a wish when you hear the magical horn :slightly_smiling_face:

After finally settling down in Barcelona and about to turn 40 , I decided it was time to finally decided what I want to do “when I grow up”.

Still kinda undecided, I then looked back and remembered my old room’s bookshelves. They were flowing with books about how to build websites using WYSIWYG tools….I am talking about Front Page ’98, Dreamweaver and Macromedia Flash.

Yup, I am that old :slightly_smiling_face:

I found coding always a bit intimidating. I was afraid to miss a semicolon somewhere and mess up the whole website.

Back then, the “cloud” was only something related to weather forecasts and hosting companies did not back-up automatically your files and things tend to go wrong much easier than it is today. After working in many large tech companies as non-technical employee, I finally realised the power of understanding and writing code.

Developers, no matter what their level is, are always incredibly respected and sought-after figures.

But more than that, I realised that being able to write code and build beautiful interfaces unlocks a world of possibilities.

Becoming a developer.

Starting a career as Project Manager.

The most appealing to me?

Founding your own start-up and embark on a journey to find creative solutions to real-life problems.

Building an MVP is no longer an expensive and risky endeavour. As a founder, I no longer need to rely on other developers to build the foundations for my vision. When I have an idea, I can simply turn on my laptop and start experimenting. When I have a tech-related doubt, I now know what to look for and where to look it.

The future is now full of promises and possibilities.

Where I am on the driver’s seat and I am free to go as far as I want to go!

What were you doing before?

At Le Wagon Barcelona, diversity is highly valued. Our batch included an awesome bunch of extraordinary individuals coming from many different countries, diverse cultural backdrops and multiple professional backgrounds. In my case, I am an Italian citizen born in Thailand with Vietnamese, Cambodian and Chinese Heritage. Lived in Beijing for four years where I graduated in Chinese Language and Culture.

I was also fortunate enough to live in the London, Italy, Orlando (Florida), between Port Canaveral and the Bahamas working on a Cruise Ship, the Bermuda Island and now Barcelona.

In my opinion, simply the best city in the world!

Professionally speaking, my career path has been as varied as the entry stamps in my passport’s pages

import manager for a textile company
sales manager for a food wholesale enterprise
waiter and assistant Restaurant manager for the Walt Disney Company
search engine evaluator for Google and Instagram
business sales specialist for Apple
…and of course, my favorite gig so far: being a Zumba Fitness Instructor and running my own school. Any Daddy Yankee fan out there?
Why Le Wagon? Why Barcelona?

Before deciding on which bootcamp to invest, I spend about five days reading ALL the reviews of ALL the coding bootcamps in Barcelona.

When learning more about Le Wagon one word kept appearing over and over again: reputation.

Le Wagon enjoys an incredible reputation in the tech, entrepreneurship, and in the wider business world. This both in Barcelona and abroad thanks to Le Wagon’s presence in more than 35 cities. After attending the boot camp myself I can now witness that all those five reviews are simply reflecting the truth.

Le Wagon is a special place where excellence is encouraged, nurtured and expected.

Starting from Le Wagon Barcelona driver, to the TAs, to the fellow students, I found an infinite source of daily inspiration. Inspiration to always challenge myself.

Inspiration to be humble and keep on learning. Put what I learned to the test, learn some more and then start the process all over again.

Inspiration to keep my mind opened to the world of possibilities out there.

Inspiration to find inventive ways to solve real problems by building beautiful, easy to use web applications.

Even the Inspiration necessary to keep inspiring myself to work hard and enjoy the process.

Barcelona.

The place to be.

La ciudad Condal is everything I believe a city should be.

Openminded.

Welcoming.

Diverse.

It has everything a city should have:

a flourishing Tech scene,

a great expat community

a mild winter, an amazing summer

reasonable life costs,

great public transportation…

….anybody up for a mojito at a beach chiringuito after work?

Demo day was 5 days ago, what are you doing now?

I am typing this from my new office’s little terrance.

The sun is super nice and my new teammates are incredibly awesome.

