AI Software bootcamp | On campus, full-time

I had tinkered with basic front-end programming for a while, HTML5 & CSS. As I was building my company from the ground up, I couldn't afford any programmer. So I chose a CMS and taught myself to code basic rendering. But as the months went by, and I started to discover more insights into my consumers' lives, I started to realize that I had nowhere near the ability to push the digital products that had a chance to succeed in the market. As all things started to come together, I chose to terminate my business - for other reasons than my own technical shortcomings obviously - and enrolled in Le Wagon a few months after.

The idea was basically to gain a deeper understanding of the tech universe, i.e. how does one gain a programmer mindset  ? I also wanted to connect with different personalities. I was quite certain that some of the people I was going to meet would have lived different and interesting lives. The idea was to reset my mind and use that school as a stepping stone towards new high.

I was not disappointed. The bootcamp in itself is hard, and even harder for those of us that do not have a deep scientific education. So the first weeks are a-killing. But the program and educational support have achieved near perfection. The curriculum is thought as blocks that will all come together in the future. If you struggle with your challenges in the first days, you are learning a valuable lesson about the programmer's life. Our job is mainly to bring solutions to problems. You cannot take shortcuts. As a programmer you gotta pay your fair share of hustle, sweat and frustration. But keep at it for a few days, and the small joy of overcoming difficulties are gonna compound in your mind and you will find new motivation, as well as new abilities. Teachers and Teaching Assistants @ Le Wagon are great individuals who listen and declutter the path for you - they never do your chores though. If you are good or somewhat already a bit experienced, there are additional challenges that you can complete.

The high point of Le wagon is the last two weeks, when you are associated with 3 of your fellow wagoners to build a real-life web application that is to be presented in front of a live audience of 200+ people. These are intense weeks, as you should make use of everything that you have learned so far. There is teamwork as well, but not the kind you are used to, the kind with everyone one of your teammates being a programmer as well, the kind with git commit, git push and above all git merge conflict. You are talking a new language. You are building something. Your life has changed then and there.

And there is the people also, first and foremost. Let's face it, you are not gonna be a functional developer after ANY bootcamp. To do so you need to rely on a set of likely-minded positive characters and energies. And above all keep coding and growing. It does not matter how good you are or how good you think you are. Le Wagon's highest value proposition is that it gives you the tools and the network to go down this path - should you choose to do so.  During my 9 weeks @ Le wagon, I have blossomed into a new individual, mainly because there are very few moments in your life when you are surrounded by every age group and every character. My advice is to use it as a sandbox for what will come later.

As for me, I am now freelancing on design and code, mainly to have the time to learn dart and flutter. My goal is to release one app a month.

Thank you for reading,
Christophe

Before joining Le Wagon I wanted to learn how to code and make a website but didn't know where to start. Then I found the course in Le Wagon where they say they can teach us how to code and make a website in just 9 weeks. After hearing about this I visited one demo days and I was amazed they were able to make fabulous websites in just 9 weeks. After joining the next batch(#279) I was taught by Amazing teachers. During the morning lectures, they would teach us while clearing any doubts we didn't understand. after lectures, we would be paired up with a classmate to complete challenges. these are pretty hard challenges that help us understand the logic in programming. At the end of the Bootcamp, I have learned a lot so that I can now make a website like twitter or facebook easily. even after finishing the boot camp they let us keep the lectures in a video form so we can come back if we forgot something. Overall this boot camp was very worth it. it helped me be a full stack web developer and helped me gain many skills as a developer.

A total game changer! I loved my time at Le Wagon and I can honestly say that after completing the course I feel like I see the world through a new lens. You may think that's a bold statement, and you're right. However, Le Wagon's well thought out curriculum and helpful instructors allowed me to gain an understanding of coding, start-up culture, and full stack web development. The course changed that way I think about the internet and software, and most importantly it empowered me and gave me to skills necessary to become the creator I've always wanted to be.

As a former student in a French business school, I tried for months but was not very successful in learning to code by myself. Last year, I met the driver of Le Wagon Montreal and a couple of students during my internship in Montreal. After having spoken with them, it became clear that it was something for me and so I decided right away to apply to one of the Le Wagon locations around the world.

The three things I enjoyed the most at Le Wagon Bali were :

1. The way our days were structured: a quick 1.5 hour lecture in the morning and the rest of the day was dedicated to practice, practice and .. more practice!

2. Coding in front of the beach! The balinese atmosphere is probably one of the best in the world, working hard and being relaxed at the same time. It helped me so much.

