Accueil > Graduate stories > Craving problem solving, how I found job satisfaction via Le Wagon
Craving problem solving, how I found job satisfaction via Le Wagon
After working at an accounting firm as a CPA for 7 years, I gradually realised that I needed a career change that gives more challenges and satisfaction. The number one thing that I enjoyed most in my previous career was problem solving and I wanted more of that, so I joined Le Wagon!
Summary
I was born and raised in South Korea until I was 19 years old. I moved to Canada to experience a different culture and learn a new language for a year. I fell in love with Canada and ended up staying for 10 years. Over those 10 years, I studied accounting and taxation and became a CPA (Chartered Professional Accountant).
After working at an accounting firm for 7 years, I gradually realized that I needed a career change that provides me with more challenge and satisfaction.
The number one thing that I enjoyed in my previous career was problem solving and I wanted more of that. When I talked to a couple of software engineer friends, the most important element of their jobs was problem solving. I researched and compared bootcamp options and I found Le Wagon's syllabus the most suitable for my level and needs. Heidi pitching her idea to the cohort
It was challenging as I had no real coding experience before but all the teachers and TAs were incredibly patient and the structure was SO well thought through.
Pair programming with different classmate everyday was also a great way to learn and something that I apply at work now as I frequently pair program with colleagues.
The project weeks were definitely the most challenging parts of the bootcamp. All of my team members came from different backgrounds with different perspectives and as a person who pitched the idea, it was hard to adjust all the opinions and make sure everyone gets the experience that they want from the bootcamp. It was an intense 9-week course but I enjoyed it very much!
I was in a team of four, all girls. We all came from very different backgrounds, from midwifery to a recent high school graduate. Two were stronger at front-end and two stronger at back-end. The project was called TravelTetris and it is for travellers who know the destinations that they would like to go and when they are free to go, but they don't care about the order. TravelTetris finds the cheapest combination of the flights. Demo DayI wasn't sure what I wanted to do after the course, or if I wanted to be front-end, back-end or full-stack. However, I definitely wanted to pursue my career in software engineering for my new career. Soon after I started the bootcamp, I was more sure of my decision to become a developer as I loved the problem aspect.
If you’re wondering if it’s worth learning to code, I think it is very important, even if you don't see it as your day job. It allows you to practice how to break up a problem into small pieces and logically solve those effectively. You often collaborate with other people to solve these problems which you will learn how to communicate well to maximize the productivity.
Now, I work for a tech company called Cytora - one of Le Wagon’s hiring partners.
They helped so much in getting me a job. Cytora provides APIs to insurance companies to correct and enrich their data and engineers use the language Go. I would love to be more competent in using Go and learning various concepts of computer science and programming to understand fundamental principles.
If I were to give some advice, I would say that you should never stop coding. Coding is same as any other skills in life, if you don't use it, you lose it.
After graduating the bootcamp, no matter how long you can spare your time on coding and learning, keep going at it and keep pushing it to github (not only for self-learning but also potential employers will look how active you have been). Also build a side project. You will come across a lot of different problems and by solving them, you will gain incredible experience.
I would like to say huge thanks to everyone at Le Wagon for helping me to have a career I love and supporting me throughout and after the bootcamp!!
