Le Wagon

I decided to learn coding primarily because I was paying coders to code my own projects and honestly I had little to no idea what they were doing, what was taking them so long and why I was paying them SO MUCH!

After a few years of employing them I figured I needed to learn a lot more or else I'd probably spend a lifetime having other people code my visions. So I signed up for the bootcamp to learn how to code but also to learn how to manage coders I contracted.

It was an amazing experience from start to finish! You were completely immersed in coding and Le Wagon makes you feel like your being welcomed into a family across the globe. A family of coders of course. They allowed you to move at your own pace. If you were coding for the first time they made sure you kept up with the pace of the class and if you caught on quick they ensured you never ran out of new material and challenges for you to work on. They pretty much gave you the opportunity to learn whatever you wanted. It was an endless learning experience in the class room and the possibilities simply expanded when you stepped into the city of Barcelona.

I choose Barcelona because it is one of the best places to drink wine in the world, I have always been intrigued by Spanish culture and rumor has it Barcelona is a great place to party. The city easily delivered all that and more the entire 9 weeks I was there. And most importantly it fosters an environment for creativity and freedom of self expression. It reigns high as my favorite place in the world right now.

My favorite part of the curriculum was that this coding class had an entrepreneurial twist to it. So in addition to the technical skills to code I took information away on how to start a business and go about launching a product. That was one of the most valuable things I learned.

The best part of the entire course was the people I got to be around and work with. So my advice to anyone considering it is don't hesitate, take on adversity head first, find every new experience you can and live in it to the fullest, it's 9 weeks that will last you a lifetime get everything you can from it. Oh and try a Catalonia Tempranillo while you're at it! 

Before Le Wagon, I spent 4 years working as a Graphic Designer / Art Director in New York / Philadelphia but have consistently felt dissatisfied with the day-to-day. A career in front-end web development seemed like a logical expansion of my skill set, so last fall I began researching bootcamps. I quickly realized that a full stack program would leave me with the most options afterwards and allow me to explore all aspects of web development without keeping me in the “designer” box.

I chose Le Wagon for a few reasons:

1. Le Wagon is a fraction of the cost of most U.S. programs but offers the same education, value, and outcome.
2. The application process was approachable and unpretentious. The staff seemed interested in getting to know me personally and selecting individuals who would fit the culture.
3. It’s tailored to beginners. Most people have no coding experience going into it.
4. It’s highly rated and reviewed by alumni which is telling not just for the quality of education but also the culture.
5. I knew if I wanted to go to a full-time bootcamp I would have to leave Philly for a few months so I would be lying if I said the opportunity to travel was not a huge part of why I chose Le Wagon Barcelona.

And thank god I did because it was a great experience and an ideal learning environment. I liked that the first few weeks are dedicated to learning and truly understanding Ruby, that the work was both individual and collaborative (and extremely hands on), the exercises were challenging but actually so fun, the teachers and TAs were encouraging, helpful and patient, the community was strong and diverse in terms of professional background and interests, and I left with the experience, motivation and toolkit to build web applications from the ground up.

Le Wagon was exactly the experience I was looking for and I’m extremely grateful to have had it! Would definitely recommend!

I joined the Wagon thanks to a friend, Nicolas Schweitzer, who followed the program a year ago.
I’ve been doing the same job for almost 10 years, and I’ve been going around for a while. So I signed up. The goal was not directly to change career. I have always been interested in coding and have taken some basic courses on Khan Academy (HTML, CSS).

So my work agreed to free me on weeknights so I’d be able to follow the lessons of the Wagon. I have all been seduced by the field and especially Le Wagon pedagogy. The course of the days is well thought out and allows to progress quickly.
In the end, out of Le Wagon, I asked for my contractual resignation. Left my job at the end of April, I have a few days as a TA at Le Wagon Paris. I want to continue to train myself (I did the track REACT and do two days this week on VUE JS in a school called SFEIR), and I’d like to try to work freelance to see where it goes.