3. The amazing people I met there, from all around the world.

One of the best moments of the bootcamp is, obviously, the last two weeks when we work on our final projects. In those moments, everything really came together. And believe me, you really feel accomplished. 🙂

At the time of writing, we are few weeks after the end of graduating the bootcamp and I can tell you guys that jumping into this adventure was one of the best choices I've made. Le Wagon is a game changer and I'm a 100% sure that it will change my life. For those who are ready to work hard and are really interested in coding, I highly recommend Le Wagon.

I started learning to code on my own a couple of months ago, previously employed as a digital marketing specialist I build a little data pipeline to automate my report. I quickly realize that I was having more fun doing that than building campaigns. When I decided that I wanted to be a developer I didn’t know what the journey would be like, I didn’t have much experience and I knew no one to guide me. I started to gather information about the different bootcamp in Montreal, this is when I discovered Le Wagon. Starting Le Wagon was the first milestone in this adventure that I wanted to start. Le Wagon sure taught me how to code (the teachers are here for you every step of the road to help you understand the key concepts) but the value of doing Le wagon bootcamp go far more beyond that. You learn how to properly develop an idea, prototype the product and develop it with a team. You’ll be surprised by what you can learn and accomplish in just a couple of weeks. Another great value of Le Wagon is its community, a very active and helping community that helps you broaden the perspective of what you can do, I wanted to be a developer, today I am also an entrepreneur and the journey keep going.

Before joining LeWagon Bali, I was working for a strategy consulting firm in Zurich. Most projects were about Digital and Analytics topics, where I realized how much there is to learn in this area. I knew I wanted to study Data Science in my Master, which is why I thought a coding bootcamp would give me a head start and an additional skill. Little did I know that the 9 weeks would give me so much more than that!

In the first few weeks my day usually started at 6am with a 1.5 hour yoga session. At 9am, I had my first fresh coconut and was ready to soak up all the information our teachers would give us in the lessons. After the challenges, I was usually exhausted, but at the live code, full attention is needed to keep up. At the end of the day at around 7.30pm, we would all go for a quick beer and dinner and then drop into bed. This was such an exciting time because each day, I came home with a head full of new things I learned, all in an unbelievable speed. At this point, we were just getting to know each other as a group, and our driver did an amazing job at bringing us all together on exciting trips to beaches, islands and clubs. Good times!

After a few weeks, every piece I learned started to come together like a puzzle. This is the most amazing moment. Building your first app, getting something live on the web, working in a team with other people pushing code on GitHub. You feel like you’re a magician, its FIRE! By now, our batch was one big family, organizing parties and weekend excursions together. We were a very diverse group, ranging from 18 to 45 from all educational, geographical and job-backgrounds, all hanging out together. I think that is amazing and exactly how it should be.

After 7 weeks of hard work, we started to work on our own projects. This is when the real fun but also the real challenge starts. I realized that to be a great coder, you have to be able to do more than just code. Communication is key to a successful project and the biggest challenge was not the ability to do the things but to get a common understanding, vision and a working team together. At the end, this was the most important learning and I was SO proud to see the final result of our hard work.

Overall, LeWagon has been the most empowering experience of my education so far. It gave me the ability to make my ideas reality and showed me that I can learn anything. I will continue improving my current coding skills and, now that I’m programming in R, I can tell that it has been key for me to get the foundation from LeWagon. Last but not least, it gave me a network of amazing alumni, a group of friends I will always be able to visit around the world and nine weeks of pure fun in paradise. Big Thank You to Bali, our wonderful teachers #BOOM and the #Batch253!

Before Le Wagon, I was a student studying Business Economics and that is where I met a friend who introduced me to the world of coding. I immediately started studying on my own and tried to get to a solid level but quickly learned how difficult that is without any real guidance. 

This is where Le Wagon Bali came in. I’m not going to lie, I was extremely skeptical before joining the course with major questions like “Can I really learn to code in only 9 weeks?” These questions were immediately shattered when the course began. Le wagon’s meticulously planned course, along with the incredible instructors, taught me more than I could have possibly anticipated. I learned 50x more in 9 weeks in Bali than I did in 3 months of studying on my own. I went from essentially knowing nothing to building my own fully functional web-applications.

I am extremely grateful for the experience they provided and I seriously couldn’t recommend Le Wagon any higher to someone who wants to learn to code. 

My interest in coding was always very high. I've been working in tech startups for the last two years, but only got a sneak peek at the product behind the scenes. This made me very curious and it finally helped my decision to sign up for the Le Wagon Bali Bootcamp. The main reason why I choose Le Wagon was the hands-on learning approach.

