How they got into the tech industry and their advice for you.
Summary
My name is Milene and I am one of these women. In October 2018, I decided to join Le Wagon Rio full-time coding bootcamp to fulfil my entrepreneurship goals. I was so inspired and impressed by the experience, I decided to stay and join the team of Le Wagon Brazil.
During my first year as a bootcamp manager, I was lucky enough to meet so many incredible women. They came to Rio de Janeiro bootcamp to learn how to code and changed their lives for the better.
“I believe there are very few industries that offer the flexibility, satisfaction and fun you can find in tech”
Your advice for women who want to get in the tech industry? "Take it one step at a time. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. It’s not easy all the time but it’s worth it!"
Tayler
| Before Le Wagon — Creative Assistant for Netflix
Los Angeles, USA Tayler in Rio de Janeiro, September 2019
"I was working for one of the best entertainment companies in LA with incredible managers… but I still wasn’t mentally challenged or fulfilled with the work", she explains.
One day, she found herself on her knees, taping down WiFi cords and stressing about a meeting, "I literally paused and asked myself what I was doing… I realised I could be using my brain in a more fulfilling career that better aligned with my skills and interests — like travel! If this was the best I could get in the film industry, I knew it was time for me to make a change."
Your advice for women who want to get in the tech industry? "Be nice to yourself! And have the courage to fail at something you’re trying for the first time. You have to train your brain to see failures as learning opportunities — both in coding and in life! One day, it will just click and you’ll feel like you have superpowers"
Floriane
| Before Le Wagon — Project Finance Manager
| After Le Wagon — Full Stack Engineer for Descomplica
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
“I got frustrated with the lack of creativity in my previous job and I wanted to build things.” She started with online programming course but found it hard to reach a professional level. She then decided to join Le Wagon Rio. “I was amazingly surprised by the kindness of the programming community!” she says, talking about her current dev team.
Floriane in Rio de Janeiro, March 2019
Your advice for women who want to get in the tech industry? "Start with a free online coding course to see whether you like the logic behind, in particular the problem solving part. At every phase of programming, you’ll be working on solving problems — so make sure you love doing it!"
Amy
| Before Le Wagon — Social Worker
| After Le Wagon — Full Stack Developer for SpeakEasy
San Francisco, USA
Amy got into social work to help people and then started feeling like she was hitting walls. She perfectly knew that there was a lot more room to make a positive impact in the world — from behind a screen, for example. Today, she works for a company helping people with limited resources run for political office and feels great about the work she’s doing — "It was not easy but it was definitely worth it!"
Amy in her hometown, Denver
“As much as I struggle with not fitting the stereotype, I equally enjoy breaking the mold.”
Your advice for women who want to get in the tech industry?"Be patient. It's going to be a slow process — like learning any new skill! But you are just as capable as anyone else and you will probably bring some much needed soft-skills to a world that desperately needs them."
Kamrin
| Before Le Wagon — Career Consultant
| After Le Wagon — Nomad Freelance Developer
Buenos Aires, Argentina — for now!
Kamrin in Rio de Janeiro, December 2019
Your advice for women who want to get in the tech industry? “My advice is to skip the imposter syndrome. Stop questioning your worthiness. It feels so empowering and exciting to create products. I wish I did it for myself sooner.”
Danielle
| Before Le Wagon — Digital Marketing Specialist
| After Le Wagon — Full Stack Developer at Beep Saúde
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Danielle at Beep Saúde office in Rio de Janeiro
“In my previous job, I depended so much on the development team. I always needed to ask someone on the team for help in order to achieve the goal I wanted. From this I saw that I really needed to understand about programming to be more independent.”
Your advice for women who want to get in the tech industry?“Start with some basic online courses. If your city has technology communities such as Rails Girls, PyLadies or other initiatives that encourage women to program, visit them!”
Representation matters. It was important for me to highlight these women, to give some room to their stories. I want you to identify to them, to get inspired and to dream as big as they do!
In Rio so far, we never had a class with a majority of women students, not even half of it — and we've been running coding bootcamps for the past 3 years!
As a team, we decided to offer scholarships of 1.500 reais to all women applying to our bootcamp until the end of the month.
On top of that, if this incentive is not enough for you, we offer different solutions like paying with instalments but also the solution of Income Share Agreement — study now, pay later!
Milene, Rio Bootcamp Manager, and Ana, Sao Paulo Bootcamp Manager
Again, thank you Diana, Tayler, Floriane, Amy, Kamrin and Danielle for sharing your stories with me and for inspiring more women to join the tech industry.
