Le Wagon

At the time I came across Le Wagon, I had just recently graduated from secondary school and was looking for a productive way to start my gap year. I had heard of intensive, fast-paced coding bootcamps for people looking to get into the world of tech and it turned out that Le Wagon was the best out of all of them. Coding can definitely be intimidating to learn, especially when you have to fully implement a project idea that you don’t even have yet, but at no point was that fact enough to counteract the good teaching, sense of community, and motivation that was present there. Everything about the design and structure of the course feels very bespoke, as if the creators have very good models of the user experience. The buddy system works extremely well, as well as Kitt, the flashcards, the TAs, and drinks on Friday evenings, all of them really bringing the whole bootcamp together. And this is to say nothing of the people. The probability that 40 individuals, that I couldn’t have hand-picked better myself, all happened to convene in the right place at the right time for this bootcamp is so low, that I am unable to believe that it happened purely by accident. It must say something special about the staff and organizers and the founders of Le Wagon who all individually contribute to the atmosphere and environment that 40 incredible people decided to participate in. For the same reason, I’m also forced to believe that this is the case for all batches that went before me. And that is completely beside the point of coding - why you’re actually there. Working with three other fellow batchmates to put together our idea “Subscripto” (go to “subscripto.org” right now) made me realize that “teamwork” isn’t just one of those buzz-words that pretentious people like to write on their applications to increase their chances. Working alongside intelligent, hard-working people was motivating, meaningful, and not least of all, fun. I really hope I see all of the people again.

Wow, what an incredibly challenging, rewarding and, above all, life-changing 9 weeks! After 14yrs in banking, I chucked it all in and let my puzzle-loving nature pursue its curiosity about coding by signing up for Le Wagon’s full-stack web development course.
What followed were 2 amazing months rammed with well planned lectures and challenges that introduced new concepts daily alongside regular echoes of previous content, which helped reinforce the foundation of programming knowledge that was being built. And each day, you were buddied with another student, which fostered strong bonds of collaboration and opened your eyes to different ways of approaching problems. To say this learning curve was steep and intense would be a gross understatement (oh my lord it broke me bad a couple of times!) but that’s exactly what you need if you really want to learn, be pushed out of your comfort zone and actually acquire meaningful skills. And if you put the work in, the subsequent transformation from week 1 to 9 is absolutely mind-blowing as you exponentially accelerate from dingbat status to proudly finishing with a fully operational, bona fide web or mobile phone app, plus the confidence and desire to do more!
But as much as I could happily wax lyrical on and on about the learning side of things, what I loved most was the genuine sense of community and camaraderie at Le Wagon. For starters I really can’t speak highly enough of how patient all the teachers and TAs were, and what a supportive space they created for us to learn in. They encouraged questions, and requests for help were always answered with positivity, enthusiasm and compassion. And beyond even that, I appreciated how Le Wagon also encouraged a healthy study-social balance, whether it was by reminding us to put away our laptops during the evenings and weekends, take breaks during the day, tuck into birthday cake they’d lay out for us in the afternoons, zen ourselves at free yoga sessions, attend Q&A evenings with tech industry leaders or blow off steam at their weekly social events! There really were so many wonderful people and extra thoughtful touches that made what was an already exciting, productive learning environment into something that was full of heart as well.
With so much learning, so much laughter and so much love, I will always look back at the time I spent at Le Wagon and say that it was one of the best experiences of my life that has left me in a position to look forward now, prepared and excited, to a future in programming.

Prior to enrolling in the Le Wagon bootcamp I worked in media planning and strategy roles predominantly focussed on developing digital strategies for clients. Having recently moved back from a year-long project abroad I decided that the timing was right to take some time out and challenge myself to learn a new skill - something that I believed would stand me in good stead in either setting up my own business or joining a small company with big growth ambitions. With no prior coding experience at all it seemed like a big jump to go straight into a 9-week intensive programme, however I was assured by the team at Le Wagon that the bootcamp was perfectly suited to people with little to no experience. 
Having now completed the programme I can honestly say that I’m very glad to have taken on the challenge. It was by no means a walk in the park and was one of the most intense learning environments I’ve ever been in with new concepts and theories introduced every day. The support of all the teaching staff was incredible and no problem or question was too small or obvious - their passion and enthusiasm really makes Le Wagon what it is. 
Having said this, for me some of the most valuable learnings were made working through problems with fellow students - really understanding the root of the problem and figuring out a solution without immediately asking for help (but knowing it’s always there when required!). This was especially true of project weeks where all of the learnings we had made out of context in previous weeks came together in Rails. These were also some of the most satisfying, seeing the MVP of our app come together into something we were proud to present at the end. A great 9-weeks, now back to the real world…! 

