Le Wagon

Coming from a background in design and working mostly with HTML and CSS, I wanted to hone my back-end development skills more. As such, I began to look at various coding bootcamps and encountered Le Wagon after reading rave reviews and receiving a recommendation from a friend. After applying and going through the requisite steps, I soon I found myself on a plane to Tokyo for nine thrilling weeks. And I'm very satisfied with my decision to attend the bootcamp with Le Wagon Tokyo! It resulted in rounding out my web development skill set and making connections with a delightful, supportive group of people who enjoyed their memes and emoji. Speaking of, the party parrot emoji best summarizes my experience at Le Wagon Tokyo. Take a look at nearly any message in our Batch #94 Slack channel and you'll see the party parrot reaction emoji bobbing away with enthusiasm. The program made learning the full-stack of web development really fun and I felt very connected to my classmates, teachers, and staff. The material we learned from lectures, comprehensive resources, and coding exercises culminated as a group project where we really applied ourselves to build a Ruby on Rails prototype website from scratch. The Le Wagon community is truly what made the experience a memorable one--we were all in this together with the support from everyone!

When I first started researching Le Wagon, I grew suspicious of all the 5 star reviews. Surely somebody would have at least one less positive comment or nitpick about something they disliked. Now that I’ve finished the 9 week trajectory, I fully understand the glowing positive reviews that Le Wagon has received.

My main goal for doing a bootcamp was to accelerate my learning process and move into a career as a software developer. The Le Wagon curriculum is perfect for this purpose because it gives you a lot of knowledge in very short period of time. The structure of the lessons makes complete sense and the build up to the final project with smaller projects is well thought out. The times I got stuck solving a challenge or implementing a feature in my project, there were always plenty of teachers and teacher’s assistants to help me out.

After finishing the bootcamp I feel much more confident as a developer and even though there’s still a lot to learn, I know I’m able to find the solution for any issue I might encounter.

The added bonus I wasn’t expecting is the amazing sense of community that Le Wagon provides. I have made friends for life during the bootcamp that include students, teachers and alumni. The Le Wagon experience doesn’t end with the bootcamp: the first 9 weeks are only the beginning.

I worked for more than 5 years as a Graphic Designer in Milan until I moved in Dubai. After my experience of 16 months in UAE as Unreal Developer, I understood how important it was for my profession to move into a different and more interesting area. I fell in love with coding after discovering the power and creativity of Javascript, but at the same time the growing demand for skills related to web development was a further stimulus to apply for this new challenge. So I decided to find the best and most complete bootcamp in Europe and one of the best in the world, and after a long search I selected Le Wagon thanks also to a complete program. Why Amsterdam? Because it is the third most important city in the world for the IT and creative industries. It is also a dynamic and innovative city.   The coding bootcamp was the best learning experience of my life and one of the best experience on a human side. In Le Wagon I found what I was looking for. An environment full of motivation, an extremely rich and structured course, supported by a clear and rich platform of content. Everything is planned to give you the best tools to face this challenge. But the best part of the course are the teachers and the perfect management of the driver. The first week was a little bit frustrating, because everything was new to me, but due to the clear and well structured lectures and explanations I was able to learn everything. Also the continuous support of the brilliant teachers was very beneficial to my learning curve. The teachers, lectures, course material, platform - it is a perfect machine where every attention is focused on your learning curve and progression. On the human side it was an amazing experience: wonderful people from all over the world with different background and different motivation. Thanks to the working method, you have the chance to know each person every day, and share your experience and your skills.    After these intensive weeks I really feel comfortable with front-end and back-end, and I have finally a complete and attractive job profile. As a designer I discovered a new world of powerful tools thanks to which I can have fun and be creative, and maybe mix some other designer skills. Anyway after two months I finally found my place in the world: despite the numerous job offers I receive, I'm looking to open my own company. So if you are looking to change your life, if you are looking to improve and enrich your skills, or if you are just looking for an awesome experience, don't hesitate. Just do it.

