Associate spotlight: James Wheadon

What were you doing before joining La Fosse Academy?

I studied engineering at university; this is my first job after graduating.

‍What made you join La Fosse Academy?

I wanted a job in software, but, when applying, there were a lot of skills and knowledge they were looking for that I didn’t have. The training offered by La Fosse Academy was useful to give me the tools I needed to succeed as a developer. ‍‍

‍How would you describe your journey at La Fosse Academy so far?

La Fossa Academy gave me the skills I needed and worked with me to find a placement I enjoy and where I was able to keep learning and developing, so I am now at a point in my career where I am able to take on more responsibility and bigger problems in my team. ‍

‍What is the biggest takeaway from your time with La Fosse Academy?

There is a lot more to being a developer than knowing a programming language. ‍

‍What did you like about the curriculum?

It has a lot of opportunities to practice and apply what I learned, and in our project weeks we were encouraged to look at including extra functionality outside the curriculum. It also taught me about tools and concepts that I had not heard of before that are necessary for my current job. ‍

‍How has La Fosse Academy impacted your career?

It turned me from a coder into a developer, teaching me about databases and frameworks and more, as well as how to work collaboratively in a development team. The company took my preference for back-end development over full-stack and front-end to find me a placement I have been able to succeed in.

‍How has the community, benefits, and support provided by La Fosse Academy enhanced your tech career?

The peer mentoring programme really helped me gain confidence when starting my placement, and the training budget has allowed me to gain extra qualifications during my time with La Fosse Academy.

‍What are you doing now?

I am on placement at Ford, working in a back-end development.

‍What advice would you give to someone looking to apply for La Fosse Academy?

You should apply to La Fosse Academy; it gave me a solid knowledge foundation which I have been able to build from and a lot of the topics in the training are directly relevant to my current position.

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