Le Wagon

Educator in professional retraining, I discovered at the Wagon de Marseille that I was capable of more than I thought. The wagon's catchphrase "Change your life, learn to code" sounds a little exhilarating, but, to me, it conveys a real reality. Because, even before finishing the training, after a few weeks, I already felt like I had changed my world. Today, I know I can understand, reproduce and make a web application from scratch. But above all, I can learn quickly, by relying on a network, acquaintances, and friends.

The Wagon training is intense, at first you feel like your brain is boiling. The concepts follow one another so quickly, so it’s hard to assemble them and we’re not talking about assimilating them. But, on the other hand, we know where to look for them, how. We can at any time re-read the courses, watch them on video, redo the exercises ... Another lesson: "read the doc" was hammered at us during the weeks of projects. And it’s valuable advice.

Finally, and above all, working in pairs each day, then in teams of three or four during the projects, builds a spirit of community, and after the wagon, each student remains in network with the other students in his class, and with all alumni.

Only downside, for me, the last week, optional, allowing to pass the certification and work on the job search is not included in the training (and therefore was not supported financially).

Before joining Le Wagon, I was working as an economic consultant for a management consultancy. I didn't like the 'feel' of working for a big organization and wanted a career that was future proof.

I wasn't sure about which coding school to join and had interviews with a few in London. What stood out about Le Wagon was the vibe of the place and the entrepreneurial focus of the syllabus.

My experience at Le Wagon lived up to my expectations. The syllabus was intelligently crafted so that by graduation, you had the tools and knowledge to develop your own application. In addition, the teaching throughout was superb and all the staff helped to foster an excellent learning environment.

Although it's sadly over, I have made friends for life and joined a community of 6,000+ like-minded coders! Thanks to everyone at Le Wagon!

After a number of years working as a lawyer, I had, for some time, been wanting to learn to code in order to develop some technical skills, future-proof/enhance my career, and open new career paths. I researched a number of different coding bootcamps, but Le Wagon’s personalised application process and outstanding reviews led me to choose Le Wagon over other bootcamps. 

I am very glad that I chose Le Wagon, as the whole experience was fantastic from start to finish, and I would really recommend it to anyone thinking of doing a coding bootcamp. I learnt so much during the bootcamp - you will be amazed at what you can build by the end of the course in your final project - and met a really great bunch of people from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. The syllabus, learning portal and teaching process at Le Wagon are extremely good and there is always plenty of academic and personal support both throughout the course as well as afterwards, as students remain within the active, and growing, Le Wagon alumni community. It was a special experience and I only wish that I could do it again.

Whether you are considering doing a coding bootcamp simply to learn to code for personal interest, to begin a career in software engineering, to experience a new challenge and grow some new synapses, or for any other reason, you cannot go wrong with choosing Le Wagon.

Je viens tout juste de terminer Le Wagon. Deux mois très intensifs mais aussi très formateurs. Les professeurs sont là pour nous accompagner tout au long de la formation et nous donner toutes les clés pour réussir. Chaque jour, on se retrouve en binome avec une personne différente pour avancer à deux dans les exercices, un très bon moyen pour progresser en équipe. Les projets des dernières semaines sont éprouvants mais on y retire que du positif, on arrive à se rendre compte du chemin parcouru en seulement 9 semaines. Une belle aventure que je ne regrette pas !

Before joining the bootcamp, I was working as a planning engineer for the government. I took the plunge to do the full-stack program because I wanted to become a web developer, and a startup founder in the near future. The coding curriculum was crafted thoughtfully such that every module that we learnt played a key role in the final project. The best part about the bootcamp is its product-driven approach. We learnt how to build deployable web apps from the back-end to the front-end, and the collaboration workflow adopted by most successful startups. Thanks to Le Wagon and its Singapore staff, my final project teammates and I built a Minimal Viable Product and we are looking to launch it as a startup.

All structure since the lecture , the challenges and live coding. All the students and staffs were fantastic! Probably this helped a lot.

Everyone were involved in a way that I felt they really care about us. I could realize that some had a certain difficulty on some aspects but always tried to solve the issue. Was an amazing experience !

Just want to thank all the effort that turn me into a better programmer and made me feel that I reach another level on programming

After 10 years of working in Finance I became completely disillusioned with the industry and decided I wanted to increase my skill set in the world of tech, and actually understand what went into building a product and the code behind it.

I looked at a number of different coding schools in London but Le Wagon immediately stood out. The campus is light and open plan which made a great environment for all the students in which to learn. The main reason I was convinced to apply however, was the community of past students and current teachers that I had a chance to speak to.

Le Wagon have an incredible number of brilliant Teachers and Teaching Assistants (mostly made up of ex bootcamp graduates), which made what is a very daunting learning process, one of the best decisions I've made. The bootcamp is intense, but the Le Wagon community are there to help you along every step of the way.

I went from not knowing what a terminal was, to designing, implementing and shipping to production a Rails prototype on a progressive web app called Podfast with a team of 4 in two weeks. The concept was then presented at the Barbican in-front of 300 people!

