How the bootcamp helped me achieve a big life goal

Hey Margarita! What was your education or career journey before starting Le Wagon?

It’s a journey for sure! I have a BSc in Geology and MSc in Palaeoanthropology, and ventured into commercial archaeology for a little while. Eventually, I found myself working as a content editor which slowly progressed to e-commerce manager for a local company. It was in this last place that I got involved with web development and realised that I was quite intrigued to learn more about it. I started doing online courses, read books and articles on website development, to better understand the ins and outs of a website and communicate with our developers.

Did you try to teach yourself Web Development before joining?

I tried online self-paced courses more than once; and mainly struggled with the lack of structure and solid foundation to progress along the course. So I kept falling behind and struggling to follow along or even ask questions. It takes a certain amount of self-discipline and time to learn by yourself and it definitely is doable, it’s just not for everyone. I wanted support and structure, and that’s why I ended up signing up to a bootcamp.

How did the bootcamp help you get where you are now?

Basically Le Wagon’s web dev course gave me the structure and understanding to go out in the world and adapt it to any tech stack. We were taught how to solve logic problems, and how to search for solutions and it gave us the necessary foundations that self-paced/video courses lacked. The career week(s) after the completion of the course really helped prepare and structure our CV/LinkedIn to apply for tech jobs. I am truly grateful for their 1:1 support throughout the following months after finishing the bootcamp.

What do you enjoy the most about your current role as a Full-Stack Developer?

No day is the same! I get to work on both back-end and front-end stuff, which means focusing on both problem-solving logic and creative designs. It’s a perfect balance. I work with some great and friendly people, all with varying backgrounds and expertise levels who are always happy to help and explain. Overall, they’ve made adjusting to a new career so much smoother.

How would you summarise your experience at Le Wagon?

Probably one of the best decisions I made for myself. It was a rollercoaster for sure, which was one of the first things they told us. It was a bumpy ride, but it was so rewarding. In 6 months, Le Wagon’s bootcamp basically made me achieve a big goal I’d set for myself: become a web developer.

What’s your favourite bootcamp memory?

Probably the last day, when we presented our final product. The pressure and stress had built up so much in those final weeks, and when we presented our products to the entire batch, teachers and TAs I was so proud for what we all managed to achieve in merely a few weeks (or actually within 6 months).

Do you have any advice for those wanting to learn to code or learn new tech skills?

It’ll be challenging, especially if you still work full time, and you will doubt yourself multiple times but it will be by far the most rewarding thing you’ll do for yourself and your new career.

Do you still keep in contact with any alumni?

Yes! I’ve made some good friends from my batch, even though we never met in person!