Carsten Schaltz
- Founder
- Stotles
See the great roles Le Wagon alumni have found
Phillip Zastrow
- Data Analyst
- Smart Pricer
From Project Manager to Data Analyst (and Teacher at Le Wagon!)
Phillip Zastrow
- Data Analyst
- Smart Pricer
Hello Phillip! Can you introduce yourself?
Sure. I'm Phillip, 33 years old and I come from Germany. In the past I have lived in Valencia, Aarhus, but mostly in Berlin. Last year I decided to join Le Wagon's Data Science bootcamp in batch #469.
What did you do before joining Le Wagon in Lisbon?
Before Le Wagon, I studied Mechanical Engineering at Berlin Technical University with a focus on Entrepreneurship and Climate Change. Afterwards, I worked as Project Manager/Structural Engineer for four years at WINDnovation, a wind energy company.
During this time, I became more and more unhappy with my scope of work and felt a bit stuck. My work got rather repetitive and if it wasn't for my great colleagues, I would have probably left earlier.
How did you come up with the idea of a Data Science bootcamp?
I often had the idea of getting into coding, but it always felt like a big obstacle. Anyway, I talked to some friends who had a major career change after attending a bootcamp and then did some research myself.
I found out that there are three major paths: Web Dev, Data Science and Data Analytics. Web Development seemed a little too far away from my engineering background, and when I heard that Data Science still covers Analytics to some extent, my decision was made. Back then I did not really know what to expect from Data Science, but I was willing to find out!
First, I was looking for a bootcamp that could fit my schedule, then I read several online reviews and decided to go for Le Wagon in Lisbon. Not the most romantic story of how I got here, but I am absolutely happy with the choice I made!
Cool! And how was your bootcamp experience?
Intense but so rewarding. I liked the combination of fast-paced learning and community feeling. People have been supportive throughout the bootcamp and this keeps you motivated, even through more complicated lectures!
Also, I enjoyed having a fresh topic every day, I liked that you always had something new to work on.
What did you learn from your experience at Le Wagon?
The first of two most important things I learnt is to understand how to fix/debug/solve issues along the route. It is incredibly important to be able to get yourself out of a hole and I believe this was taught us really well. The second thing is… Pandas. It is an amazing library and completely changed my opinion on Excel!
And what was your biggest challenge during the bootcamp?
Definitely the Data Engineering part. Coding is one thing, but these infrastructure topics are an entirely new field where you really have to work yourself into. Honestly, this is where I struggled the most and it took me a while to understand.
Your best moment at Le Wagon?
Definitely Demo Day. Everything you have done, and especially the two project weeks, build up to this moment where you finally present your own first working code product! It's so great to see the final result of your efforts.
As you said, Le Wagon is all about community. How do you relate to this network?
I try to help people as much as I can. I participated in alumni panels to share my experience with new potential students and I am always happy to help. I also try to stay in touch with my fellow bootcampers!
Great. And now you found a job as a Data Analyst and became TA at Le Wagon, congratulations! Can you tell us more about it?
Yeah, that's true. I am now working at Smart Pricer as Data Analyst/IT Project Manager. Many things I learnt during the bootcamp actually helped me get this job and gave me the ability to start performing early on. In particular, knowing how to clean, manipulate, complete and ultimately visualize and interpret big data sets gave me a real advantage. On top of that, I am slowly getting into the Data Science topics at work, where my brief xgboost and fbprophet will likely come in hand. I am still in the onboarding phase but I love that there is so much more to learn!
Apart from that, I am very happy to get the chance to come back to Le Wagon, now as a Teaching Assistant. I am really excited to strengthen my competences in the field and learn how to best explain concepts. I'd say it is a real win-win situation where I get to help enthusiastic students while improving new skills!
Thank you for sharing your story, Phillip! Any tips for those thinking about a Data Science bootcamp?
A bootcamp at Le Wagon is definitely worth it. It is 9 weeks of hard work and dedication and you will see what incredible things can be accomplished in such a short amount of time! Coding seemed complicated to me and I was always hesitant to get into it, but it's not! Just go for it.