The variety of students from all walks of life and a huge variety of different backgrounds was so refreshing as well, as it meant everyone was learning in the same boat.

To anyone sitting on the fence, take the leap! You won't regret it!

J’ai fait le bootcamp du Wagon Bordeaux cet automne. Je suis très satisfait de cette formation qui est allée au-delà de mes attentes. Ce fut une expérience incroyable qui m’a permis de faire la connaissance avec des gens que je n’aurais sûrement pas rencontré en dehors du Wagon. Les enseignants sont très compétents et m’ont aidé à progresser rapidement. Le staff a été accueillant et à l’écoute tout au long de la formation.Pendant le Wagon nous avons été amenés à travailler en binôme et chaque jour c’est avec une personne différente. C’est quelque chose que j’ai beaucoup apprécié puisque ça permet d’aborder les problèmes différemment et permet de s’enrichir tant sur le plan technique qu’humain.J’avais déjà fait du code avant le Wagon et pendant les premières semaines j’ai pu apporter mon aide à mon buddy du jour. C’est l’expérience humaine qui a été plus marquante durant la première partie de la formation plutôt que l’aspect technique. Après les trois premières semaines le niveau des élèves s’équilibre et les compétences de chacun ressortent grâce à leur expérience et c’est ça qui fait la force du Wagon. Il en résulte alors un mélange d’expériences et de compétences qui ont permis de réaliser des projets très intéressants lors du DemoDay.J’ai participé à un projet d’application avec 2 autres personnes. Cette application,
Seven Spaces, consiste à proposer à ses utilisateurs de créer ou rejoindre des salons de chat restreints. Ce qui donnent la possibilité de pouvoir discuter sur internet en diminuant drastiquement le risque de recevoir des messages haineux ou non-respectueux lors de discussions comme sur certaines plateformes sociales. En effet le créateur du salon peut exclure un utilisateur facilement s’il tente de nuire à la convivialité du salon.Je recommande vivement cette formation à tous ceux motivés qui souhaitent apprendre à coder. Avant de se lancer il faut bien garder à l’esprit que la charge de travail et le rythme sont conséquents.

Before joining the bootcamp I was working as a Supervisor in different restaurants across London. I wanted a change so I decided to join Le Wagon. 

I can easily say this turned out to be one of the best experiences in my life! 

The learning method is amazing since it makes you learn so much in a short period of time. When I started, I didn’t have any previous coding experience, and in just two months I learned how to build full web applications.
The course makes you improve day after day and also teaches you not to give up, allowing you to create amazing things in no time.

After nine weeks of intensive learning with Le Wagon, I’ve not only gained a deeper understanding of full-stack web development, but the confidence and knowledge to extend my learning to other technical areas.

I can only strongly recommend Le Wagon to anyone willing to learn how to code!

Après 20 années passées dans le domaine des Ressources Humaines en tant que Key Account Manager et Recruteur à Paris, j’ai réalisé un bilan de compétences il y a 1 an dans le but d’effectuer une reconversion professionnelle. Très vite, j’ai su que je voulais évoluer dans le monde de la tech et plus précisément celui du web.

Après avoir discuté avec plusieurs développeurs et plusieurs amis qui travaillent dans ce domaine, tous m’ont vivement conseillé de postuler à la formation du Wagon. Désireux de revenir sur Bordeaux et après avoir fait le travail préparatoire j’ai eu la chance de faire partie du batch 325.

Le moins que je puisse dire, c’est que cette formation a tenu toutes ses promesses. L’équipe pédagogique est aux petits soins pour chacun des élèves, nous accompagne pour nous aider à nous surpasser et le système de buddies nous permet d’aller plus loin et de nous entraider. L’apprentissage par le biais de cours mais surtout de résolution d’exercices au quotidien est très performant. Et le résultat est incroyable.

2 sites web réalisés en moins de 3 semaines en fin de formation. Fraîchement diplômé, je recherche un poste de développeur web sur Bordeaux et ai déjà plusieurs entretiens programmés.

Mon expérience au Wagon Bordeaux fut très positive, le rythme des journées, l’organisation, l’enchaînement du programme rien n’est laissé au hasard.

J’ai beaucoup apprécié l’ambiance générale de mon batch l’entre aide quotidienne entre les élèves et le soutient des professeurs. Débutant en programmation, je suis surpris de tout ce que j’ai pu apprendre en 9 semaines, c’est lorsque nous avons présenté notre projet que j’ai réalisé tout le chemin que j’avais fait.

Nous avons eu l’idée de développer une plateforme qui permet de parier des sommes d’argent contre ses amis pour des séances de running. Pari réussi puisque nous avons présenté le jour-j une application fonctionnelle, Run2beatMe !

J’ai trouvé les challenges journaliers particulièrement efficaces, car ils m’ont poussé à me débrouiller de manière autonome face à une problématique, et c’est cet état d’esprit qui aujourd’hui, à la sortie du Wagon, me permet de continuer d’apprendre en autonomie.

Cette formation m’a également apporté une base de connaissances solides pour lancer sereinement ma carrière de développeur.