To summarize: I did 10 years in a great job that brought me a lot. Le Wagon arrived at the right time to give me the impetus to change. To be honest, I dive a little into the unknown but I have the chance not to be forced to resume an activity directly, suddenly I have time to train and I hope that Le Wagon will allow me to evolve in this new activity.

After my studies in Biomedical Science, I visited a technology conference where I realized how important it is to have some technical skills. A friend told me about “Le Wagon”, a coding bootcamp which is famous here in Paris and has the best reputation.

It was a great opportunity to learn how to code with le Wagon. The courses were very well-designed. Every day, we were solving problems with a partner to immediately apply the new knowledge. Every day, I was working with a different person. This way I could get to know almost all of my classmates more closely. Most of my classmates were awesome with all different kinds of backgrounds.

At the end of the bootcamp, we had our own real project with a team. Our project turned out better than we could have dreamed of.

During the bootcamp, I disappeared for all of my other friends. Many evenings, there was a program at le Wagon such as talks and afterworks. And usually at the week end, I was really exhausted and sleeping all day.

Now, I just finished le Wagon and I already sad and miss the team work. I am searching a job as a Ruby on Rails developer to deepen the knowledge learnt at le Wagon (at the moment I prefer coding to medical research). Since I am a bit afraid to forget everything, I review some lectures and exercises (I have lifelong access to videos to all lectures and to all exercises J ). Even now, le Wagon is helping me how to proceed with my job search. Also, I feel optimistic with my new huge network.

In summary: well-designed courses, meeting amazing people and making the impossible possible

Attending Le Wagon in London (batch #222) is one of the best career decisions I have ever made. Having the interest in programming and data, I have been scouting around different coding schools in the city. I have previously attended Flat Iron’s part-time course but wasn’t getting much out of it as they lack teaching support in the London campus and the syllabus wasn’t ready when they launched in the summer of 2018.

The bootcamp life isn’t easy but Le Wagon has the best resources. They have a closely-knit network where everyone genuinely enjoy programming and the community is their key to success. The instructor, TAs, and staff go above and beyond to help you and pay close attention to everyone’s progress and guide us through the journey. The first weeks of bootcamp was really difficult - lecture started at 9 sharp everyday and we worked on various problem sets for the rest day until 5:30 when we started live coding (the lead teacher will pick one student to code in front of the class and of course providing guidance as well). Our typical day ends around 6:30/7pm depending on the workload and it was mentally and physically challenging. After 9 weeks of intense learning, we’re equipped with working knowledge of a junior developer.

Overall, my time at Le Wagon was extremely rewarding and enjoyable. I would not hesitate to recommend anyone who’s considering a career change to tech.

I was the « Marketing guy » for more than 6 years in a startup I co-founded and it was sometimes (a lot of times) frustrating not to be able to understand my co-founders dev problems. That’s why I always wanted to learn how to code. At first, I wasn’t sure Le Wagon was the best choice for me as I still didn’t now if I wanted to fully change career (I still find Marketing really interesting and important).

After discussing with a distant friend who did Le Wagon and talking to the Le Wagon Paris team, I decided to take the leap and attend Le Wagon batch #177 in Paris and boy was it a good idea. I have never experienced such a perfect learning experience (I’ve tried to learn to code online by myself at least 10 times):
- The program is great. Focusing on practice over theory. The exercices are challenging enough but not to difficult so you don’t fall behind.
- The buddy system is perfect: You work with a new person everyday. This allows you to meet everyone and to better learn as you explain the problems to each other.
- The numerous TAs and staffs are there to help you along the way.

What amazed me was the constant care of the team to see if everyone is following the course and all the extra perks to create a great atmosphere between the students (events, lunches, yoga, meet your buddies, …).

Of course, this comes with a cost (both in terms of finance and time) but it is well worth it. I highly recommend it.

Deciding to attend Le Wagon Montreal was one of the best career decisions that I've ever made. 