A typical day at Le Wagon starts at 9 o´clock sharp with a 1.5 to 2 hour lecture. Following the lecture every student is assigned a buddy using their awesome learning tool "Kitt". Together the two of you will tackle the challenges of the day on the terrace outside the classroom, always having the chance to ask for help from one of the teachers if you are both stuck. This is an extremely powerful and effective way of learning as it allowed me to find my own mistakes. In my opinion Bali was the perfect location for learning how to code, as it allowed you to focus while coding and stay calm when not. At around 5 o clock there will be a live code where everyone has the ability to show what they have learned throughout the day.
I would have never thought it is possible to learn so much in such a short time.

I definitely learned a lot in the last three weeks and we all did, while working in groups on our projects. This was not only extremely fun, but it also gave us a good sense of how to code in a team and showed how much more one can achieve when working in groups.

After these 9 weeks at LeWagon in Bali, I have met wonderful people and broadened my personal network and have also finally the gained the skillset to built fabulous products.

O curso superou minhas expectativas.
O Le Wagon cumpre o que promete, e proporciona uma imersão no mundo da programação Web, com conceitos simples e muita prática. 
Após o curso, como empreendedor, me sinto seguro e preparado para enfrentar os desafios tecnológicos com os quais me deparo no dia a dia.
Recomendo para todos que desejam compreender cada etapa de desenvolvimento de um produto digital.

It has been a bit under two months since I finished Le Wagon’s full-stack development Bootcamp, and my life has already changed drastically. I have been hired as a junior full-stack engineer and will be moving to Amsterdam for this new adventure.

I can honestly say that Le Wagon’s mantra, “Change your life, learn to code”, could not be better said. This Bootcamp has not only given me the tools needed to change professions, but it has also helped me discover a new passion I can turn into a career.
 
I would like to thank all the teachers and TA’s that made this possible as well as Gonzalo and Gus, who organized an amazing batch. I would also like to thank the Le Wagon network that put me in contact with my new job. My life really has changed by learning to code!

I was one of the students who deliberated for many months over whether to commit to a bootcamp. I finally made the decision to resign from my job and paid the deposit for the Le Wagon bootcamp. The experience exceeded my expectations, and I feel it has put me firmly on the right path in both my life and career. 

I would suggest to any new students that the prepwork is very important. Ensuring you fully understand the concepts in the prepwork will put you in good stead to absorb as much of the bootcamp content as possible, as the bootcamp is very intense and fast-paced. The first 3-4 weeks in particular can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming, especially for those like myself who came with no background in programming or computer science, but just making sure you get some good rest and sleep in the evenings and weekends goes a long way. 

I chose the Bali bootcamp, and could not have been happier with the location choice. You'll make many new friends from all corners of the earth in your batch, plus the Indonesian locals are all super friendly. The school building itself is pretty special. The views and sea winds produce a calm atmosphere and environment. On the horizon you can see the surfers riding the waves of Canggu on the one side, and on the other, (if it's a clear day) you have the spectacular view of two volcanoes.

For me, the teaching staff were the biggest factor in advancing my own personal development. They are jedi masters of programming, and they all have the patience of saints. When you're stuck either on a challenge or a feature of your project, the teachers are skilled at probing you for the answer instead of just giving you the solution. These instances slowly help you realise that you are actually understanding the concepts, but you just don't yet know how to express the solution entirely. The effect is a compounding of your confidence, which probably helps explain why as students we're able to build such complex projects in such a short amount of time during the project weeks. In addition, the Le Wagon style and system of teaching is very fine-tuned. The professionalism, and honesty in how they teach is impressive.

Le Wagon clarifies that the bootcamp not only teaches you web development, but it teaches you how to learn. This bit should not be understated, and having left the bootcamp a few weeks ago I am now really beginning to see the effects of this. In my own work post-bootcamp, I'm finding that I can find solutions to my own dev problems quite fast, much faster than when I was on the bootcamp itself. 

One of the reasons I chose Le Wagon is because of their emphasis on giving you the tools to build your own startup. Le Wagon does not claim to find you a job, however the amount of career and job resources they give you upon graduating, are almost as overwhelming as the first few days of code.

As an alumni, you also get lifetime access to all the course content plus more. As technology changes and advances, it's comforting to know that Le Wagon will continue to keep me up to speed.

I'm from the Singapore campus that opened up this past summer and it was just last week that my team completed and showcased our MVP at batch #294's Demo Day.

 
4 months ago I was working as a product planner at an infosecurity company, in a team managing an enterprise web application security product. With a BA and the only formal training in computer science being a semester's coursework of "Intro to Computer Science Java Programming", the learning curve on the job was extremely steep.

