What was your background before attending Le Wagon?
I was always a good student and didn't really know what profession to pursue. The teachers pushed me towards a preparatory school and a business school. Then, I did internships in different fields including one in a recruitment agency which pleased me. So I continued in this direction for 3 years.
What made you decide to change careers and become a developer?
Since I started working in recruitment, I always had this idea in the back of my mind that I would not make a career out of it. I worked on HR projects and I didn't like it because I find it too administrative. I didn't see how I could evolve in this field. In addition, I’ve always loved math and logic, and I was missing using them in my job.
" Around the end of 2019, I wasn’t motivated enough to continue my job as a recruiter, so I started to actively think about what I was missing and what might be a better fit for me. And the job of the developer filled in the missing boxes!"
How did your job search go after the bootcamp?
I think I was very lucky because right after the bootcamp I had the opportunity to work as a freelancer with a friend who had been freelancing for years and was looking for help. At the same time, I started applying for jobs to see how companies would react to my CV, and by chance, I learned that a friend of a friend was looking to recruit a junior web developer in his team. So he passed on my resume and it worked!
Did being a tech recruiter give you the right reflexes to search?
I think that it has helped me to be more serene in (non-technical) interviews because I've done them and I know that there are usually no trick questions, only a team who wants to get to know you.
If you don't feel that the recruiter and the manager listen to you, I advise you to run away, it doesn't look good for the future!
Would you have some advice to share?
Don't hesitate to apply. When I finished the bootcamp, I realize that a lot of students (including myself) had the impression of not being ready. We wanted to do more, more projects. The risk is to get into a vicious circle where you end up never feeling ready because you can always improve your portfolio and your projects.
" It's important to see how companies react to your profile, it also allows you to adjust. Don't hesitate to contact recruiters or more senior developers to get their opinion on your CV and portfolio. Not all of them will answer but those who do will surely have valuable advice!"
At the end of the bootcamp I also found that many of us felt a bit overwhelmed by all the possibilities that were open to us in terms of stacks and tools to learn.
I would advise future graduates to focus on a few tools/languages and use them in concrete projects, such as their portfolio, in order to have real knowledge about these selected technologies and be able to put them on their CV. For example, I made my portfolio in React and I could see the difference in the applications I made for jobs that mention React in their stack.
Tell us about your integration at Triton Digital. Has COVID made a difference?
At Triton, I’m in a team of 10 people including 2 web developers (a developer with 7 years of experience and me).
I’m lucky to be in a team that is available and aware of the fact that I needed support to get started. It made my integration and my first weeks working remote much easier!
In retrospect, I didn't feel much difference between an in-person and remote integration. I spent my first day with HR and I had a team lunch with the other newcomers on Zoom. Since then, my colleagues are always available on Slack to answer my questions.
Tell us about your job
I’m currently a web developer. I do mostly front-end and some back-end. I work on a specific product for my company that uses React and Typescript for the front-end, and for the back-end, we use different stacks. The one I've worked on the most so far is in Scala.
We work in agile, and on a daily basis we have three main types of tasks:
- Work on new features (requested by customers or brainstormed internally)
- Work on feature enhancements (requested by customers or brainstormed internally)
- Work on fixing bugs
Are you glad you made this career change?
I’m very happy with this career change. I feel stimulated at work and I learn a lot. It's rewarding to see the results of my labor directly impact our company's product!
Beyond the job, I’m also very happy with the company and the team I joined.
How do you use the skills you acquired at Le Wagon?
I don't use the programming languages I learned at Le Wagon in my job, but what I learned is still relevant.
"Attending Le Wagon, I discovered the world of web development, how to navigate through resources available on the internet, and how to deal with the difficulties encountered when coding."
What did you think of the hybrid bootcamp format?
I came to Le Wagon every day because it was important for me to be there and to get into the study mindset. I don't regret it because there was a very good collaborative atmosphere, both between the teachers and the students, and between the students themselves.
" I felt like the staff went out of their way to make sure that the remote students felt that sense of collaboration and caring."
What did you enjoy the most?
The people! Including the staff and the students.
I found that there was a great deal of listening and caring from everyone, which created an ideal learning environment.
I was also impressed with the learning structure of the school! There were so many different ways to access the information. There was something for everyone including videos, flashcards, recap, PDFs, in-person classes,...
Any advice for women who want to start a career in technology?
Don't hesitate to contact professionals to learn more about the field and get started!
In the last few months, I realized that working in tech or working in HR is just working in a different environment, with its own codes, and that you just have to adapt, regardless of your gender.
I think that we have to desacralize this idea that the tech world is not a place for women. Take the leap if you want to!
