What were you doing before Le Wagon?
I came to Montreal in 2013 to study marketing at HEC. Then, for 5 years, I worked for a marketing agency doing strategy consulting.
I started coding at work, doing data analysis with Python, Tableau, and Power BI. I quickly got a taste for it and I was less and less interested in consulting because I don’t find concrete enough. So I learned on my own and talked with some developer friends to confirm my choice to change careers.
Why did you choose Le Wagon?
Le Wagon has a good reputation in the tech ecosystem and great feedback from alumni.
It also mattered to me to do the bootcamp on campus to interact with students, professors, and TAs. Le Wagon was the only school that offered an in-person format.
What did you think of the bootcamp?
I liked the hands-on aspect and being able to practice coding every day. The sequence of modules is also very well thought out, from the first week where you learn the basics of back-end to the front-end and JavaScript modules, and finish with projects.
The project weeks were the most interesting. Building a product from scratch allowed me to prove to the recruiters that I was capable of coding after only 9 weeks of programming.
I also appreciated the social aspects of the bootcamp like the happy hours and other activities. It was a great plus for a challenging experience :)
How did your job search go after Le Wagon?
I got a job opportunity at Davidson Consulting through my network. They were interested in my profile because I had already worked on tech projects in my previous career.
I also showed them the final project from the bootcamp and explained the development process. They were impressed!
What is your role today?
I am a Full-Stack Developer. I work on web projects from choosing a stack to databases, development, and deployment while following the Agile methodology.
One of the last projects I worked on was an aggregator for climate change resources. We developed this project following eco-coding best practices.
How do you use the skills you learned at Le Wagon?
Throughout the bootcamp and especially during the projects, we learned how to learn. That is, to do research on our own to implement solutions that were not explained in the courses.
The front-end and JavaScript modules were the most useful for me. On the projects, we tried to implement as much JavaScript as possible. This helps me with my work today.
I also found that the daily optional challenges made a difference. It allowed me to go further and to better understand the concepts that were taught.
Any advice for those who want to start in web development?
Stay curious and keep learning!
It's easy to get lost so it's important to have a plan and stay consistent. Developing solutions from scratch is the best way to learn. It's also a great opportunity to see what you like best.
Finally, it's important to cultivate your network, seek advice from developers and ask Le Wagon alumni questions to progress.