One more important thing: do not give up in the process. There will definitely be situations where you think you will not get there...Stick with it and trust the moment. If the motivation is there, you will get through it!
Samuel Rasetti
- Data Analyst
Becoming a data analyst: Samuel's inspiring journey
Samuel Rasetti
- Data Analyst
Why did you decide to change careers?
I've always had digital-related jobs in different companies. Among others, I worked 8 years in customer support, but it wasn’t a field where I wanted to evolve.
I wanted to transition into a technical profession in data science. I got interested in this field for personal taste and because it’s a highly in-demand sector in Montreal. So I started taking online courses to learn Python and data basics.
How did you hear about Le Wagon?
I met Antoine, the co-founder of Le Wagon Montréal, during a Hackernest event. He talked about bootcamps and Le Wagon's philosophy... I was hooked!
I started attending Le Wagon Talk, a series of events to meet Montreal tech entrepreneurs and some workshops. I got to know the staff very well. I even was the first participant in the info sessions!
I really liked Le Wagon brand. It's not only a bootcamp but a community that is truly connected to the tech ecosystem.
The team organizes free workshops all year long and this shows that they take knowledge transmission to heart. I liked these values and when the data science bootcamp was launched, I didn’t hesitate to join the first batch.
What did you think of your bootcamp experience?
I really enjoyed the bootcamp because I was able to explore all aspects of data science, from collecting data to putting machine learning models into production. I also learned about jobs that I didn't know about - for example, I realized that I love data engineering.
I found it was stimulating to be challenged every day and to progress in complex areas.
It’s very satisfying to get results when learning concepts like deep learning, natural language processing, or image recognition. And finally, you realize that artificial intelligence and machine learning are mostly about probability and statistics!
How did your job search go after the bootcamp?
I realized that data analyst positions were an excellent gateway to set foot in the industry and later move on to other positions like data engineer.
Since Le Wagon gave me a solid ground to build on, I continued to expand my knowledge, especially in business intelligence, SQL, and back-end development with Python. Then, I worked on personal projects to add to my portfolio. This helped me a lot with the technical interviews!
Recruiters appreciated that I chose to put myself at risk and invest my time and money in a bootcamp to learn brand new concepts. They understood that I was highly motivated and that I put a lot of effort into getting there.
What’s your role at Ludia?
Ludia is a Canadian mobile game development company. I started working with them as a Business Analysis intern.
Today I’m a data analyst working on a specific game. When the development team launches new features or updates, I'm in charge of measuring its impact on players. For example, we look at the effect on players’ retention and behavior, or whether a new feature has generated more revenue.
For this, I mainly use SQL to analyze the data and Tableau for visualization.
How do you use the skills you learned at Le Wagon
The strength of Le Wagon’s program is that you learn how to search for information and it's vital to be autonomous in this job.
We’re always encouraged to cultivate curiosity, research, and learning. It's a mindset that I kept after the bootcamp.
I also learned how to collaborate in a team and use tools like Github and Slack, which are very useful in my job today.
Any advice for people who want to get into data science?
Start simple and experiment with small projects. Even a simple "hello world" can be a win! You have to challenge yourself to succeed in this field.
If you want to go further, Le Wagon is a great accelerator and an excellent first step to get into data science. After that, you have to keep learning to prove yourself!
Congratulations Samuel! We wish you the best in this exciting journey :)
Ellen Zhuang
- Program Manager
- Furnishd
Life of a Product Manager, by Ellen
Ellen Zhuang
- Program Manager
- Furnishd
'I can "talk the talk" with the development team now, which makes communications more smooth and efficient. I applied my coding skills when reporting bugs, as sometimes I can point out what is wrong specifically.'
Hello! Can you introduce yourself to our community?
Hello everyone, my name's Ellen Zhuang, I'm also 32 and I was in the same Batch of students as Sean in January 2020. Currently, I'm a Product Manager at FURNISHD., an early-stage startup focused on interior design service and furniture eCommerce in Australia.
What did you do before joining Le Wagon Australia?
