Luis was ready to make a change from sales to a new chapter career-wise. But to what field? And how?
“A couple of years before I did Le Wagon, I was already wondering: where did I want to go?” reflects Luis. “I saw the career path that I was on, and I didn’t see myself doing the same thing for another 10, 15, 20 years.”
He felt he had learned what he wanted from his sales job and was eager to grow professionally.
Luis took a piece of paper and mapped out his skills and experience, both in sales and in his previous work as an engineer, to find a career that matched his abilities and interests. Data analysis came up, and the possibility intrigued him.
But it was Covid that finally pushed him to take action.
“I remember everything was late, customers were mad. We were receiving calls all the time from customers who were angry over things we couldn’t do anything about. That was the trigger.”
It was Luis’ wife who told him about Le Wagon’s data science bootcamp. He weighed his options and decided to apply.
“I considered doing a masters degree or something like that,” says Luis. “But for me, Le Wagon was the best option because I knew that I needed to kickstart myself with some basic skills. I wanted to learn as much as I could as fast as I could, and to get back on the job market quickly. So it was like ‘well, I’m just going to focus on this’. And that’s the reason I did the bootcamp – because it was focused.”
He quit his job and enrolled in the full-time data science course, with the goal of re-entering the job market afterwards as a data analyst.
Le Wagon: An intensive bootcamp to prepare himself for a new career in tech
Though he was excited about training for a brand new career, Luis couldn’t help but feel a bit apprehensive at the start of the bootcamp.
“When you see all the things that you learn during the bootcamp, I was like “will I be able to do that afterwards?”
But there wasn’t much time to doubt himself. Having chosen the full-time program, he was soon immersed in completing the 400 hours of the bootcamp in a mere 9 weeks.
“You’re coding all the time. So yes, that gets into your skin. At the end, you know how to solve problems.”
It wasn’t easy. But as time progressed and he saw his skills improving, he found it increasingly rewarding.
“The first 2 weeks was kind of a lot,” he says. “Honestly, it was headaches at the end of the day, it was a lot of information. But you get used to it at some point. I got better. I was able to complete more challenges than before. I think the best part is when you complete challenges and you say to yourself, ‘I accomplished this.’ ”
He still remembers that eureka moment, the shift when things fell into place.
“The first time I was able to present insights about the data. That was when I realized I can use my knowledge and experience to see what the data is trying to tell me. That was the turning point because I saw that “yes, this is the right path. I have something to offer.”
You can feel the smile in his voice as he describes Projects Phase: the two weeks towards the end of the bootcamp, where students work in teams on an original project that puts their newfound knowledge into application.
“You realize what are the stages of developing an AI or a machine learning model. So it’s not only about training the model, but everything… collecting the data, cleaning the data. Build the models, then deploy the model… But you get all the process, and you learn how to work in collaboration with other people. You build something out of scratch, and it feels good. Like from zero to building this? It’s super cool.”
A fulfilling new career
“My day-to-day work is totally different now. And I love it.”
One of the reasons Luis chose Le Wagon was to get back on the job market ASAP. But even he was surprised at just how quickly he found employment afterwards.
“I finished Le Wagon, I think it was in September. And in November, I was already hired with a data analyst position. It was pretty quick. I didn’t expect that.”
“Could I have done it without Le Wagon? Maybe. But for sure, it would have taken longer.”
He feels that his former careers in sales and engineering gave him a set of valuable skills that are useful to him as a data analyst. When asked what he likes best about his new role, Luis says:
“I’ve always liked to improve things, in my previous careers and in my job now. For example, for some customers, we’re working on saving energy. That’s a pretty good thing to do, saving energy, improving their carbon footprint. There’s a lot we can do just by analyzing data. So that’s the best part.”
In just 9 weeks, Luis prepared himself for a whole new career. Now, nearly two years after he took the leap, Luis feels satisfied in his work, and optimistic about what the coming years will bring:
“Data is going to be everywhere,” he says. “There’s more and more data to analyze. So the future is bright as well.”
Many thanks to Gabrielle Mon Desire, alumna Le Wagon Montréal who wrote this story ❤️
Do you have any questions about Data programs in Montreal? Feel free to contact the local team by email or book a short call.
