Why did you decide to change careers and learn web development?
I've always had a wide range of interests, and I did many different jobs in my youth. Before joining Le Wagon, I was a car mechanic, and before that, I worked on freelance photography projects.
One day I injured my knee at work. That’s when my cousins, web developers, advised me to change careers.
I've always been attracted to technology and I'm passionate about problem-solving, hence my career in mechanics, so it made sense for me to reorient myself towards an IT career.
Why did you decide to join Le Wagon?
When I was studying Mechanical Engineering, I was very interested in programming courses. It resonated with me more than other classes like thermodynamics! In the end, I didn't go all the way through my studies because I found the courses were too theoretical and not practical enough.
So, my initial plan was to learn programming with courses on the Internet. But I quickly hit a wall, and that's when I got interested in bootcamps.
I chose Le Wagon because the positive reviews seduced me, and I found the admission process very human.
How did your job search go after the bootcamp?
I received a job offer only a few days after the Demo Day!
But I turned it down because I wanted to develop my skills a bit more before starting a career as a developer. So I worked as a teacher and TA for Le Wagon in Montreal, Berlin, and São Paulo.
Then, thanks to people I knew from Le Wagon, I accepted my first job as a full-stack developer at SurMesur, a Quebec-based company. I had the chance to work there with two other alumni.
What is your role today at Spockee?
Today, I work as a front-end developer at Spockee. And, once again, I got this job thanks to a fellow alumnus from Le Wagon.
"I received two job offers thanks to Le Wagon alumni network. The community is powerful!"
At Spockee, I am responsible for two REACT web applications, and I do maintenance on a mobile application. I'm also working on the development of an administrative dashboard.
What's a typical day for a front-end developer?
Right now, the whole team is working remotely.
At 9 am, we have a stand-up meeting to talk about what we did yesterday, our tasks for the day, and the potential blocking points we have.
During the day, I work on bug fixes and new feature development. We also do a lot of pair programming, just like we do at Le Wagon!
At lunchtime, we have the opportunity to participate in Lunch & Learn sessions to share our knowledge with colleagues. Then, I like to take a sports break around 3 - 4 pm before going back to work, but this is just my habits :)
How do you use the skills you learn during the Web Development program?
During the bootcamp, we learn how to read documentation, do research when we get stuck, and share our knowledge.
When I'm learning a new programming language, I use the same learning method that Le Wagon gave me: I start by setting up my computer and going over the basics (algorithms, loops, conditions, etc), and then I practice by creating a blog or restaurant application.
All of this learning curve you go through at the Wagon is the same in the real world.
"Today, at Spockee, I don't use Ruby on Rails, but Le Wagon taught me a way of learning that I'm able to apply to other technologies."
Your favorite part of bootcamp?
The Ruby on Rails week! It was fantastic to integrate everything we learned (database, JavaScript, Ruby, front-end...) to build web applications and see the concrete results of our efforts.
It was impressive as I felt like I was creating things from scratch!
Any advice for those who want to learn to code?
Before starting the bootcamp, I had already taken some online courses that gave me some understanding of coding, and I think that gave me a little bit of a head start. So, my advice would be to start with online tutorials (or the free workshops offered by Le Wagon ) because it will speed up your learning process during the bootcamp!
Congratulations on your successful career change, Victor! We wish you the best :)