Before I joined Le Wagon, I worked as a manager of Bridge SE team of Software development company in Vietnam. I started my career as web/mobile project manager but I always was struggling with my lack of technical skills/knowledge working with developers. 
When I decided to back to Japan to gain more experiences in the Japanese market, I luckily found Le Wagon Tokyo. One of the biggest reason that I chose it was because all the program of Le Wagon proceeds in English. (The second biggest reason is the reputations on the internet). For that reasons, I made my choice to jump into the most challenging environment.

Even though I’ve been in the software industry and I knew some concepts to make web applications, the first week of the program was the hardest time for me. It took time getting used thinking like a programmer and writing codes but thanks to the great help from the skilled teachers and the teaching assistants, I gradually started loving coding. 

The final project was the best thing in the program. Although I have participated in the project as a project manager before, it was my first time for me to be in a team as a developer and develop our own product.
It was really challenging to build a website within 2 weeks from scratch but working as a team to build a “real” product was the best learning experience in my life.

After graduation, I'm back to the previous working company as the same role, project manager utilizing the skill of full stack developer. 
I do recommend Le Wagon if you want to learn to code. It is literally GREAT and I’m sure you will gain unforgettable experience.

Willem Poghisyo van Klinken - Le Wagon, Amsterdam (batch 99)

My background: 

I had been working as a chef over the past 8 years or so, and although I enjoyed this very much, this was never my true passion. I knew I was interested in coding (and the computer sciences) but I found it a little overwhelming on where to start. With so many different blogs and mini courses online I found it difficult to know on what to focus on and start with. After starting a few, then stopping for a while before going back to them and trying again, I realized that this approach was not going to work for me. I needed a little help and support to guide me on this new direction I was interested in. I was advised that a boot-camp course was probably the best way to do this, and after researching the possibilities, I selected the what seemed to be the best choice for me. 

Enter Le Wagon.    

What Le Wagon did for me: 

In Le Wagon I found exactly what I had been looking for. A well-structured course delivered by some extremely motivated and talented teachers and teaching assistants. The platform that we used, for our knowledge acquisition and daily challenges is very well designed, and provides you with exactly the resources needed to approach each days topics. With even additional challenges for the very motivated/skilled it caters to all levels of abilities and keeps everyone interested. The paired buddy system, taught me how to collaborate and work with anybody I was assigned with, which will no doubt be very useful in my future coding career. Although the course is delivered at quite a high pace, you have access to all these resources even after the course, allowing you to go back and review some topics that you may wish to have spent a little more time on. I really think Le Wagon found the 'sweet spot' with the amount of knowledge delivered and the pace of the course, constantly keeping me motivated and on my toes, but never overwhelmed.  

What I hope to do with it now 

I feel extremely comfortable, not only in the knowledge that Le Wagon has already provided me, but in the skills and abilities I have picked up along the way that will help me continue my development in coding. I am now far more aware on how to tackle and approach new topics I am interested in. I have an abundance of resources at my fingertips, not to mention an amazing network of extremely helpful and knowledgeable alumni to call upon if needed. I will definitely continue developing myself in this field, and hope to find a job in a company to help with this, but there is also a chance I might team up with some of my class mates to start our own web development company which would be absolutely fantastic, to keep the Le Wagon feeling alive!  

 

If you are reading this, contemplating on whether this boot-camp is worth it or not, my only advise is hesitate no longer. You will learn an incredible amount, and have such amazing fun doing it. Le Wagon delivers above and beyond 'what it says on the box'. My only regret is that those 9 weeks went by so quickly, I wish I was still there. 

 

I decided to take a gap year before university and learn to code. Joining Le Wagon Lyon (batch #109) helped me do just that and it ended up being one of the best decisions I have ever made.

The admission process was very efficient. After applying on Le Wagon's website, I received a call from the driver within hours and a Skype interview was set a few days later. No experience in code was required, I just had to complete a prep-course to build a basic understanding of programming before blasting off at the start of the actual course.