Before starting le Wagon, I was working in a small technology company within the commercial team. Being exposed to product managers gave me a real desire to pursue that path. I knew that learning to code would be a valuable skill in this pursuit and had heard of Le Wagon a few times before so I quit my job and enrolled for the January 2020 intake.
The structure of the program is great. We started by learning the basics of different programming languages back-end, databases, front-end before applying that to our projects, working in teams with other students. It also meant that we moved from exercises and challenges, in the beginning, to actually developing real products. You can actually show your friends and family what you’re building!
More importantly, Le Wagon will help you think like a developer. Identifying a problem and finding the solution yourself, not need to learn things off by heart.
The teachers are always there to help us out, from solving exercises to helping us think about the features we want to add when we work on our projects. They help you understand rather than just give answers. 
I was also happily surprised by the general solidarity between students, everyone helps each other out. 
As with most things, the more you invest yourself in the course the more you’ll get out of it. All the staff from the London campus put in a lot of effort to keep everyone motivated in what can be an intense 9 weeks with various events/talks and overall good vibes. 
Overall, an experience that I would highly recommend.

J’ai longtemps cherché pourquoi j’étais faite. J’ai cependant toujours été attirée par les métiers du Web, et plus précisément, ce qui se passe derrière l’écran, derrière une page Internet, comprendre ce langage « crypté ».
 J’ai donc décidé de me lancer et suivre la formation du Wagon Bordeaux. La formation tient sa promesse initiale mais va bien au-delà ….
 Une aventure humaine qui va de ton « buddy » du jour aux projets en équipe, entraide, partage, soutient ... mais aussi qui passe par les enseignants, passionnés et passionnants, bienveillants et disponibles.
 Une aventure personnelle, où tu apprends une discipline, une rigueur, à être persévérant, à te challenger et à te dépasser chaque jour.
 Une aventure professionnelle où tu rencontres la communauté d’alumni, tu participes à des meet-up avec des acteurs majeurs de Bordeaux et tu rencontres des personnes d’univers différents.
 Ces 9 semaines avec le batch 343 ont été une révélation. Je me suis d’ailleurs liée d’amitié avec Lucille, qui vient du monde de la mode, et nous avons décidé ensemble de découvrir l’entrepreneuriat en tant que Développeuses Web.

Stephanie - Batch 343 - Bordeaux

I just finished the Wagon Bordeaux bootcamp, batch 343. It was both very comprehensive and very intense. I was able to acquire many skills in RoR, Ruby, JS, Html and CSS. The training format is really well thought out: with lessons in the morning and exercises in the afternoon. Being in pairs for the exercises allows you to motivate each other, but also to get to know each other well and to build a very strong promotional spirit. The last three weeks are devoted to projects in groups of 4. My team and I have created two websites and we have seen clear progress since the start of the Wagon. A week after finishing the training, the pressure has still not subsided. I still code a lot and with pleasure. I am delighted to have discovered this new passion thanks to this adventure.

This fullstack program is a 9 week program which teaches software development fundamentals. Le Wagon focuses on teaching students to build tech products in the first 7 weeks. In final 2 weeks you build a tech product for a real world business case any any idea that you want to put into practice. Le Wagon doesn’t just teach students how to code, it teaches an entrepreneurial and problem solving mindset to its students. Classes start at 9am and sometimes run until 7pm in the evening from Monday to Friday. The morning starts with a lecture by the lead instructor, and you will immediately put what you learn in the lecture into use in the challenges for the day. You are paired with a buddy to solve the problems. Le Wagon prepares students for after the camp by teaching the best way to approach bugs in your code. Checking error messages, looking at lecture slides, reading documentation and asking for help from classmates and assistants are greatly encouraged. The curriculum is split very well into coding fundamentals, front end development and backend development. For me, the greatest part of the course was pitching for and coding, in groups, our final projects. It gave a real insight into what working in an exciting tech startup environment would be like. The pressure of working to a pitching deadline day kept us really motivated. Overall the experience was tough, but absolutely worth the time and the money for those who want to fast track their transition into tech, have an entrepreneurial mind or want to build a new skill.

As an engineer, I already had some programming basics, but absolutely no idea on how to bring all of the different aspects together to build a functional application. That is precisely what Le Wagon promised, and precisely what Le Wagon delivered. Over the intensive 9-week course, surrounded by experienced and knowledgeable teachers, we started with the basics, and quickly transitioned to building functioning applications. The curriculum is well structured, concise and is heavily based on exercises and practice and the small-class structure provides a great atmosphere for learning. After the bootcamp, I was able to quickly find an internship to continue developing my full-stack skills and then to continue my tech career as a Product Owner for a local start-up, all thanks to the impressive Wagon network. I am extremely grateful to Le Wagon Lausanne for this experience and the knowledge that I have acquired since the beginning of the bootcamp, and I readily recommend this course to anyone who wants to be a part of the tech industry. 