Like everyone else, I had the option of choosing from various other bootcamps making all sorts of claims, and honestly, I was just looking for a well-reputed coding school that would be effective at teaching and was easy on the wallet. I also did not want to feel cheated out of my money after completing the course, so I began looking up bootcamp after bootcamp and I took my time to look up online-reviews. It was during my research that I discovered Le Wagon. Every person that I've reached out to regarding Le Wagon were all RAVING with positive reviews. Every review I read spoke of an amazing experience that sounded incredible. I couldn't believe it. Every single review? How could it be? My interests deepened as I went to their website and continued to search through-out their curriculum. Something about Le Wagon stood out to me. It felt more entrepreneurially-oriented than the others, which was exactly what I was looking for. I wanted to feel empowered with skills and knowledge that I would be able to use from home and also be equipped with all the tools that I would need. I did not want to simply be able to go job hunting after completing the course. I wanted to be able to start projects on my own. And that is when it happened... The Decision. I chose Le Wagon and it changed my life.

The benefits you get with Le Wagon are real-world necessities. If you have absolutely no coding experience or background, Le Wagon is the bootcamp for you. They provide you with LIFETIME assistance on their KITT platform, and yes, the Alumni and Teachers are active on there. You will have access to valuable information, be able to review information you may have forgotten and discover so much more about the world of coding. They even provide a Career Playbook for you to follow if you decide to make coding a career and they keep you informed about possible job openings and opportunities, whenver available.

The culture at Le Wagon MTL is amazing. We did activities together, went out to eat and drank with each other and even did yoga (I've never done yoga before this). We also have Happy Hours on Fridays when we drank beer and ate pizza. We even sang Happy Birthday for students whose birthdays were during the course. I really felt like a part of the Le Wagon MTL family and community, and that's priceless for students. It is like I always have someone that I can reach out to, if I'm ever in need of help. I am never alone, being part of the Le Wagon. And oh, before I forget... if you enjoy a hot cup of coffee in the morning, Le Wagon offers unlimited cups of coffee. YAY for me.

The bootcamp itseft is intense, so it may feel difficult in the first couple of weeks, but please trust the process. They have a curriculum that builds you in every aspect, not simply teaching you how to code. They provide you with everything you need to succeed and I urge you to take full advantage of everything they will recommend. On KITT, you will have access to Flash Cards to study after class to help you retain what you've learned and alsohave access to pre-recorded videos previewing the next day's lecture. The TA's (Teacher Assistants) are knowledgeable and they enjoy what they do. What I love the most is that, if you're stuck on a challenge and have a question, once you put in a ticket, they won't just utter the answer to your question. They push you to think and develop a way of thinking that will be of benefit to you in more ways than just coding.  In doing so, Le Wagon provides the skills that prepare you for the real-world, such as problem-solving skills and product management and design. You really learn a lot about yourself. I've pushed myself in ways I never imagined. I interviewed a speaker that came to one of the Wagon Talks (it is voluntary), and I also had to pitch an idea, code it from scratch and present it on Demo-Day... our final day of the bootcamp, in front a huge audience.

The working space at Le Wagon MTL is awesome. The people are very polite and treat everyone with respect and it is about 10mins of walking distance from the nearest metro station. They have great food available within walking distance as well.

In a nutshell, Le Wagon is more than a 9 week coding bootcamp. Le Wagon is a community of friendly coders you can always count on.

Being in my early 40's, I considered that I needed to get hands on into coding in order to be more "digital aware" for the rest of my career. This is the reason why I decided to attend to Le Wagon's coding bootcamp.

What I found there perfectly suited my needs: in 2.5 months, I went from no knowledge at all in coding, to a good understanding on how to build a fully functional website, and how all the mechanics behind it works.

These guys at Le Wagon have been very good at designing a great, intensive program, supported by a good technical infrastructure, where you can learn, meet great people and have fun altogether!

I strongly recommand for those who wish to really become more digital savvy or to launch a career in coding.