The 9 weeks are perfectly structured. Each morning starts with an hour and a half long lesson followed by a full day of challenges. A different working buddy is assigned each day which gives everyone a great opportunity to get to know each other, work in teams and discover different ways to complete a challenge. There are even some bonus exercises for the ones who have gone through the regular set and want to explore more. The livecode at 5:30 helped us dig deeper in the challenges of the day and often gave us a different, more efficient, approach to solving the problem. On Thursdays we had an hour of yoga in the afternoon - a very enjoyable and relaxing break between coding sessions.

The teachers are incredibly skilled and excellent instructors / mentors. There was always a teacher or teaching assistant ready to help me when I was stuck in a challenge. The support and guidance I received from the team as whole, driven by a passionate and very considerate driver, was amazing.

The course is extremely intense and the learning curve is steep. We were already able to code small programs at the end of the first week. Each day was packed with key knowledge that was sometimes hard to fully digest but the teachers were always there to make sure we had a clear understanding and were not overwhelmed before moving onto the next step. In 2 short months, I gained an in-depth grasp of back end (Ruby on Rails) and front end programming (HTML, CSS and JavaScript).

The last 3 weeks, dedicated to real-life projects, were probably the most exciting of this already amazing course. From week 7 onwards we teamed up in groups of 3 to 4 for a 1-week long Airbnb-like project and a 2-week long project of our choice. The first one introduced us to web projects in teams and the end result of our 5-day long projects was already pretty impressive. Now, the second one gave us an opportunity to go all-out, improve our coding skills and be the most creative. I worked on Lovify (lovify.top), a dating app which finds you your perfect music match through your Spotify listens. I had a lot of fun implementing everything I had learnt throughout the course, playing with Ruby on Rails and working with a fantastic team. I am really proud of what we have achieved through this fully functional app and it was a pleasure to present it during the DemoDay.

More than just learning to code in Ruby, Le Wagon has given me the keys to improve my coding skills myself and explore new languages. I also got to meet really interesting and motivated people, some of whom have become very close friends, and build a strong network. The support certainly does not stop once the bootcamp ends as the team and alumni continue to help us professionally, to find a job, internship, freelance work or become an entrepreneur.

The course is tiring and requires a lot of hard work during long days but the friendly and supportive atmosphere along with the skills gained make it 100% worth it.

Le Wagon has been the most educational and enriching experience of my life. I am looking forward to make use of everything I have learnt thanks to this bootcamp in my future studies and career. I completely recommend Le Wagon to anyone interested in web development, wether you want to become a full-time programmer or build technical skills the startup way!

Before Le Wagon, I worked as a procesmanager. My colleagues created IT solutions for different clients and during the building process I was fascinated about the different lines of code on their computer. In my younger years I never did anything with coding and therefore I felt that I would never be able to understand what these programmers where doing. But Le Wagon convinced me that everybody can learn code and they were right!

The first weeks are intense but gradually the bits and pieces come together. Looking back; I now have a much better understanding of the bigger picture of web development and programming. My new skill set has opened so many doors. Also I met a lot of interesting people during and after the bootcamp. The community of alumni’s, teachers and students is truly remarkable. The bootcamp is also well organized and the teachers/staff really care about their students.

I’m currently setting up my own start-up with the two people from my final project. After the bootcamp we decided to continue with the idea and we are currently finalizing the product; just a couple of months after the bootcamp.  
My experience at Le Wagon has been truly amazing. Whether you want to become a developer, improve your IT knowledge or start your own start-up, I would highly recommend to join Le Wagon!

After a business school and 5 years in a big corporation, I realized that I had no technical skills to launch my own business. Thanks to Thibault Genaitay - Shanghai’s driver and former classmate - and Baptiste Perrin -Lyon alumni-, I joined le Wagon Bootcamp, and it totally worth it.

The first two weeks demand some courage. You learn the basics of language without really understanding where you’re going. But all along the training, you start to see the big picture, and when you start Rails everything gets clear.

