Le Wagon

A year ago I quit my marketing job to focus on a SaaS startup project. My dev associate wasn’t full-time though ; for months we struggled to make progress. So I joined Le Wagon.
I loved every week of that Bootcamp: teachers and material are top-notch, it was interesting, it was challenging, it was exciting and I got to meet great people from many different walks of life.
Now a month after our Demo Day, I am closer than ever to launching a MVP and feel empowered to do a lot more.

If your looking to pull the trigger and commit to learning to code then this is the course for you. It is truly incredible how much you can learn in just 9 weeks. This course was both incredibly challenging and extremely rewarding. 

The small class size means that you form a strong comeradery with your fellow classmates and you get as much individual attention as you need from the teachers and TA's. The teachers and TA's and Le Wagon community is absolutlely incredible, the teachers were all previous Le Wagon students and so know exactly what you are going through!

The course curiculum is very well designed for accelerated learning, compounding your knowledge each day and with lots of interesting challenges and great review exercises/flashcards to keep you on track. I really enjoyed all the extra events, workshops and seminars available throughout the course; career coaching, tech recruiters, product management and UX design workshops etc..

Couldn't recommend this course highly enough.

Hi, I joined Le wagon last year (#Batch-100) in Paris after a few year working as a project manager on Business Transformation programs. I was pretty frustrated by the length and the complexity of digital transformation by then. Why is it so long, so expensive, so crappy to get a product done for a train company? when you have been using apps like uber or airbnb for 3 years and that you see the product improving on a regular basis? No need to talk about their growth as well. Actually i wanted to learn how to make a digital product, to really make it myself and that's what i found at le wagon. Today i m managing a team on a start up project inside a huge group on product to improve elderly day to day life, and i am about take an executive team on tour at Las Vegas CES 2019.

As a communications strategy/content/design professional, I went to Le Wagon bootcamp knowing html, css and the communications side of digital projects and no computer science background.

Simply put, it was a very tough and rewarding experience. I learned a lot about coding and new perspectives on problem solving. Some challenges are set up to make things difficult for students. This might be frustrating during the excercises but it is meant to enhance the "real world" qualities of the bootcamp.

It is important to set expectations: anyone with a profile similar to mine will not leave the bootcamp ready to hit the ground running. It will still take a bit more time, dedication and work to become proficiencient enough for employment. 

In a relatively short period of time, this bootcamp is a great opportunity to gain a working knowledge of coding in Ruby on Rails and the developer's environment. It could also be useful for anyone who is not necessarily aiming to become a developer and plans to work with them or in the tech world.

I would go back and do it again in a heartbeat. 

When I took my ticket for Le Wagon a few years ago, little did I know about this adventure I was embarking on. Behind the machines, algorithms and complex numbers, I actually came across outstanding men and women, exciting projects and amazingly instructive stories. It’s a real community full of passionate entrepreneurs, with very different profiles and backgrounds, who all share the same thirst for learning and sharing the digital culture. From that point on, no matter which path I take, I know I’ll always be able to rely on Le Wagon’s family!
Choosing Le Wagon is a bit like choosing the Orient Express. It’s first-class or nothing.

Today i have also created a bootcamp https://www.growth-acceleration.com, first Growth Hacking Bootcamp in France 

My name is Mathieu, after graduating with a masters degree from a business school in Paris, I worked for two and half years as a project manager in a communication agency. I really enjoyed my role but one thing was greatly missing for me, I wasn’t working on what I considered inspiring projects.
After thinking on what I wanted to do, I realised inspiring projects were for me innovative and digital ; and I realised that I was lacking a deep enough knowledge of the digital world for me to apply to companies that interested me. So I quit my job and decided to learn how to code.

I decided to go with Le Wagon because I had different objectives that, after some research, I believed this organisation could fulfil. First I wanted to learn how to code to understand precisely how it all works, for me to communicate with a developper. Second, I wanted to learn how a digital group work is carried out. Third, as I quit my job, I thought to myself that if I really liked it I could change my professional field. Fourth, I thought as I discovered the limits (or absence of limits) of the digital sphere, I could come up with my own business idea or follow and help someone who wanted to develop his own cool thing.

