How Carole became Digital Project Manager after Le Wagon

Yes sure, after completing my degree at l'Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne, I worked as an event manager in Geneva and in Munich for a luxury brand. Later I worked as a project coordinator for Impact Hub, helping them launching a co-working space in the city center of Zurich. 

During my time in Zurich, I was really immersed in the startup scene and I met a lot of driven Tech people. After two years, I felt like there was no more room for me to grow in my role, and I really wanted a new challenge. This is what really made me consider a career change as a Digital Project Manager. So I decided to come back to Geneva and ready to give it a real chance. 

When I came back to Geneva, I started applying for project management roles, with little success. I was mostly applying online and had a few interviews but never received an offer. I soon realized that my profile was missing something to set myself apart from other candidates.

This is why, I decided to sign up for Le Wagon with the objective to gain technical knowledge. I strongly believe that to become a good project manager, especially in today’s digital world, you need hands-on coding experience. I wanted to understand how digital products are put together.

After Le Wagon, I took a break from applying. What's funny is that I saw my profile being more noticed than before, even without applying. Altran, an IT consulting company, reach out to me on LinkedIn to propose an interview and soon after I received an offer for a Business Analyst Consultant position. After a few months into the role, I grew to become a Digital Project Manager. I didn't take advantage of Le Wagon's network in Switzerland as the campus had just been launched here. But I think the reputation of Le Wagon was a factor in getting my job. I remember that at the time Le Wagon had been on the news a lot. 

Today as Project Manager, I am in charge of leading different digital projects. I make sure developers deliver the solution we conceived with our clients. I also make sure deadlines and budgets are respected. I am a middleman between clients and devs.

Ahah! As a Junior Consultant the salary can range based on the level of education. When I started I was lucky enough to get the level of salary of someone with a Master's degree, somewhere around 80,000 CHF a year. As a Project Manager, usually salaries are more around 100,000 CHF. Of course it will depend on the company, your professional experience and your bargaining power ;-)

I can communicate much more easily with technical teams. I know how to speak their language and it greatly facilitates exchanges. I am not to look at lines of codes.

I am just happy it paid off and helped advance my career.