Le Wagon

My name is Cedrik Razafimanantsoa and I successfully completed the Bootcamp at Le Wagon Paris on December 2019, batch 320.

Before Le Wagon, I worked as French Community Manager for World of Warcraft and other games at Blizzard Entertainment for 9 years. I worked with Html and CSS regularly, but I never learnt how to build a website from scratch.

Last year I decided to do a reconversion as a web developer and I looked for advice. An experienced web developer at Blizzard pointed me to Le Wagon, as he did a similar bootcamp years ago. He convinced me this was the best place to learn coding and I am now convinced it was a very good choice.

With the knowledge I acquired there, I have the feeling that a new career is possible for me. I am also confident that I can continue my learning on my own, to hone my coding skills and to learn new technics. Having Web developer skills is a perfect complement to my experience as community manager.

After getting an MFA in Ecole des Beaux Arts de Paris, I started developing personal projects while working as a registrar in galleries and museums in Paris. I then became a trainer for TechShop Paris, a fablab based in Station F, teaching laser-cutting, 3D-printing and CNC-embroidery for 2 years. All this time, I tried to learn some code for both professional and personal projects, but without really controlling what the output would be.. I learned bits of Java for an Android App and some parts of Python for a facial recognition-based art installation. 

 

In 2019, I took the decision to enroll to Le Wagon, Paris and learn Ruby on Rails, PostgreSQL, Javascript, HTML and CSS. The nine weeks program was intense and fast-paced. My mind went from “OMG I’m never gonna finish this alive” to “Ha ! That was (sort of) easy !”. Only three weeks after getting certified, I started working for the French State Startup program, developing a full platform in Rails for one of them !

After my engineering studies and during my 6-year experience of Quality Assurance in Construction, my career was mostly management-oriented. I felt frustrated at times for things that I was unable to do with an Excel sheet, or when, due to a lack of a database, different departments did not spread information correctly.

Long story short, I wanted to learn more about web app conception after realizing the technical limitations in a large organization taking care of major projects. I heard about Le Wagon at this time of my career when I needed some change, and now that I attended, I still cannot believe how well organized and benevolent the staff was, and how much I have learned in less than 3 months. The group of students was of diverse background, but all bonded over the excitement of learning to code. I chose to be a freelance developer during the bootcamp,  which I can only recommend!

Before I joined in LeWagon, I used to work in a hedge fund as an analyst. Witnessing all the successes happened in the technology industry made me want to take part in building new things. Joined in Le Wagon coding bootcamp is the best decision I've made in 2019. I tried online courses before,it's hard to make consistent progress. And when I got stuck, it's hard to solve the problems. The curriculum framework of Le Wagon was well designed. Morning lectures were just one and half hour, the other time of the day was full of challenges which helped us to use what we learned. It's quite difficult when I tried to solve the challenge by myself. But when you have more chance to make mistakes which means you have more chance to really understand what you're learning. These challenges helped me to build a good habit to think in a programmer's way. We had plenty of chances to practice building products in teams. This special part helped us to learn not only coding skills but also how to cooperate with team members. It feels so good to see my own idea became a real product. In our batch, I was the only student who had no oversea experience. That means I've never worked or studied in an English speaking environment. At the beginning, I was quite nervous. But with the unconditional support from our teachers, TAs, and classmates, I could always find a way to solve my problems or obstacles. To my surprise, all of those supports didn't end after I graduated. Le Wagon helped us to set up goals after the bootcamp. And offer tremendous resources for further study or job seeking. The alumni community is so amazing! This is the best environment to start your coding journey!Hope more and more fabulous people join in our big family!

Before Le Wagon I was studying business management. I wanted to learn how to code to get a better understanding of the tech world on the technical side (not only on the commercial side).I was surprised by how much this bootcamp allowed me to achieve. And same for all the students of my class, even those who were the less confortable with coding at the beginning. In 9 weeks you really get to understand how to code a project with a dev team from A (thinking about the idea, brand etc.) to Z (hard coding the project, splitting the tasks etc.) I would do it again without hesitating. If engaging the program, I would recommend you to attend very carefully the preparation program (before the bootcamp starts). It makes a huge difference. Be also aware that it is a very demanding program.2 cons to finish and nuance : - Be aware that after the bootcamp, if you stop coding, you might forget a lot because your knowledge is not yet fixed in your brain (although you could access online material whenever you want)- There was a huge gap in the level of the different teaching assistants, some of them where less able to help.