While my job gave me some background in how applications are attacked, many concepts were understood only up to the level I'm able to communicate with engineers and seek their confirmation of what is possible. Imposters' Syndrome is real for any non-technical PM. What are these web applications my product is supposed to protect? I knew what websites were, but not how they were built, whether securely or otherwise.

These past 9 weeks gave me the opportunity to to finally, finally get my footing in what I thought I'd needed years of personal study to understand. I'm now closer to the product than I can ever get by learning how to build my own, and with friends.

At Le Wagon we started each day off with lectures followed by almost a whole day of coding to solve challenges of increasing difficulty. It's a solid curriculum that pushes you to use what you've learned right away, all the time, and alongside what you've learned and what you'll learn next. Very quickly you become so familiar with Ruby, everyone starts bonding over how much we miss it during the JavaScript portion of the bootcamp. Code puns of course start appearing during lunchtime which Dirk (Le Wagon Singapore's founder!) says is always a proud moment for him.

What was really impressive for me is realizing at the Airbnb Clone and Final Project weeks that we can build from scratch a fully functional, feature-rich application using just what we've learned.

For my team's final project, we built an issue tracking web app for construction and facilities management. A core feature was to allow users to for pin issues directly on user-uploaded maps to automatically capture a bunch of location information with zero text input. We could have gone the route of creating a draggable pin icon that could transfer data to be stored — which would be complicated by not impossible to implement. However, we found a much simpler solution inspired by the Minesweeper exercise we did a few weeks before, and built a clickable grid over the maps with the AJAX techniques we've learned.

My take on what's special about the Singapore campus is that over here we have a mostly local crowd and I guess therefore the demographics could be more diverse. A few of us were overseas Singaporeans, entrepreneurs, fresh graduates, mid-career changers — and that's just between 9 people. I love that I'll be able to see most of them around after the bootcamp, and a few of us will even be entering a hackathon together (watch out for the 'Wagoners'!).

Because we've all shared in this special Le Wagon experience, the alumni network is pretty strong across the global campuses with active channels for job openings, project launches, and of course further learning.

I'm saying this last because it's been done to death but Le Wagon has THE BEST INSTRUCTORS. I cannot understate how much respect and admiration all my peers have for them. They are passionate, supportive educators and have clearly all fallen hopelessly in love with coding. From the lips of one instructor,

"...yeah and we can have a bonfire and sing code songs".

A special shout-out to our instructors this run: Prima, Forrest, Guido, Gianluca and our TA Quan (and also our lovely yoga instructor Perolyn!)

These short 9 weeks have shown me that I can code, I deeply enjoy coding, and learning to create with code, much like learning to write or speak, opens up a world of opportunity in bringing ideas to life.

After 3 years of work experience in a consulting firm, I wanted to change of universe, in order to discover web development which was murky for me. Le Wagon’s program seduced me and during those 9 weeks, I could discover, understand and learn some of the computer languages which are the hidden side of all websites and applications that surround us everyday. Le Wagon’s experience met perfectly my expectations, regarding the learning aspect and the environment.One year later, I have not kept on practicing coding but my experience at Le Wagon made the difference when applying to jobs. I got a new job as a CFO in a startup named Blackpills because the co-founders liked the fact that I was able to discuss with the technical team, and to understand their technical issues and challenges.

Hello, I am 51 and I have been working in the software industry for over 28 years. Back in 1990, I received a Master of Engineering from EFREI in Paris. I started my career as a Java developer and then evolved to a Software Product Architect position and finally to a Product Owner one at Cisco. I was still coding for my personal projects on the side and in 2018, I decided to get back to coding on the professional plan. Therefore, I joined Le Wagon to upskill myself by learning state-of-the-art programming languages and quickly becoming up to date.

During the bootcamp, I enjoyed everything: from the pedagogy to the people, including the yoga classes and the diversity of the network.

Afterwards, while I was teaching classes at Le Wagon, I also learnt React and started a freelancing career as a fullstack developer. As Raphaëlle Giordano says: “Your Second Life Begins When You Realize You Only Have One” and I feel like I’m starting this new life after Le Wagon because even if it’s not easy, I want to do (only) things that I enjoy. I am grateful for now being able to fulfill this wish

Very fluid and efficient way of learning code. I had zero experience. Everything is made to facilitate the student process of learning code from scratch. I was expecting an intense bootcamp and let's be clear, it is intense but i would redo it anytime. You don't feel lost even when it's hard, all thanks to the professors and the staff. They are so patients and always tried to lead us into the right way.  Le Wagon invited also many actors of the developpement sphere and it was so fulfilling to project what we learned into something real. 

