Ryan, Music Producer and now also Back-End Developer!

Passionate about science and maths, Ryan realised that music production shares a lot with coding and joined Le Wagon in Portugal. After falling in love with programming, he landed a job as a developer in one of the hottest start-ups in Portugal!

My name is Ryan and I'm from the UK. For the last 4-5 years I have been operating my own online Music Production business, KAN Samples, which provides tools to help music producers make underground music from the UK. I have also been travelling the world with my wife and living in a number of different countries.

And then you decided to join Le Wagon in Lisbon. Have you been coding before the bootcamp?

I had developed a basic understanding of HTML and CSS, just enough to edit and change web pages. This was an important step that gave me some great insight into what I was getting into!

What made you want to learn how to code?

I have always had a passion for science and maths, alongside music production. The craft of music production is software-based, complex and intricate, I feel it shares a lot of similarities with coding in this sense. So, once I got a feel for basic programming logic and theory, I quickly fell in love with it and applied to Le Wagon in Lisbon.

Ryan with fellow students during the bootcamp

What was your best moment at Le Wagon?

My best moment would have to be when we were working super hard at our final projects in the last two weeks, solving difficult challenges as a team and trying to manage features and what was possible in the time we had remaining, then seeing and pitching our final project to everyone. I can still feel the energy of those days and the great sense of accomplishment at the end!

Your final project was HereAfter, can you tell us more about it?

HereAfter is a messaging app for communicating with the future! It allows you to send a message to a friend, family member or your future self in a digital time capsule. Then, once the arrival time has come, the capsule will open and allow you to read the message from the past.

The key idea was to build something that works against the engagement-driven, instant-gratification systems of mainstream social media. The name HereAfter touches on the idea of longevity and that a part of you will live on digitally long after you are gone.

Ryan presenting his project during batch #614 Demo Day

You recently landed a job at Coverflex, congratulations! Can you explain us briefly what it consists of?

Thank you! I got a position as a Junior Back-End Developer, which is a dream come true for me. I will be coding in Elixir, which is a functional programming language that looks very interesting. I know I have a lot to learn and my journey is just starting, so I'm very grateful that Coverflex is investing in me!

And do you have more plans for your future?

My main goal now is to continue to learn and grow into a valuable asset for Coverflex. Basically I want to become a master programmer! I have also been offered a position as a Teaching Assistant at Le Wagon, which is an offer I couldn't refuse. I loved the atmosphere at the bootcamp and it's a great environment to work in and meet new people.

What are your tips for getting the most out of the bootcamp?

I would say be prepared and make sure you know what you are getting into! The pace is very fast so you will want to completely clear yourself of any other commitments. It's very hard to catch up if you miss a day, so try not to do that. I would also recommend doing a free course online or some good research before the bootcamp too, just so you build up some discipline and get a feel for what the work is like - it is hard, which is why it is an in-demand skill!