00.-
Description
LeWagon is a french coding bootcamp focused on Ruby, RubyOnRails & front-end development. They have campuses in 40 cities and more than 8000 graduates. After being a student myself, I joined leWagon Beirut as an assistant and teacher.
01.-
Why?
Problem
Missing the creative, brain-firing, problem-solving aspect of coding
I’ve started building websites by the age of 16, first in Flash with HTML & CSS, and a bit of Javascript. In school I learned Visual Basic, ASP, VBA (behind Excel) and got introduced to the .NET environment. I later turned away from coding to focus on my law & economics studies and career.
After a few years I missed the creative, problem-solving and “building” aspects of coding, so I took a course in Java and professionalised my learning by joining le Wagon for an intense 10 weeks programme.
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Approach
Coding again
LeWagon bootcamp
I followed the bootcamp in Brussels. I was part of the 9th batch in a very motivated group. The difference between this bootcamp and the state-funded Java course I took earlier couldn't be bigger! Everyone is investing in themselves, the pace is challenging and the course is very practical.
At the end of the bootcamp, you build your own project for 2 weeks and I think I never slept less. I've built a Ruby On Rails version of my startup idea Flatninja and I couldn't be more proud. PS: It's still online after 5 years!
Teaching in Beirut!
At the end of the bootcamp, I was asked to help teach new students. In Beirut! I wouldn't have wanted to miss the opportunity to teach and live in an exciting city in the Middle East, so I said yes. The cultural exchange, hard work, great people, incredible food,... It was amazing.
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Result
Skills gained
Does a bootcamp make you a real coder?
It needs a little bit more training than that. But it's a great start.
Me personally, I have always kept a balance between coding and the business & marketing sides, meaning the coding part is mostly to build automations & scripts or prototyping new applications. However, thanks to LeWagon, I’ve managed to instruct myself in any kind of project: whether it’s Ruby, Java, Javascript (Node, GAS, React), Python, etc.