Le Wagon

I've been in IT for 20 years but far from the Web world (yes, there is a lot of stuff going on out of the www as well). Tired of all the burocracy of big groups and the never ending projects, I decided to look for something more dynamic. Then started looking for a web development bootcamp. At the beginning of my career I was a developer and I remembered how much I enjoyed coding, so decided to update my knowledge and move on to the web. I was looking for somethig dynamic, pragmatic and useful right away. No time for 6 months training plus time doing interships in companies. Had had my share of big companies.

I checked some other trainings and bootcamps in the Marseille area and Le Wagon spoke to me right away. Just by looking at their website you can see is dynamic. Being a globtrotter at heart and seeing that the bootcamp runs in so many countries just clicked.

Then the program. Training sessions in the morning, then practice all day long, then life code at the end of the day. Then two weeks developing a project. A lifely dynamic involved in the startup world. I assited then to one of their Demo Days and it just felt right. That's what I wanted to do, that's the bootcamp I want to join. It took a few months until I could finally join but I was not dissapointed at all. 

We were lucky enough in our promo to hit it off right away. 14 people, from 21 to 59 years old, very different backgrounds and experiences and so enriching. Later on, seeing other promos, I think that happens in every promo, in different ways, but the ambiance of Le Wagon just makes that in every promo there is a bit of a (temporary) family spirit going on. 

Ah, yes, we coded as well! I just had a blast every single day. It was hard, future Wagoners beware. It was exahausting but so worth it. The first week I was so excited and my brain was absorbing so many things that I could barely get to sleep at night. By the middle of the bootcamp you are exahusted, you start to beleive that you are not going to make it... there are ups and downs, but everyone tells you to hold on to it... wich you do and by the end everything is worth. 

The pedagory is good, being in IT I already knew many concepts, though not the languages, and the way things are explained and chained it just makes sense and everything ends up by clicking and fitting together.

Teachers are excellent, some have a lot of experience in the field, some others are Le Wagon's alumni. All of them are passionate and patient. They know how to teach and help. 

And then the Demo Day. It is so exciting to be able to show to about a hundred people what you just did with your team. We could not beleive we were able to do all of that in only 2 weeks. Only 9 weeks before we didn't know anything about it and there we were, showing to the world our project. 

When you finish your promo there is a bit of an "orphan" feeling, after all you are spliting with your (temporary) family and that is always difficult. But there are ways to work it out. Co working space, being a TA (which I am doing), or even becoming a teacher yourself later on (which I hope to do some day).

Le Wagon has s become part of my life now, I go to the co-working space, I make TA every now and then and the whole experience keeps up to my expectations. 

Hesitating about which way to go? Well, my advise is go to Le Wagon, hold on to the rails (pun intended) and enjoy! You won't regret it!

I’d like to preface this review by saying that I’m neither a “gusher” nor a “joiner.” I’m rarely openly impressed or complimentary; even less often do I place myself in situations where I am forced to interact with a bunch of strangers.

With that out of the way, I’d like to genuinely & uncharacteristically assert that my time at Le Wagon Barcelona was one of the most positive, self-actualizing, & unforgettable experiences of my life.

I, like perhaps a lot of you, was very nervous when considering a boot camp. I was already pretty far along in my first career and didn’t have the time or resources to pursue another bachelor’s degree. My fears with opting for a boot camp existed not only because I had practically zero coding experience, but also because I’d read horror stories about others investing in different boot camps only to come out feeling as though they didn’t know anything and ultimately being unprepared to enter the workforce or to start projects on their own. Luckily, the only thing I’d had to fear was fear itself. And semicolons.

Le Wagon was challenging in a way that I could never have expected nor that I can even try to articulate, but for every obstacle there was overwhelming support from both staff and other classmates. Aside from learning relevant and up-to-date subjects in a very organized, gamified way, I developed some amazing relationships with the people in my batch and the instructors; over a month later there are still some people that speak with on a daily basis! And - despite being extremely prone to imposter syndrome - I have found myself very confident in what I have learned at Le Wagon, so much so that I am currently working on my own freelance projects, personal website, and business plan for an app I’d like to develop.