After doing Le Wagon during summer 2018, I realised that these objectives where completely met (or possible) and I got to learn much more.
Le Wagon is an amazing learning experience. The program is intense and really well done ; the courses are technical, you are always coding and moving forward. But still you are never overwhelmed as teachers are professionals, plus they are always available whenever you struggle. The program ends with a two weeks creation and development of an idea you or one of your fellow students come up with. This was a great confidence booster for me, it made me realise I technically could do almost anything.

Le Wagon was also a great human experience for me. I got to learn a lot from the past experiences of the teachers who are all super nice, but I got to learn more from my fellow students. Everybody has different objectives and come from different professional spheres and no one knew how to code at the beginning. And thanks to the format of the courses, everybody is very helpful to one another.

Today, after giving myself a few days of vacation I am searching for a project manager or a product owner position. With this new technical background, I get (and I want) to be more picky of the companies I apply to, and I have already landed some first interviews.

Choose Le Wagon!

I was a student in the Bali 163 Batch that started in June this year. After years of working in a job which I did not feel challenged in any meaningful way I wanted a change; and decided to invest my time and money into the Le Wagon Bootcamp.

I won’t lie, it's very very intense. And in Bali the camp runs in 8 weeks which means working on a couple of Saturdays. Nevertheless I can confidently say that this was one of the best things I have done in my life. I did not have a computer science background; and at the beginning it was difficult for me. However the one thing that ran throughout the bootcamp is that you never work alone. Whether it’s the Buddy system Le Wagon have in place or the amazing TA’s and teachers that were there to guide me through concepts that I had difficultly grasping, I always had help when I needed it.

Where I couldn’t have coded my way out of a paper bag before I’ve now already built a couple of projects.

I remember one of the TA’s saying the best thing about Le Wagon was it’s fantastic sense of community, and I can’t refute her. I visited Le Wagon in Melbourne whilst travelling and was invited to dinner and was shown around their study area. I’ve spoken to a few alumni’s and they’ve all had similar experiences. The vibe seems to be amazing throughout all Le Wagon locations and its network.

My suggestion if you’re pondering a change of career and want to jump start your coding expertise by attending a bootcamp; choose Le Wagon. I’ve yet to speak to anyone who’s finished and regretted it. Good luck!

Long story short, Le Wagon rules.

Long story long, once upon a time, I received a course on programming. The course covered loops and conditional statements, and we were aided mainly by pen and paper. In the end, we were told: "Now you know how to program!". Though encouraging, this statement was false. It was the equivalent of saying: "I have taught you how to make bricks, now build me a house".
Learning coding is like learning a language, it is difficult and tough but also extremely interesting and rewarding.
As teaching methods go, Le Wagon nailed it! They have managed to make the learning of a very complex subject into a true pleasure. By dividing the subject into small lessons and adding interesting and challenging factors to each of them they "trick" their students into absorbing every little ounce of knowledge the can handle.
The course is designed not so that they can teach you, but so that you may learn. Comprehensive lessons and an incredibly supportive staff lead you up the steps to finally and truthfully be able to say: "Now I know how to program!".
Need proof? Throughout the course you will actually build increasingly complex programs and by the end you will have designed your very own fully functioning webpage. No more scribbles on paper for me…

Conclusion: if you are even remotely thinking about this, apply, you will not regret it.

With a background in Chemistry and then orchestral performance, coding didn't seem like the next logical step for me. It's something that I had always been interested in from afar, as something I might have enjoyed if I had started at a younger age, but perhaps I had missed the boat. At the same time, at 31 I wasn't sure if a total career change was the best idea for me, since it inevitably involves retraining and starting again at the bottom rung. My friends in the industry assured me it was definitely possible and that it's becoming a much more common route in, so I started to look at bootcamp courses. Le Wagon was overwhelmingly well reviewed, so I enrolled.

Look no further: Le Wagon will change your life.

Obviously from the great reviews, I had high expectations from the course. These were blown out of the water. Le Wagon has been the best educational experience of my life.  The course is intensive - it really is non-stop for 9 weeks - but you come out the other end as a well-rounded full-stack developer, ready for employment. This is the most important thing: the syllabus at Le Wagon is so well designed, you're not just churned out the other end knowing whatever topics were chosen by the founders 5 years ago, the course is regularly updated to reflect the most important relevant changes and language versions that are becoming more widely used. You really feel like you're ready to slot into a professional development team by the end.