After obtaining a MSc in Finance, Banking and Insurance in London and a Master in Risk Management and Insurance in Paris I decided to be a part of the 9-week coding program at Le Wagon (October session) in Paris. It was during my bachelor that I was first given the opportunity to learn the basics to some programming languages such as HTML, CSS. Not only did I enjoy myself while coding but I also realized how it was going to benefit me as the Insurance market was just starting to digitalize. Thanks to Le Wagon not only do I feel accomplished in my coding practice but also confident now applying for Product Manager positions in leading insurtech and fintech.
Beyond the very complete pedagogic plan and the performant tools at our disposal, Le Wagon offer an amazing experience with support, lot of events, a pleasant atmosphere and a great community of “Wagonners” ready to help you at any time! I really recommend this program and hope you will enjoy it as much as I did!

I attended Le Wagon Paris in fall 2019 and it was one of the best decisions I ever made.
Before that I was a translator for 9 years at my own company. I enjoyed my job but I needed more challenges… and that’s what I found at Le Wagon!
The bootcamp is extremely well organized; everything is designed so that you learn a lot in only 9 weeks without ever feeling lost. The teachers and teaching assistants are always willing to help and to get all students to give the best of themselves, whatever their coding level is (I had never coded before).
I am now looking for a job as a web developer and, although I am aware of the fact that I am still junior, I feel I have the basic skills, the method and the network (and the motivation!) that will enable me to thrive in this new step of my career.

After I graduated from Finance and Marketing I worked for several companies in financial areas and then I specialized in Digital Marketing and I have been working as a consultant since then. I realized I wanted to become a full-stack developer in order to improve my skills and work as a developer. After looking for several bootcamps, I chose Le Wagon and it was the best decision I could ever make! The program is really well structured, the teachers are highly skilled, the assistants are extremely helpful and you really learn to code every single day. I didn’t have any coding experience before and I can say that I have learned so much during those 9 weeks and I’m really grateful to all the team of Le Wagon. The staff is just amazing and you get a very useful alumni network for life! The experience was amazing and I recommend it to everyone who is interested in becoming a full-stack developer.  

I had just graduated from university when I attended Le Wagon Paris. By far it was my favourite academic curriculum and one of the most enjoyable human experiences I’ve ever had. 

From the first day the staff knew my name, my background and how to make me work. They’ve always managed to guide me through every single step of the bootcamp. I never felt alone, without their excellent follow-up I would have abandoned undoubtedly.

I owe my job as a product manager to their reputation and I still spend my week nights and Saturdays coding thanks to the enthusiasm they passed on me.

I still go there every Friday to spend some time with the lovely staff and my former classmates. In addition of being a very comfy place where I always feel welcome, it is an excellent path to build one’s professional network.

I loved being part of Le Wagon batch #330 in Rio de Janeiro! I am a formed engineer but inspired on learning how to code to change the job opportunities I have right now. I had a good recommendation from a friend, and now I have no doubt it was the right choice! It is awesome the way the Le Wagon crew treat the students, not only teaching, but helping everybody to achieve the goals in only nine weeks. And the teaching system is very intense, but with enough time to do the exercises and relax before the next one. Excellent!!

To be honest, I, as an engineering graduate, used to hate programming since university, I did not get the support and time to drill into the course work. The 9-week fullstack program shows you a bigger picture in the web development world, e.g. front-end,  back-end, database, then it gives you the freedom and support to feel and choose how to go on with your career. The instructors are very helpful and supportive throughout the whole journey, and I can feel the achievement after developing an actual application within 2-weeks time.

Alumni network is another perks joining Le wagon, my course was taught in Shanghai China but my batchmates were from all over the world e.g. Europe, US etc, and so you can imagine the diversity of the Alumni nnetwork. In addition, I am connected to the alumni netowrk globally after graduation, which would help me to continuously learn and to look for free lance job too.

I would highly recommend Le wagon if you want to join the tech world and their community, which is invaluable compared with the knowledge.