On top of a strong technical program – ruby/activerecord/html/css/js -, you learn how to practically develop and launch a project – github/postgreSQL/heroku -, and cherry on the cake how to work in teams - thanks trello and gitkraken - through 2 great projects (3 weeks in total).

The organizing team is perfect, the teachers are even better than you can imagine, always available and with strong pedagogy skills.

When I see the wagon network groing up and suggesting new jobs everyday on dedicated channels, I’m confident I’ll find a job as full stack developer in the next weeks, and be able to launch my own project in the next few years.

I strongly recommend le Wagon!

Attending Le Wagon’s 9 week full stack development bootcamp was one of the best decisions I’ve made in life (right up there in the top five spots!) Quick background:  I’ve worked with tech startups, non-profits, and founded my own e-commerce company.  I studied economics and law at university, and not studying computer programming was always a regret. I have spent a lot of time trying out various online coding courses on Codeacademy, Udemy and Udacity, but I still couldn't build anything by my own beyond basic HTML, CSS commands. 

I decided to take a leap of faith and go all in for the adventure of learning how to code, and applied to Le Wagon London, all the way from New Delhi,India.  And the risk paid off- the 9 weeks at Le wagon completely rewired my brain. It doesn’t happen overnight and there aren’t any shortcuts, it takes a while to start thinking as logically as a programmer. The first few weeks were intense and quite challenging for me. I left University 5 years ago and the first 2 weeks were a struggle to get to re-learning like a student again. But the staff at Le Wagon London- the amazing teachers, TA’s and the city manager are absolutely incredible. I chose Le Wagon based on their reviews online and some overly positive reviews left me wondering if they were even that good. Now I know why some folks sounded so excited, as they really are THAT good.

Their support is unparalleled and they pushed us to learn beyond what I imagined was possible in 9 weeks. The culture of constant learning at Le Wagon stands out, and everyone in their team goes above and beyond their roles to ensure each and every one of us learns at the bootcamp. I fell in love with backend development: the logic behind Ruby which always pushes my brain to think better. 

Thank you Le Wagon, grateful to be a part of something so life changing. If you’ve always wondered what it would be like to code, even if you’ve not written a line of code, apply now and watch the magic unfold. 

Before le Wagon I was product manager in a startup in Lyon, working with a dev team and struggling because I had no skills at all in code to understand them and their way of working.
I decided to join le Wagon thanks to all the positive reviews and it was really worth it.
9 weeks at le Wagon Lyon have been an unforgettable experience. Everyday starts with a 1,5 h lesson and then you work with your buddy in coding challenges. At the end of the day a live code session make you see another way of coding and go further.
The teachers and teacher assistants are excellent and you can always find someone to help you if you're stuck in a challenge. The platform and tools are very complete and adapted to all levels. 
With no experience at all in code and in only 9 weeks I've learned Ruby, html, css, js, rails and all the best practices and built a real app from scratch with my team.
Also big up to the city manager who always takes care of his alumni and organizes a lot of events for us. 
I strongly recommend !

Life changing! Sounds cliché but thats my real experience.

After trying to become a full time web developer for years I have finally been able to shift careers. The workload is intense and far exceeded my expectations, since I had some experience in development (mainly databases) still it was so challenging that it made me fall in love with programming again.

Also all the friends I have made during the bootcamp is something I will hold dear for ever. Best training investment I have ever done! Completely recommend!

Being already a Computer Science student before joining the Le Wagon, I had some doubts about "how can a beginners bootcamp help me improve, and prepare me to really be a programmer?" Well in the first week all my doubts were lost. I learned more in the first 3 days than in 3 years at university. They teach in a much more personal way, nobody is left behind and they treat each student as an individual!

But Le Wagon bootcamp is not only about coding. I also learned how to transform my ideas into projects, and my projects into a business!

I only have nice things to say about the staff! All teachers and TA's were amazing, ready to help us with every little doubt and always ready to party! They really enhance the team spirit and keep us fresh during all the 9 weeks, and that's amazing!