From cook to developer in 2 months, it seemed impossible ... and yet that's what Le Wagon allowed me to do! I was able, thanks to a conference organized at Le Wagon, to meet my future employer who recruited me at the end of the bootcamp.
I had no knowledge of code ...
Between a team of top teachers, who master and know how to transmit their knowledge and an extremely well thought out and constructed course support, you have all the ingredients to allow you to acquire the skills of developer.
It is an intense training, we come home every evening tired of the new concepts learned and practiced during the day, but satisfied with being able to concretely observe our progress day by day thanks to the daily exercises.
I can only recommend that you do it!

Story of my lifeI have always been passionate about digital technologies. Thanks to my dad who had his architecture firm, I have been able to interact with computers at a very young age. I remember using a computer with DOS, dealing with the machine by writing command lines, asking it to execute small programs, mainly games for the young boy I was. I also remember how I was introduced to the graphical user interface of Windows, before the well-known Windows 95 version. Computers have always been sort of magical for me, and as far as I can remember, I have always used them on a daily basis. That way, I have been amongst the first of my entourage to discover and use the internet back in 1997. It was a hell of an experience, nothing to do with today’s internet. The 10-year-old-boy I was, not only wanted to surf the web but also wanted to create his own “internet”. This is how, by doing some research, I discovered the tools that helped me “code” basic web-pages. Year after year, I continued having fun after school, learning the how-to-create websites driven by my passion and my curiosity.
The Why? I never really abandoned my passion for computers and the internet, but have made professional choices that weren’t connected to digital tech. After graduating from Strasbourg School of Architecture (France), then specializing in Real Estate Management, I worked for several years as a Project Manager in the construction and real estate field. At the same time I was attending the architecture and engineering schools, the world was being profoundly changed by new technologies and the emergence of social media. Then, while I was getting professional experience as a PM, every industry was being disrupted, being actively pushed to its next level, beyond what it is essentially about. Doing the job wasn’t sufficient anymore. New technology is exciting in this way that is always disruptive, killing jobs, creating new ones and ushering in profound social changes. And those who know how to get on board the moving train are the ones who make the most of it, both professionally and personally.
It is in 2018, after gaining a decent 5-year experience in my area of expertise, that a small voice began growing deep inside my head: since digital technology was impacting every field, I didn’t want to be left aside by the changes taking place in my domain. So I thought that it was time for me to finally mix my passion for tech and my professional career choices, with my thirst for entrepreneurial adventures. The real estate and construction industries were going to be profoundly digitally-challenged, and I wanted to be part of the upcoming change.

Joining #TeamLeWagon I finally quit my job mid-2019, driven by my startup project. Unfortunately, having left out coding for many years, I was lacking modern technical coding skills. But, I remembered that a friend of mine told me months before that he was going to attend a 9-week coding bootcamp in Bali to become a full-stack web-developer. This is how I discovered Le Wagon. After further personal research, I decided this bootcamp was what I needed to reconnect with the coding-experience but mainly to understand a developer mindset. But why Montreal you ask? Well, I have always wanted to experience this amazing city for a long period, after visiting it multiple times since 2011. Le Wagon in Montreal is also more international, with people coming from everywhere… and thus, the program is taught in English. Thrilled by the Bootcamp and the location, I applied to Le Wagon Montreal in August 2019. After a quick video-call with Aline Gasparindo, then a video-interview with MG Ayoub, I had to go through and successfully complete a 20-hour personal work to learn the basics of Ruby, and more importantly to see if it is something I would enjoy doing during the bootcamp. That was a necessary prerequisite before getting confirmation of my admission to the autumn batch in Montreal. Weeks before on-boarding, I also had to submit a bunch of prep-work to better know the web and coding environment: HTML, CSS, Ruby, Javascript… All the basic stuff needed to feel comfortable once I’d be completely absorbed in the intensive Bootcamp.