Je recommande vivement la formation du Wagon à tous ceux qui souhaitent se challenger et cultiver un état d’esprit de développeur !

Before I start : I have a background in psychology and knowledge of art & design, I’ve also always been curious of learning a lot of things.

 

 

My initial question before I started this journey was:

Why coding? This is the question that I have been asked for a lot of times, also the same question I asked myself before I decided to attend Le Wagon. Why coding, instead of other things? Why choose coding at this time, instead of before or later?. What helped me take the leap was a voice inside of me saying “ WHY NOT coding? Don’t you see the possibility? if you don’t learn coding, you could be illiteracy in just a few years?” This voice may be scary, but try to check what’s going on around you, think about it. Get your answer, because this is really serious!

 

Making the choice:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” (A Tale of Two Cities)

This a quote from “A Tale of Two Cities” and it relates a lot to learning how to code nowadays.

If you start to be interested in coding, you can find tons of ways of learning. Sometimes too many options, you feel dazzled. This decision is especially hard for a person born under the sign of Libra  :-) I am lucky, because I know someone who graduated from Le Wagon. And I saw his career changing after he graduated. When he started, I couldn’t believe that one’s life can be changed only after 9 weeks. Because this is counter my common sense. I have been taught  that you need 10 000 hours of practice to be good at something. But this friend is the hard fact, which I couldn’t ignore and deny it. So I decided to try by myself, to see how far I could go, how much my life would be changed by such “mystery” process.

 

I can give you my story ending: I never regret the decision I made. Furthermore, my life is changed and still changing now. This is one of my best decision I have ever made in my life.

 

If you experience trying to learn code by yourself, you might know you might be stuck sometimes for a few hours or even days, you don’t know where is the mistake that was made or why your code doesn’t work, and you can’t find someone to ask why. Sometimes this could lead you to a self-doubt situation, that you tell yourself: “maybe I am not made for it, I don’t have the talent to do this”. That’s exactly where Le Wagon can help. You have the opportunity to learn with a community.

 

 

Life at Le Wagon:

The schedule at Le Wagon is quite simple: lecture and then practice, practice, practice… the practice part is like an infinitive refrain of a song: you can’t get rid of it and you don’t even want to get rid of it. But, practice is the key! And we don’t practice alone. We practice with buddies (this is the cooperation system used by Le Wagon), and we have teachers’ support. You can’t be stuck in one problem for more than 1 hour, unless you really want it. I was immersed in doing the challenges, only hoping the time could fly slowly, but the time is ruthless, it never happened.

 

Generally, we have one-hour live-code at the end of the day. Sometimes, someone has to code in front of the class, and of course, not every day we had volunteers. You will always remember the “wheel of death” moment 😅if it happens : we randomly select someone. But don’t panic, you will always get the answer, the whole class is by your side.

 

Teamwork is another keyword at Le Wagon. For the whole bootcamp : with your buddies, or when you are working together for a group project. You should always keep that in mind. I was very impressed by the way we pitched for our own project,  how we had feedbacks and the way we chose the project we wanted to work with. If you are accepted, you will expand your knowledge, and Le Wagon does it very efficiently.

 

Collaboration ❤️

In the last 3 weeks, you will work with the same teammates all the time. I had an excellent experience working with my teammates. They were very supportive, cooperative. We had a lot of meetings to review, discuss, plan our daily work. Usually meeting means boring moments, waste of time. But in our case, I never had this kind of feeling. It is very useful and necessary. I learned from everyone. Another good thing I found is, not just inside the team, cross the teams, we also made a lot of connections. Sharing or asking for help is normal during the bootcamp.

 

Finally making a product : the final weeks

I will never forget the last 2 weeks dedicated to our final project. From scratch to final product, we made it! I know, I still have a lot to learn. But, in less than 2 weeks, creating an app from zero, is already amazing. I couldn’t believe it before we made it. We worked a lot, myself, my teammates, the whole team of Teachers. I am so proud of it, indescribably proud of it!.

 

My pieces of advice:

• Be prepared for the class. Take online courses, do the exercises, the more, the better!
• Be prepared that sitting all day long in front of laptop, after the bootcamp, you could suddenly realize that Le Wagon fatten you up!
• Don’t think that the teacher always tell you everything: They say the 3 first weeks are the most difficult ones. The true fact is: No! Every Week is challenging!
• Learn some French words if you come from a country where people don’t speak French. Or if this helps: if you want to find a local language partner, try a cool app named“Bonjourhi” (please allow me to promote our final project here lol)
• Notice that you will be used to learn and code in a very intensive pace, this could affect your daily speaking speed, eat speed, walking speed etc etc.
• Warning! Probably you will be sad, depressive, get lost on the Saturday morning after the demo day party :(

 

 

Conclusion:

9 weeks is like a little nap, without having a dream, suddenly you are woken up. It is tough, but it is a looooot of fun. Besides the new career opportunity, it is also the opportunity to challenge yourself, to see the benefits after your hard work. You can’t buy a sense of accomplishment, never, the only way to do it is to commit.

Find this mystery joy by yourself. Then, you will be as me, as my classmates, as the  alumni around the world, grateful and satisfied.