Thanks to the skills acquired at Le Wagon I found a business partner who highly values my opinion and experience. He founded a tech startup who’s helping influencers editing and monetising their videos.

It’s a hassle free one-stop solution for content makers that allows them to stop worrying about the technical and business stuff and concentrate on creating high quality, entertaining It’s a wonderful workplace which offers me tons of flexibility.

Flexibility to set my own hours.

Flexibility to take the role I see fit as the business grows.

Flexibility to keep on working on my AI-related tech-startup. A streaming service for families to access and safeguard their most valuable treasure: their memories.

Flexibility to be able help my younger brother with his Malta-based blockchain startup.

None of this would have been possible a mere 10 weeks ago.

Le Wagon gave the tools, the knowledge and the confidence to continue on my tech journey .

Once again, thank you Le Wagon Barcelona for truly changing my life.

I will make sure to come and visit very often, just to keep the creativex juices flowing :slightly_smiling_face:

Nam Hai Chau

Never learned some much in such a short period. I’m a graduated in production engeering. Before le wagon I was working in the backoffice of a financial institution. I was coding a lot in VBA and SQL and I was liking it. Eger to dive deep in the development world I quit my job and started lewagon (not before a lot of searching of course). The bootcamp was much more then I expected. They not only teach you, ruby, sql, JavaScript, css and HTML but also who to create web products in a very fast way. They also go deep in the concept part, which make it easier to learn other languages and frameworks afterwards. Was 9 hard working weeks... but rewarding. The staff of Lewagon also makes the journey fun and exciting. Now I’m working in a small company, as fullstack developer/product manager, doing maintenance in the existing applications (in asp.net framework) and creating new ones in Ruby on Rails. Some day in a near future I plan to create my own  app ;) thanks lewagon!

I have always wanted to learn how to code but coming from a non-technical background, I never knew where to start, nor where to even look to figure out where to start! I also knew, given coding is such as difficult skill to learn, that I would need some sort of framework or coaching to help get my feet off the ground.    When I heard of Le Wagon, my decision was made.   I signed up, took a few prep courses and a test, and next thing I knew I was coding along! Ruby on Rails, HTML, CSS and more.   The idea for me was not necessarily to become a computer programmer (although it could have been a realistic ambition as it is for many students!) but more to immerse in a 100% pure tech environment over a short but intensive period of time, and see where it would take me. Do I love it and want to change my career? Do I hate it and want to stay away from it? Do I like it and want to continue exploring and learning?   Technology is inescapable. It is transforming all sectors of the economy, of our workplace and of our lives. And it will only continue to grow. If I want to remain relevant and happy in the workplace, I need to keep up with technology; as a start, I need to be able to answer these fundamental questions. Le Wagon helped me to do so.   Being able to develop a web app from scratch in only 2 weeks. Didn't believe I could ever do this. For me, this was a feat!   Learning Rails and seeing how it all fit together. Definitely an aha moment. Felt fantastic.   The intellectual discomfort. This may sound negative, but every day comes with a new challenge and I think the trick lies in embracing these difficult moments. Stretching your brain is central to the learning process and it is precisely this discomfort that will allow you to build new neuronal connections and grow!    The collaborative spirit & personal development. Le Wagon teaches you to collaborate with peers from varied backgrounds, maturity and skills. It teaches you how to help others but also how to receive help. It teaches you humility and how to say "I don't understand" or "thanks for your help".   The teachers/TAs. Talented, knowledgeable, passionate and friendly teachers and TAs have definitely contributed to a positive learning experience. A great representation of female leadership was a big plus, and definitely a driver for female student success. I am grateful for this!

 

Barcelona is a young, vibrant and diverse city. A perfect place in which to "work hard, play hard", ie. do a coding bootcamp. Whether you are a foodie, art or music lover, athlete or party animal, you will never be short of options in Barcelona!

 

Considering? Apply, try to get an interview and make good use of your one-on-one to clear away any doubts or burning questions you may have. Once on-board, do the prep work so you get an appreciation for what coding really is and discover hands on whether it excites you or not. If the answer is yes, then just go for it, sign up! You will never know without trying! 