Before Le Wagon, I was a Product Manager in China. I've worked at a few global tech giants such as Baidu and Trip.com Group as well as some fast-growing startups, driving and delivering B2C and B2B products and services in the eCommerce field. I've always been interested in programming and wanted to have a chance to dive into the full-stack development field to better understand the tech industry. I thought doing a coding bootcamp would help me achieve that goal - and it was also a good opportunity for me to make more friends as I just came to Australia for 3 months when I decided to join Le Wagon.
You are now Product Manager. Can you tell us more about your role?
The Product Manager role varies in different companies, depending on the industry of the company, the size of the company, even which team you're in! If you're a PM at an early-stage startup, your scope and responsibility expand way more than if you are working in a bigger company. You are an 'All-Rounder'. When working in a bigger corporation, you have to focus on one specific area and dig deep. But no matter which company you are at, there are always three keys aspects: Communication, Analysing, and Documenting.
A typical day of mine starts from doing stand-ups with our scrum team to see everyone's progress. Then, I check my mailbox and analyse the website data on Google Analytics. After that, I report the project progress briefly to the CEO and have discussions with stakeholders if necessary. I usually arrange time-consuming tasks in the afternoon, like managing the product backlog, writing product specs for the next sprint, doing some research, or developing product strategy and roadmap. When our developer or designer has any questions about the product requirements, we will quickly have a catch-up on that. Other than that, PMs are in lots of meetings, including but not limited to daily stand-ups, sprint grooming meetings, sprint retro meetings, product demonstrations, meetings with stakeholders, user interviews, etc. Hence, time management is super important!
How do you apply the skills you acquired during the Bootcamp?
Doing Le Wagon was more like a bonus for me as I've been on the track of PM for 8 years. It turns out that the programming mindset and coding skills I acquired at Le Wagon make me stand out more in this competitive job market. More importantly, I can "talk the talk" with the development team now, which makes communications more smooth and efficient. I applied my coding skills when reporting bugs, as sometimes I can point out what is wrong specifically. Oh, I also programmed the HTML email signatures for each coworker to save the designer and developer time! Haha
What would you say to someone thinking about joining Le Wagon Melbourne and thinking about becoming a Products Manager?
Here are some characteristics that I think make a great Product Manager:
1) Empathy (the most important one). Empathy in product management means being able to listen, observe and care about their users. A Product Manager needs to walk in users' shoes in order to understand their needs, problems, and pain points.
2) Curiosity. PMs must be able to learn fast in order to gain insights and make decisions on the product. They have to learn both the business side of the product (understand the business model, the market opportunities, the target audience etc.) and the technical side (be familiar with the tech stacks your company uses, have data analytical sense, etc.).
3) Strategic thinking. A Product Manager is almost like a mini-CEO. They need to understand the product strategy and how it aligns with the overall company strategy. They also need to know the product vision, how it will generate customer value and what is the differentiating advantage over its competitors
4) Communication. PMs spend much of their time communicating their ideas, thoughts, plans and proposals! They form a bridge between users, marketing, sales, designers, and engineers. The best PMs are skilled communicators who have the ability to communicate user experience, data analytics, marketing and business strategy, and technical limitations and challenges.
1) Empathy (the most important one). Empathy in product management means being able to listen, observe and care about their users. A Product Manager needs to walk in users' shoes in order to understand their needs, problems, and pain points.
2) Curiosity. PMs must be able to learn fast in order to gain insights and make decisions on the product. They have to learn both the business side of the product (understand the business model, the market opportunities, the target audience etc.) and the technical side (be familiar with the tech stacks your company uses, have data analytical sense, etc.).
3) Strategic thinking. A Product Manager is almost like a mini-CEO. They need to understand the product strategy and how it aligns with the overall company strategy. They also need to know the product vision, how it will generate customer value and what is the differentiating advantage over its competitors
4) Communication. PMs spend much of their time communicating their ideas, thoughts, plans and proposals! They form a bridge between users, marketing, sales, designers, and engineers. The best PMs are skilled communicators who have the ability to communicate user experience, data analytics, marketing and business strategy, and technical limitations and challenges.
'In product management, there are always three keys aspects: Communication, Analysing, and Documenting.'
