Nicholas, 25 years old, was working as a designer in a Digital Marketing agency after studying Information Technology. Interested by full-stack development and looking to brush up his skill, he decided to do Le Wagon's full-time Bootcamp in Melbourne in January 2020. His hard work and determination paid off: Nicholas is now a Software Trainee at ANZ!
Summary
“A lot of care and effort has gone into crafting Le Wagon’s web development course. The fact that so many alumni (myself included) stay connected, and can say they enjoyed their time during the course, speaks volumes of the quality.”
I. Can you introduce yourself to our community?
Hello! I’m Nick and I am currently a Trainee Engineer at the ANZ. I graduated RMIT with a Bachelor of Information Technology (Games and Graphics Programming) in 2017, after which I worked for about a year and a half as a web designer. I joined Le Wagon’s 9 week web development course in January 2020. When I’m not coding or reading documentation, I like fencing , music and playing with cards ♠️.
II. What did you do before joining Le Wagon in Melbourne? Why did you decide to learn to code and to join?
I was working for a small Digital Marketing agency as a designer. But towards the end of my tenure I started to get the itch to return to coding. Just as I did during my degree. When I left, I was set on achieving two goals: 1) Pivot my career back into a developer role 2) Join a large company
I did not touch a single piece of code during my time as a designer, so I needed a way to brush up on my skills. Full stack web development was a discipline that I was interested in and one that I definitely needed help with learning. For this reason, It was recommended that I complete a coding bootcamp for a refresh and overhaul of my skill set.
Knowing exactly what type of course I wanted to do, the only question for me was; which one should I pick? I did a fair amount of research. And at the end of the day Le Wagon was a very clear cut choice.
My top three reasons (amongst many) why I chose Le Wagon:
1) Glowing reviews and testimonials: Le Wagon first came onto my radar when I saw it as the top rated bootcamp for Melbourne. This green flag was compounded further by being able to get first hand testimonials directly from alumni contacts when requested.
2) Excellent teaching technology and support systems: While researching, I was thoroughly impressed when I was shown Le Wagon’s online learning platform. It is fully integrated with student’s git profiles and provides a dynamic and responsive environment for the learning. You are given lifetime access to this tech as an alumni which is incredible and I still refer to its documentation to this day.
3) It’s sexy: To a certain extent, many French things inherently are sexy. With Le Wagon, the sexiness I’m referring to is its clean website, on point branding, beautiful classroom locations and a strong focus on people and collaborative coding practices. One might argue that the codebase and learning material are all that matters. But for me, as a former designer, consistent aesthetics and attention to detail make a world of difference.
Nicholas and the rest of Batch #348 in March, after their Demo Day
III. How would you describe your experience in Le Wagon?
Intense and unforgettable. There was a huge amount covered. Even with a full-time 9 week course, to keep up with the material I had to stay sharp. As someone coming in with previous software development training, from the experience, I gained a refinement of my skills and newfound confidence in my abilities.
Throughout the course, I met and worked with so many cool and talented people from all around the world. Growing close with my batch (#348 ), programming day in day out with them made the course so much more engaging.
IV. So, what’s up since you graduated?
Our bootcamp ended March 2020. Our presentations were on the last day before Melbourne was plunged into the first of two very long and very arduous lockdowns. I spent the most of this time tweaking a portfolio, working on some freelance projects, and overall being a model citizen by not leaving my bedroom for weeks at a time.
I am currently working as Trainee Engineer at ANZ for mainframe application development. Mainframe development is a completely new discipline for me, but I am very excited to be learning something entirely new.
For me the future doesn’t have anything set in stone. I achieved the two goals I set for myself after quitting my design career. I am happy to sit back, relax and see where the corporate coding journey takes me. During the Bootcamp, I fell in love with ruby so I will probably still tinker with some rails apps on the side
V. What would you say to someone thinking about joining the course?
A lot of care and effort has gone into crafting Le Wagon’s web development course. The fact that so many alumni (myself included) stay connected, and can say they enjoyed their time during the course, speaks volumes of the quality.
Although I personally did not start at square one when I joined, I think the course provides you with everything you need to start your journey as a full stack web developer. The collaborative aspect also gives great insight into what modern software development practice is like in the real world. If you do decide to take the plunge, work hard, but also have fun!
“I achieved the two goals I set for myself after quitting my design career. I am happy to sit back, relax and see where the corporate coding journey takes me.”
