Published on Switch Up, 19 Jan 2018
I am an American, and because of this many people have asked me why I chose Le Wagon. The answer for the choice is simple -- a friend with impeccable education credentials and an overall bad ass told me she felt "Le Wagon was the best education experience you might ever have". Here I am roughly one month after graduating the program and I concur with what my friend said. Overall the experience in Berlin was unforgettable and was really an on-ramp to a new way of life for me. After getting my MBA I worked at a renowned management consulting firm for 6+ years and worked heavily on systems and applications in the role of a product and project manager. I'd always felt vulnerability not being able to understand the back end or intelligently question my technical team members. I also had put a number of my entrepreneurial ideas on hold simply because I didn't know how to start. Le Wagon has changed both of these weaknesses for me and I feel newly empowered as a professional and a person.
The curriculum is fantastic. Le Wagon runs their education much like a software product. They design, build, test, and refine ensuring that their education is current and continually optimized for the students. The first half of the bootcamp is intense. If feels like your brain is being shredded, you feel vulnerable, and question whether you can actually get it. Because the program is so well designed there are points where all of the things you did in the previous days suddenly make sense and you are able to start building your ideas. It is a grand feeling, and by the end while you will not be a top notch developer, you are equipped with the tools to keep at it and keep improving so that you can be if you so choose to take that path.
Beyond the education Le Wagon creates an amazing community and you form a family with the people you attend with and learn from. I had so much fun over the course of the program and made friendships that I know will last a lifetime.
Finally, I like the honesty of Le Wagon, they say it is for helping creative people learn how to code. There are no false promises about what employment you will get, or what super power you will acquire. It is known that what you are acquiring is the skill and knowledge to put you on a new trajectory if you have what it takes. As far as job support, as of this review there was no formal program, but in lieu of that there is an extremely supportive network of +2,000 alumni and very involved teachers that will help you as much as they can.
I unhesitatingly recommend Le Wagon to anybody that wants to change their career path or improve their knowledge about technology. It is a great value for the money and an amazing experience that will empower you in the end. Thanks Le Wagon!