To summarize, Le Wagon is a well designed bootcamp, everything is fluid and the 9 weeks are flying very fast. One of the better decision i've ever made was to sign up, not just for the code aspect of it but also because it is a wonderful human experience. 

I chose Le Wagon based on the #1 ranking on this site and also because I wanted to start from scratch (vs other bootcamps that pre-qualify students) and to get to a certain level in as little time as possible. Le Wagon was a clear winner here, and my interview with Alex only cemented my impression of Le Wagon as being a friendly, supportive, and welcoming community. I really appreciated the way every day was structured: lecture in the morning, challenges throughout the day with full TA support, and a live code in the evening. You got the sense that teaching staff really cared about student development and also just enjoyed being there. There was an emphasis on community at Le Wagon: they're an active participant in the local tech ecosystem and regularly host events that students and alumni are encouraged to be a part of. There was yoga once or twice a week (I never went although other students raved about it). There were boundless opportunities to socialize. I've never seen a more diverse group of people band together in such a short amount of time. Overall, a great experience on every level!

I have always been interested in learning programming. As I couldn’t leave my job for a long time I was looking for an intensive short – term course.

That’s how I found Le Wagon and lucky me, it was their first Madrid batch!! Fell in love with Ruby from the first sight! I didn’t have any previous knowledge and I will tell you that it is very important to do all the prep work they give you.

I can say that I have learned everything that I wanted, it was really challenging and a lot of fun. I feel now that I have enough knowledge to continue studying by myself.

And another but not less important thing is that I met a lot of wonderful people from all over the world!! So..would rather choose Le Wagon once again to enjoy people and studies.

100% recommended!

I always was interested in developing but I wasn’t sure I could do it. As I am in professional reconversion, I decided to give it a try and I discovered Le Wagon.

I had a lot of training before le wagon. So I can say that Le Wagon is the Best training center I’ve been. Teachers are very skilled and passionate by they job.

The other alumni was very motivated as well, and, together, we manage to build some awesome app that we could even imagine two month before.

If you are curious in coding and motivated, Le Wagon is the best place to go.

J'ai intégré la formation Fullstack Ruby du Wagon Bordeaux (batch #246, www.lewagon.com/fr/bordeaux)  du 8 avril au 7 juin 2019, sur les conseils d'un ami qui venait de finir sa session quelques temps auparavant.

Si j'ai décidé de postuler au Wagon c'était avant tout pour me reconvertir professionnellement et tenter de devenir développeur web en acquérant de nouvelles compétences techniques, et le moins que l'on puisse dire c'est que je n'ai pas été déçu ! La formation est intensive (42h / semaine pendant 9 semaines), très complète et très enrichissante. Vous apprenez les rouages du code en suivant un programme qui a largement fait ses preuves, ce qui donne un profond sentiment de confiance tous le long du parcours. Après avoir passé 7 semaines à emmagasiner du savoir, les 2 dernières semaines sont réservées à l'élaboration d'un projet (par groupe de 3/4) qui prend la forme d'une application web. Ce projet permet de concrétiser et de mettre à pratique tout ce dont on a appris depuis le début de la formation, et c'est à ce moment là que l'on comprend réellement pourquoi nous avons fait tout ce chemin !
La formation dispose de professeurs qui sont tous des modèles de pédagogie, d'accessibilité et de sympathie, ainsi que des professeurs assistants (des anciens élèves qui sont mis à disposition des nouveaux pour les aider à accomplir leurs exercices) dont j'ai la chance de faire parti aujourd'hui.
Les locaux, situés cours Balguerie Stuttenberg aux Chartrons sont spacieux, bien équipés et idéaux pour travailler dans de bonnes conditions.

En résumé, j'ai vécu au Wagon une excellente expérience qui m'a permis d'acquérir de nouvelles compétences et de faire des rencontres humaines très intéressantes.
Je recommande à quiconque qui est intéressé a devenir développeur web, product owner ou product manager à suivre ce cursus professionnel.

I came to le wagon to change carreers and learn as much as possible without commiting to several years of studying again. It turned out to be a great choice, because now I feel able to build a web app myself from scratch.
More important, I now feel pretty confident I can continue to learn on my own what I need to learn to keep getting better.
Two great months, time just flies, we learn a lot, make new friends, and leave the place excited to see what is coming next. 
Teachers and staff are great, and we can feel that the syllabus and the way things are taught here have been updated and improved with each new "batch", making really it practical. It still is pretty dense, and some things are hard, but we don't lose time on anything useless, and focus on what we need to know.
I would make the same choice any day !!