"In just 9 weeks, not only was I able to learn how to transform code into a tangible software, but I was able to gain the skills and knowledge that some people study in an MBA (Masters of Business Administration) for 2 years to acquire."
I. Can you introduce yourself to our community?
Hello everyone, my name is Sebastian and I'm 20 years old. Life before Le Wagon was honestly quite a journey. As I only graduated year 12 back in 2017, I was living in this unique moment in history: I knew that I could either catch the technology and internet wave while it was still building momentum or be swept underneath after it crashes. Like any broke, recently graduated high school student, I knew that to capitalize on this wave, getting capital was the first step. So, I began working a full-time 7am – 4pm warehouse job for a year and a half. Spending the rest of my afternoons educating myself, attending seminars/workshops, launching small online business, playing basketball, and other more normal 19 year old things.
II. What decided you to learn to code and to join?
I feel like joining Le Wagon was honestly a natural progression. Having worked for a year and a half, I had garnered an immense knowledge in online business, but I was still lacking the backend knowledge required to code and understand the inner workings of the internet/technology. This ultimately led me with a fork in the road, deciding to either do it alone and continue learning with a combination of free and paid online content, go to university, or do a coding Bootcamp. University was quickly out of the picture as investing 3 years to learning a new skill would be to high of an opportunity cost, and frankly, I knew the content would be outdated by the time I graduated.
I found 4 of the major coding Bootcamps in Melbourne, and after doing to my research, there were three main reasons I chose Le Wagon over the others:
1. The community. From the very first moment, it was clear that Le Wagon was a family, a family of open-minded, entrepreneurial, friendly, charismatic people from all walks of life. People that I felt an immediate connection with and knew I wanted to become closer with.
2. The structure. Le Wagon was the only Bootcamp that I saw that wasn’t structured like a conventional classroom or even like a conventional curriculum, with most of the learning being done in open flexible time blocks, by peer-programming, with 2 weeks of applied project work at the end. This really appealed to my entrepreneurial nature of getting to collaborate, build stuff, and most importantly have a good level of independence. I had a startup idea at that time, and sadly that start-up never grew to what I had planned it to; but because of those 2 weeks alone, not only was I able to learn how to transform code into a tangible software, I was able to gain the skills and knowledge that some people study an MBA (Masters of Business Administration) for 2 years to acquire.
3. The teachers. Words can’t even describe the love and admiration I have for the Le Wagon teachers. Their passion for code and life as a whole is honestly contagious. Let’s be honest, coding isn’t the most glamorous task, and I genuinely believe this is to the bottom of my heart: if I had chosen any other coding Bootcamp I would not approach coding with the joy and excitement that I do today.
III. How would you describe your experience at Le Wagon?
There are genuinely no words that I can type that will explain this experience. It is an experience that to this day is still un-matched. No day at Le Wagon was ever the same, but I guess you can expect that when you plan to learn as much as you do in 9 weeks.
Nothing at Le Wagon is by accident. Everything, from the peer-programming, to project weeks, to learning at a co-working space, is designed so that you gain immense knowledge in coding. You also “graduate” as an all-round better human being, equipped with all the other necessary skills required to succeed in life whether you chose to work for yourself or somebody else.
You may be thinking: "Who in their right mind chooses a crowded co-working space to host a school?", but that’s the genius of Paal and the Le Wagon community. I don’t ever think I would want to learn outside of a co-working space ever again. You get to meet amazing people every day, most of which that are already successful entrepreneurs working in start-ups and online business, that you otherwise wouldn’t ever get the chance to meet and learn from.
IV. So, what's up since you graduated?
I’m currently employee number 3 at an e-commerce start-up, wearing a variety of different hats from inventory management, digital marketing, website development, and more. Like any start-up, no 2 days at work are ever the same, although, after Le Wagon, I feel far more equipped to manage such a chaotic schedule.
I'm building my online businesses in my free time. During my time off work, I still continue building my own online businesses. As once I build sufficient traction, my plan is to completely transition into working for myself, living a completely location-independent lifestyle, only made possible by technology and the internet.
V. What would you tell to someone thinking about joining the course?
“Life is a sum of all your choices.” - Albert Camus.
You now have a pretty big choice to make: to enroll or not to enroll. I can tell you now that the lives that follow this decision are completely different. One will teach you a skill that will be relevant for decades to come, open doors unimaginable to you right now, give you self-confidence beyond belief, transform you into a world-class communicator, expand your network with high-value connections, provide you with the mindset to elevate all facets of your life, and memories/stories that you will remember forever. The other choice, I personally don’t have experience with. But I’ll be honest: I’m very happy with the choice I made.
"Nothing at Le Wagon is by accident. You graduate as an all-round better human being, equipped with all the necessary skills required to succeed in life, whether you chose to work for yourself or somebody else. "