So as someone who does not do this (no, seriously, I never do it), I cannot help but recommend Le Wagon if you’re looking to get a start in web development. The curriculum, learning environment, & ongoing support networks are truly unparalleled and I promise you will not be disappointed.

I was batch #02. It’s seems a long time ago now !
2014 you remember ?
At the time I wasn’t even aware how this bootcamp would change my life forever.
As a filmmaker I was even convinced that coding was not only a boring activity but also something very rigid. I couldn’t be more wrong.
What I learned at Le Wagon gave me super powers. The way they teach programming challenged my brain. Sometimes I even felt like I won’t make it, but the staff was awesome and they never let me down. At first, I struggled to understand the point and seeing the big picture. Learning, ruby, object oriented programming, building an ORM or an MVC from scratch wasn’t making no sense to me. It was like getting LEGO blocks without knowing what they would be useful for. But the staff was like they knew what they were doing, so I stayed confident and eventually a few weeks later I started to experiment a series of thoses orgasmic AHA moments.
Then I realised how creative programming could be.
Now, I’m a digital nomad. I live in a 12m long bus. Working fulltime remotely for a french EdTech company. I do frontend and backend stuff. I really love coding and the freedom this lifestyle gave me.

Sure if you come at Le Wagon you will learn to code the hard way but this is the right way.

    I’m a high school student and I decided to study abroad in America. I graduated my junior high school on March but my high school starts from September so I had plenty of time to do something what I like. That’s why I joined in Le Wagon’s programming boot camp.

    The first three weeks was the hardest for me, but the teachers taught me very carefully and were always ready to help. And as I continue learning coding, my skill became better and better. In the last project, I think I could contribute as a front-end programmer.

    I think I need more practice for back-end stuff. But in the last project, I think I could contribute as a front-end programmer and Le Wagon changed my life dramatically.

Before Le Wagon I was working as an apprenticeship coordinator in the construction industry. I was managing up to 45 apprentices. My partner is a data analyst so he invited me to start doing online courses and I was hooked. I knew I wanted to make a career in coding so decided to join Le Wagon. It was the best decision I could make! The staff is friendly, supportive and fun; they made it so easy to get through the cursus. As an end project we worked on a user-friendly timesheet system to help out my old company!

I have applied for the 42 coding school in Paris and was very thankful to have my background in Ruby to help me in that application process!

The meeting with the Wagon was for me important in my career. From the first moments I understood that I could be confident structured pedagogy, effective, thought, progressive, so reassuring, all in a beautiful, spacious in the heart of Marseille.

Be part of the Batch 141 Marseille feel to belong to a strong community, know that we will be able to work together, to exchange, to bring, that the wagon does not stop at the end of the training. It's a great human adventure and I loved the shared moments! exit climbing in the creeks, memorable football match at the stadium!

I have experienced this regular rhythm that alternates between course and pair programming and I have seen day after the knowledge is consolidated. Intensive work, and also time to regain energy: yoga hours. At Wagon we take care of us!

If you are motivated to learn, discover among available, competent, creative people Go for it!

My brother is a programmer and has been telling me for the past 12 years to start learning to code. Right. So I could have learned to code years ago but would I have liked it as much as I do now??

I attended Le Wagon in Tel Aviv Batch #150. Before that I worked for 3 years in a marketing company as an affiliate manager, and finally decided to quit. It was the right time to look for a new direction, to learn something new that I will love doing. I suddenly gave a second thought to learning to code. I started a few online courses but it wasn’t enough. I felt like I needed a learning environment.

After 4 months of self-learning, hours spent in coffee shops with friends, more Netflix that I could ever watch and numerous researches about coding courses, I stumbled upon Le Wagon website. I watched videos on Youtube about project pitches and I was very impressed by the result after only 2 months. After checking all the possible reviews - all very good - I decided to apply. My advice: do not waste your time and go to Le Wagon even if you have no skills whatsoever in coding.