 

TL, DR:

Le Wagon changed my life completely in a very good way. I became a Fullstack Developer in 9 weeks (which I didn't even think was possible) and feel secure to start working in real software projects. I met amazing people during the bootcamp and I’m now working on my own Software Development Studio.

Before Le Wagon

I was working as a Project Manager in a consultant firm, I had a successful career and was ok with what I was doing, but I felt I was missing out on something. I had product and business ideas but I didn't feel able to do them. Also I was always involved in social service programs specially working with kids in poverty areas.

Le Wagon was amazing for me since I always wanted to study wanted to study something related with technology and science but my family and friends always told me that it was not for me.

What I liked the most was the methodology, it's excellent and it helped me, really, learn how to code in 9 weeks. The topics included in the program are achievable so I think there are also perfect if you are a beginner.

It was an amazing experience, this was something I always wanted to do but was so afraid because people used to told me this was really hard but I think that it’s never too late to pursue your dreams and going after you really want.

I'm so happy with my performance and with everything I learned. I met wonderful people during this weeks and I hope Le Wagon Mexico growth every time more and more to give more people the opportunity to change their lives.

After Le Wagon

My boyfriend (who I met during the bootcamp) and I opened a Software Developer Studio and a School to Teach Children How to Code. I feel blessed for being working in what make me happy and with the person I love.

I'm so grateful for everything I learned and for my amazing batch. I'm really happy with what we are capable to do after the bootcamp. Exceeded all of my expectations. Clement I send you all my good wishes for the next batches, you are awesome!!!

Le Wagon Mexico changed my life and I hope it changes yours too!

After many years in the oil and gas industry I’ve choose to reskill and learn how to code in a modern way. I did many researchs and alumni interviews before fixing my choice on le Wagon. The program and especially the teaching tools are awesome, everything is done to make you learn in a pleasant bootcamp spirit. I basically started with nothing and finished the bootcamp with a project, a goal, new skills of course an entrepreneur spirit.

I’m now willing to join a startup to learn more skills and become a freelance later.

Right after my studies, I decided to join Le Wagon thanks to a training I did in San Francisco that got me interested in learning how to code.
Honestly, I did not expect that I would love it that much !

My goal was simple, I knew that our studies were missing an important thing. We were taught to launch projects, to run a company, to do marketing etc but nothing on the importance of the web and applications. Which company does not have a website, wether it is to introduce its activity or to interact with its users? For me, it was not possible to stop my studies there.

It was 2 months where you learn many complex principles but with a very clear method. I was tough at times but after a while you get used to it and the logic falls into place.

The teaching method is just perfect. A teacher introduces the important concepts, followed by hands-on exercices to practice with teaching assistants to help you out and a livecode at the end of the day. At the end of the 2 months, you have to create a real web app from scratch ! In the end, you get all the tools needed to succeed.

However, it doesn't stop here. And to be honest, the most difficult part is after the training when you can feel lonely when facing problems by yourself without teachers around you. Le Wagon has well understood this and provides a real and strong community, with a lot of mutual help thanks to a super active Slack and coworking spaces. 
Thanks to all of that, I could live my "post-bootcamp" life up to my expectations. Because as developers, we never stop learning.

Today, I am a freelance Fullstack developer and I launched a web agency on the side where work on the Back-end side. And as the web has no boundaries, I have been living abroad in different places across Europe and Asia for more than a year and I keep learning with online tracks such as React and vue.js.

Having read the reviews of former alumnis, I got exactly what I was expecting: my intention was to get enough tools to draft an idea, and then being able to interact efficienltly with developers the day I would launch my own projects. While I spent the first weeks doubting I could ever draft an app, the project week proved me wrong, and with the help of my teammates, class mates, and the community of le Wagon's alumnis, I am now confident I can do it! The methodology is impressively well done and well thought. The rythm (intense, without being overwhelming), the energy, the team, without forgetting the location, made that experience fit my high expectations, and I would definitely recommend anyone to choose le Wagon, and especially Le Wagon Rio, what a blast!