Meet our students : Marc-André

Here is  Marc-André, one of the first students of 42 Québec. At 30 years old, he decided to go back to school after seeing a post about our training on LinkedIn. We wanted to know a little more about his path.

42 Québec : Where are you from, Marc-André?

Marc-André : I’m from Quebec city, and I currently live in the Limoilou district. It’s a 20-minute walk from the campus; that’s just perfect.

42 : Tell us a bit about yourself. What are you interested in?

M-A : I have a variety of hobbies. I’m the type to put all my energy on one of them for some time, and then move on. It often revolves around art and creation: writing, cinema, music, video games.

42 : Was programming part of your hobby?

M-A : I had never considered learning programming, but when I discovered 42 Québec, I became interested in it, especially because of the learning context that the training offers. I had never coded in my life before the Piscine.

42 : Did you do any other studies before 42 Québec?

M-A : I started several courses that I never finished. I love to learn, and every time, I tell myself this is the right one. It took me a while to realize that you don’t have to have a degree to succeed. It was when I entered the job market that I was able to feel accomplished. The challenges and the recognition made me want to improve myself constantly.

42 : What field did you work in?

M-A : I was scriptwriting for a while, but it was tough. In addition to the financial insecurity, I found it difficult not to have a precise scale of what is good or not. There are so many aspects that cannot be controlled in this area that we often work for nothing. I then turned to sales, and in 3 years, I was able to grow so much. It responded to my competitive side.

42 : What made you decide to try 42 Québec?

M-A : Gamification in education is a concept that interests me a lot, and I knew it would work for me. This concept is often applied for younger students, but less so in higher-level studies. The fact of not being dependent on a group for my learning, the freedom, and the flexibility of the training convinced me to leave the job market to reinvest in my studies.

42 : Tell us about your Piscine. How did you find the experience?

M-A : Even if I understand that at 42 Quebec, we start from the ground up and learn to do things well, I would have liked to have had some knowledge before arriving. Maybe that would have taken some stress off my first week. Beyond that, though, it went well. The intensity of the Piscine is what makes it so motivating and rewarding. You put everything you got into it, and when you succeed, it is so rewarding.

42 : How’s campus life?

M-A : I like the people I hang out with here. Given the situation with the COVID-19, we are less students than expected, but the links we forged are tight. I can’t wait for other students to join us to feel the frenzy.

42 : What do you like most about 42 Québec?

M-A : The learning process. Here, you learn to learn, and it is so much more effective. I don’t feel like I need to know everything as quickly as possible. I am confident that I will be able to find what I need in due course. I know this will open a lot of doors for me. Regardless of the topic, this way of learning will be helpful all my life.