In the first few weeks of the bootcamp, it’s hard but the teachers and TAs are super clear, really helpful and thorough. The lessons are super clear. Every day you get to practice what you’ve learned the same morning via multiple exercises. On top of that, you get a Live Code session at the end of the day that helps the knowledge acquired sink in. Towards the end of the bootcamp, you also have 2 projects to build in teams. My team and I created a project called www.CoinTrail.io, a platform that helps you track your portfolio across any exchanges. We are still working on it!

To sum it up, my experience with Le Wagon was a life changing one. I’ve learned in two months more that I would have alone in one year. I have met wonderful people from all around the world, from teachers to students. I’ve learned to work in teams, under pressure (get ready for the Final Project!!). Le Wagon gives you great tools to learn: video lectures, challenges, flashcards, course slides, useful links etc. The best thing is that you still have access to all of it once you’ve finished! As I’ve said before, do not waste time! Change your life, start coding!

During my previous career in *communication* & public relations, I had the chance to collaborate with creative coders and I got really curious about coding. Back then, I decided to learn the fundamentals of code (HTML / CSS) with e-learning platforms. I began to build several websites for small companies or for relatives (using wordpress) but I got quickly frustrated *on the technical plan*. 
I decided to enroll *in* Le Wagon Bootcamp to have the big picture and finally understand how apps & websites are built. 
Joining Le Wagon was definitely worth *it* and was an amazing experience, both for the knowledge, the fantastic pedagogy and teachers, and for the encounters with my *fellow* alumni! 
Even though the courses are really intensive, there are plenty of *group* work, great events, inspiring talks and funny drinks organized during all the bootcamp and this makes it a truly exciting journey!
During the bootcamp, I really got passionate about front end and design and decided to work as *a* freelance web designer but I’m also thinking about joining some alumni and help them *work on* their startup projects. 
Thanks again to all Le Wagon team !

I’ve attended Le Wagon in Paris in batch#146. I had a law and history degree and after a last internship, I was supposed to begin my career in a law relative job or in administration. But you know what? It was boring!

Some of my friends told me that I should consider learning to code. And I tried alone with online courses, but it wasn’t enough, I had no real support and was really alone in my journey. Then I heard about boot camps and I chose Le Wagon due to its excellent reputation in the startup ecosystem and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my short life.

The teaching and course structure were excellent. The course is really intense and challenging, but worth it. I really appreciated the entrepreneurial and the product-first approach. The teachers are 100% committed, always friendly and helpful. Le Wagon staff is fantastic and they are all really nice human being. Le Wagon taught me how to code, I'm able now to build my own web project, to work in a startup as a developer or go freelance. But especially Le Wagon prove me that with hard commitment you can learn anything.

In addition, Le Wagon helps me to connect to an amazing network ( startups, VC, entrepreneurs, dev ) which helps me to gain insights. More importantly, I met a group of new friends from different backgrounds who share common interests.
Now, two months after the end of the camp, I work on a SaaS business project with some friends. In addition to that, I am building stuff ( bot, website...) for fun to sharpen my skills and I read a lot to go further in my computer science knowledge.

Hi future students of Le Wagon, I am Sonia and I attended Le Wagon Milan 2018 and I am not scared to say that It is the most important carreer shift I made  !

I have a marketing background and noticed how important it is to get skills in web programming. Of course I tried to learn by my own but I learned slowly and wrongly. I advice you to not waste your time learning on your own and go to Le Wagon even if you have 0 skills in coding. 

Le Wagon strategy is learning by doing 
You will learn by doing exercices and projects. The courses are super clear and everyday you get to do exercices and live code. In the end of the bootcamp you get to do projects with your team. This was an awesome experience that I shared with my team mates, you get to code a project from scratch and this is the period where you realize how you leveled up and how much you did with no previous experience before Le Wagon. 