The course caters for people of all aptitudes. For people taking to it quickly, there's supplementary work you can do to push yourself. For people finding it more challenging, there are teachers and teaching assistants absolutely everywhere, and they are there to help! There are also sessions organised for people who want to re-cover some old material to help them keep up. You're always paired up for your daily challenges, so it's also a great opportunity to learn from each other and figure things out between yourselves.

Apart from the fantastic teaching and learning experience, Le Wagon is an extremely sociable course. You're always paired up with different people every day so you'll quickly meet everyone on the course, and there are regular social events organised by the staff. It's an intensive course, so you'll make close friends super quickly - you're pretty much spending all day every day together!

In summary: I hadn't written a line of code before the start of this year. Coming out of Le Wagon I am starting a new job as a junior developer two weeks later, with good pay. Le Wagon makes this possible! It's the real deal. Viva Le Wagon!

Le Wagon was a great experience. It really piqued my interest in programming. I went on to do a conversion Master’s in Computing after the bootcamp, which I am almost done with now. This has given me a renewed appreciation for Le Wagon. At Le Wagon, they were able to teach us so much in such a short amount of time. Most important, they made it fun. The curriculum was really stimulating and the platform they have built around it looks amazing and delivers content in such an effective manner. Le Wagon is where I loved programming, and without it I probably would not even be considering a programming role today. It was also just a lot of fun! The challenges posed by the teachers were a lot of fun, and working with our classmates was great. The class grew really close, and we had many social events - following our long programming days (9-6). But I never felt like the days were long. I was at my most skilled and job-ready after completing Le Wagon. Le Wagon really equipped me to be a web developer. It is one of my favorite things I have ever done, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Why did you want to learn to code?

Everyone has their own personal reason(s) why they want (or wanted) to learn to code. I decided to learn to code for a number of reasons but primarily I wanted to change careers. After studying a masters in law and aiming to become a lawyer, I realised I was not passionate enough to continue a career in law. Then I worked in a finance company for two years. However, long story short neither a career in law or finance made me happy so I decided to seek an alternative career path. I wanted a career path that would be intellectually challenging and rewarding, that would teach me an essential skill that could be applied to many different job types and most importantly, a career path that was future-oriented and where the demand for this skill was higher than the supply.

Why did you choose Le Wagon?

Some people are able to teach themselves how to code though books and online resources. However, after doing a lot of research on how different people became developers (many people of whom did not have a computer science degree and changed careers from diverse career backgrounds), I realised that many chose the coding bootcamp route. I realised after trying the self-taught route myself for a month that I was one of those people who needed a structured and well-taught program to become a developer. Plus, I wanted to become a developer in the most time-efficient way as possible. I chose Le Wagon as the slogan resonated with me. Simply put, I wanted to learn to code and change my life. Before deciding on Le Wagon, I did extensive research on the different coding bootcamps. I read every review of Le Wagon on the popular review sites course report and switchup and anywhere that I could find a review. The reviews given were overwhelmingly positive so who was I to argue with more than 500 5/5 star reviews? ;) So I applied, got accepted and the rest is history.

Can you share the highlights of your experience? (favorite things, what helped you the most, challenges, your final project...)

It was one of the most challenging yet rewarding experiences of my life! And just 9 weeks! There was ups and there was downs! My biggest personal challenge was that I missed an entire week of the bootcamp due to bad health. It was one of the biggest sink or swim moments of my life but due to the support of the people at Le Wagon Barcelona, both students and staff, I overcame the challenge, fought back and finished the bootcamp in style!

The Le Wagon community is great! It is one of the best if not the part for someone after the bootcamp! The main struggle I have had since finishing the bootcamp is feeling lost and not knowing what I should do next. And the feelings of “imposter syndrome” has been the most difficult part but I reached out to people in Le Wagon and I got the answer I needed!

How did you like Barcelona?

Barcelona is an amazing city! It has almost everything you could ask for! The food is great and very affordable, the over all vibe is relaxed and chill and the weather is beautiful every day! My only criticisms of the city is that it is very touristy during the summer and the pickpockets!! Just be aware when going outside day or night but especially at night, avoid certain areas (Las Ramblas) and all will be good! The pros of living in Barcelona far outweigh the cons so don't worry! I don't have any regrets!

What advice would you give to someone considering joining us?

My advice before joining the bootcamp is to become good in the Ruby programming language before starting the bootcamp! Practice Ruby problem solving exercises online! If you do you will reap the rewards especially in the first 3 weeks of the bootcamp! :)