Experiencing Le Wagon The experience of Le Wagon is indescribable. I have had some great experiences in my life, but this Bootcamp was on a whole new level. Looking back to these amazing 9 weeks spent in Montreal, I can say that this feeling is certainly due to three main points.
The people
First of all, Le Wagon’s team: the supervisors, the teachers, and the teacher’s assistants. Their kindness, commitment, and availability at all times, especially in moments of doubt — because yes, there are a lot of these moments throughout the 9 weeks — made me feel very comfortable, at ease and free of any stress, which allowed me to concentrate on the journey’s essentials: learning in joy, in a good mood, and surpassing myself in my daily performances. Every member of the team has had a big smile on his face every morning of the 9-week bootcamp, not hesitating a second to share a coffee, share lunch and be present at the after-works to share a beer. What is also special about Le Wagon’s experience is the fact that the teachers and the teachers’ assistants have all experienced the program before being promoted to the teacher-rank. They know what is important, how the curriculum is made, how it has to be taught. They understand the students, especially those who go through difficulties in the first weeks. They are well prepared to help them understand because they have been there before. That is something essential in this out-of-the-box learning-process, and I think it is really smart and great!
Also, the people
At the same time, all the wonderful people from my batch (batch 329) made the experience as great as it was. Not to forget the Le Wagon community — especially the alumni based in Montreal — that takes this Bootcamp to a very different level. This point is undoubtedly a direct result of the efforts made by MG and her team, building up the cohorts by diversifying profiles. Each batch is a wonderful melting pot of people coming from various backgrounds, which is an essential part of the Le Wagon adventure. In fact, the experience goes beyond the curriculum, and the people who shape the batch and later Le Wagon’s alumni are undeniably the most valuable asset of it.
Throughout the program, we learn through daily contact with those who make up the batch. Since everyone thinks differently and finds creative solutions to the multitude of problems we face in the daily challenges, working within a stimulating environment lets us consider exciting new paths, usually completely different from those we would have taken. We unconsciously leave our well-known comfort zone, willing to do much more and better than ever! On the last day of the Bootcamp, I remember saying to myself how amazing the evolution was from 9 weeks ago till this very last moment following the Demoday: the friends I made from my batch were complete strangers just 63 days ago, but we quickly bonded, and at the time I’m writing this review, I’m still in contact with lots of them. Thanks to the buddy system, we are pushed to get to know each and everyone in the batch. Of course, you may not have the same affinity with everyone, but you’d be surprised to see how each participant always makes himself spontaneously available to help others, filled with great kindness. No competition at Le Wagon: we all belong to the same team and we all want to live the Bootcamp experience to the fullest. To let us do so, throughout the 2 months, a lot of events are organized (not to forget the Wednesday Yoga sessions with Claudette) which is profoundly bond-forming. Thus, current students get to know each other but they can also meet the alumni, who do not hesitate to share with the cohort their own experience, always giving good advice, and their post-Le Wagon professional life. Hence, the Friday-night after-work quickly became the-place-to-be, sharing a beer, a laugh, a dance… but most importantly letting ourselves go to casual and interesting discussions animated by the rhythm of the music.
Smart program and smart tools
Finally, Le Wagon’s program is very cleverly constructed. Throughout the journey, we don’t always understand why we’re doing this or that, but soon enough we realize the progress we’ve made in the learning-process: indeed, we do so by the end of the first week! I remember having moments of extreme frustration, but I was repeatedly being told that I have to trust the program (thank you Stéphane!). Once you do so, you find true joy in the developer-making-process and you truly sense the evolution which is smooth and complete. Now that I am done with the Bootcamp, I have taken the time to go through what we have learned from week 1 until Demoday. I realized that everything has been well conceived by the founders. I also understood that the Bootcamp has gradually been nourished since 2016 by the experience of each of the batches that have occurred in all the Le Wagon worldwide.
One thing I have been positively surprised by is the “Kitt” platform, which has been specially made for Le Wagon bootcamp. Once you on-board in the Bootcamp, you access your personal profile that will be daily updated throughout the program. Le Wagon’s promise is life-time access to Kitt, letting you always connect with the alumni but also review lectures and learn new skills. This platform is clear, intuitive, and comprehensive! It contains everything necessary for the learning process during the Bootcamp but also for later. It integrates with all the modules used throughout the training, Github of course, but also with every software used for coding, the OS terminal… This level of professionalism — almost perfect — helps a lot in the intensive bootcamp-process. Last but not least is Le Wagon’s Slack which is very useful to communicate with your batch but also with the alumni, even after graduating. In fact, I still have access to Le Wagon’s Slack, benefiting from job offers posted on the appropriate channel, but also from the experience and the help of the alumni. It also lets me connect with my batch, and we still share our experiences post-Le Wagon.
If I had to do it all over again…
I’d definitely do it again.
Le Wagon is a hell of an experience. I truly enjoyed every moment of it. I have never felt so alive in my life. Throughout this intensive 9-week Bootcamp, I went through all kinds of emotions, had difficult moments, moments of doubt, of intense joy, moments of crazy laughter… I learned a lot, very much in such a short time. I sometimes felt I was invincible, and I wanted to go further. Le Wagon truly gave me the needed skills and mindset to become a developer, a product manager… or a tech entrepreneur. It’s up to me now to make the best of it.
What remains, after all, is certainly what I have learned, but above all are the moments engraved in my memory and the friendships I’ve made.
If you want to change your life and you really want to do it, then you definitely need to apply to one of Le Wagon’s bootcamp. You won’t regret it.
PS: you can check Batch #329 Demoday on the YouTube link below :
https://youtu.be/fgP_A61UBkM