The unique power of Le Wagon is that you are never left alone.
In the beginning this is really hard but the teachers are motivating (In Milan : Francesco Ecclesie, Angelica Vanni and Arbi Velaj), they will always be really patient and improve your skills. Appart from the staff, there is a buddy system which allow you to code with another student each day. Day by day, you get to know the other students and in the end it is like a big family. 

Now I left Le Wagon 2 months ago but in the end what did I get from that ?
-Coding Skills : i  can code, read and see the mistakes in RUBY HTML CSS JS ~> A huge differentiation professionally and personnaly
-A portfolio (Github, Two projects)  ~> this is really useful during interviews and change everything
-I can code my own project ~> amazing experience and could not do that if I did not attend Le Wagon before
-A huge network with Le Wagon where you can share info with other students from all over the world, improve your skills and find jobs in front end/back end/full stack/marketing....
-Many Friends because even if It is a serious bootcamp you will play hard, lots of dinners and drinks on weekends !

Many thanks to Le Wagon :)

Before LW, I was working as a cybersecurity consultant in Paris. This was a nice job. Bright people, reasonable hours, high salary, good working conditions. After four months I validated my trial period and suddenly the name of my contract hit me hard for what it was: “permanent”. A permanent life of boring suits, gloomy subway, consulting lingo and fake smiles. Nope. I freaked out, resigned and decided I needed something new. I had put coding in the back of my mind for a while. I talked to a friend who had done LW before and went through all the reviews I could find online. Change your life they said, alright, this seemed cool. 
I had no background in coding. I had tried once or twice to learn by myself and watched the first two lectures of Harvard CS50 course but that’s pretty much it. On the first meet-up right before the bootcamp, I remember meeting alumni and getting a little anxious. There were almost only ex-engineers. I had done business and my previous job consisted mainly in preparing PPT, writing reports and shaking hands... In the end, it is not about what you did before, it is just about how much time and effort you’re willing to put into it. Everyone can success. 
Looking back, I can say that Le Wagon has been, by far, the best learning experience in my life. It’s about coding of course but it is also much more than that. These guys entirely rethink the whole teaching process to make it as stimulating, challenging and rewarding as possible. In just 9 weeks, you become alternatively a student, a teacher, a teammate, an interviewer or a speaker. It completely changed my view on learning and motivation. I enjoyed every second of it.

What you pay for:

You've read around 500 5-stars reviews, you’re convinced. Now you want to jump in. There’s just one thing… 6000€. What can possibly justify that price? 
Everyone experiences the bootcamp differently but IMO the following is what made it more than worth it: 
-    Resources: The hardest part about learning to code, especially on your own, is probably to sort through the huge amount of materials you can find online, to distinguish between good sources and bad ones, between essential knowledge and useless bs. LW does all the job for you and organizes it so that it makes sense. The good thing is you get a lifetime access to everything: video lectures in French and in English, challenges, corrections, course slides, useful links or documentations, flashcards… Even months after the bootcamp, alumni keep using the platform to go back to the basics or review a specific concept. 
-    Teaching Assistants: The lecture takes place between 9:00 am and 10:30 am. Afterwards, the whole day is about coding and solving challenges. You’ll get stuck. A lot. The TAs are the guardian angels that will prevent you from repeatedly smashing your head against your screen to try and make your code work. They’ll walk you through the process step by step without giving you the answer until you solve the problem by yourself. They’re all alumni, they know what you are going through, they all did the bootcamp, sometimes a few weeks before you. They don’t know everything but they’re probably your best source of knowledge. Call them a lot and every time you do, take some time to summarize what you’ve just learned. 
-    Network: LW has an exponentially growing alumni community. Unlike many other alumni communities, all the people there took a huge step to join LW. So everyone feels engaged and the community is all the more active. The different slack channels are alimented daily with news, new resources, job offers etc. By joining LW, you get a direct link to more than 3000 bright and open-minded people all around the world. It is invaluable.

Now, after 5 years groping around with different courses, internships and jobs I’ve finally found something I can think of as a career path. Thank you Le Wagon!