Tell us about your background and why you decided to learn to code
Before joining Le Wagon, I was a pastry chef for 5 years. I also studied in several different fields, from fine arts to engineering.
I got familiar with coding while doing projects in electroacoustics and electronic arts. Coding gives me an interesting way of thinking, and there are so many different applications for it.
Why did you choose Le Wagon part-time program?
A friend of mine told me about Le Wagon and I compared it to other bootcamps. I enjoyed the admission process at Le Wagon, I found the staff very friendly and transparent.
When I got in touch with Le Wagon, I felt the learning environment would be supportive and stimulating.
I chose the part-time format because I wanted to have time to absorb knowledge. I have some learning disabilities, but the curriculum and teaching environment was compatible with my way of learning.
What did you enjoy the most about your experience?
I enjoyed the pair programming sessions a lot! It’s a great way of getting to know your classmates and being exposed to different ways of thinking.
The last few days of the bootcamp were also very satisfying. I had fun with my team trying to solve the last bugs of our final project before presenting it at Demo Day.
How was your experience looking for a job?
Upon finishing the bootcamp, I worked a lot on my linkedin, CV, and digital presence in general. I participated in Le Wagon’s career week and some tech networking events.
The biggest challenge for me was building a positive narrative around my career changes and my previous studies so I worked on my elevator pitch and did a lot of interviews to practice.
In December 2021, I got in contact with Potloc and the first interview went very well. They were looking for a junior full-stack developer with an eventual focus on a back-end career path
That’s exactly what I wanted. They gave me some really fun technical assignments to do - including publishing my first Ruby gem - and it worked out!
What’s your role at Potloc and how do you use the skills you learned at Le Wagon?
I'm a Full-Stack Developer in the Sampling squad. I use Ruby on Rails & GraphQL-Ruby for the back- end implementation of some features. RSpec and FactoryBot are also a big part of my daily toolset.
Le Wagon allowed me to learn how to learn and how to solve problems.
When solving challenges during the bootcamp, I took the habit of googling error messages and writing some pseudo-code. I also learned how to prioritize tasks during project weeks. This is good practice to be a developer!
What advice would you give to someone who wants to change careers?
Take the plunge and make sure you have a support network (friends or family). It’s essential to have a solid base before making a career transition because it’s not easy!
