Whether you’re trying to break into a new field, prepare for the job search, or level up in your current role, it helps to know that you’re not alone in your journey to build your skills. That’s why we’re sharing stories from learners like you: to motivate and inspire others in their learning endeavors.
After years of college and post-graduate study, you might think that Emmanuel Djegou would be tired of learning. But that’s not how he thinks about it. A PhD candidate in Statistics who’s interning at Reinsurance Group of America (RGA), Emmanuel takes what he’s learned in graduate school to the next level by practicing and building on his skills with CodeSignal Learn. We spoke with Emmanuel about what he’s learning, why he chose CodeSignal, and what advice he has for others learning to code.
Watch an excerpt of his interview, or read the full story below.
What are you learning in school, and what motivates you to continue building skills with CodeSignal Learn?
“I am doing a PhD in Statistics. We have several courses: regression analysis using R, computational Bayesian method using Python, nonparametric statistical methods with R, time series analysis using R, and so on. But the reason why I’m still learning from CodeSignal is very simple: when you take a course, by the end of semester, you complete a project—whether it is in R or Python. But I was sad to realize that after some time, maybe 2 or 3 months later, you forget about everything you learned because you are no longer practicing R or Python. And as a researcher, I want to be able to master what I’m doing.”
What are your goals for learning?
“My goals [are] about writing code and delivering results. I want to be able to understand what I’m doing. When I look back at my first paper, I was able to write my simulation code using MATLAB. And I didn’t have any experience using MATLAB before. But using AI, I was able to write the code in a matter of a week. But at the end of the day, if you want to get a job with big companies, for instance, you know, like Amazon or Meta, you better learn how to code.
I was fortunate I had a live coding interview with them—you cannot fake it. You better learn how to code. So that’s why even if I’m able to produce results with AI, I know my work at a deeper level and I know how to use AI to produce results. I want to be able to master the programming language when I go for an interview.”
What has it been like using Learn?
“The benefit of learning from CodeSignal is the fact that I can get immediate feedback [from Cosmo] whenever I learn. I started with CodeSignal because I was interested in SQL and R, and it was very nice because CodeSignal will introduce the concept in a simpler way. Then it will give you a short code [snippet] and ask you to fix a bug, for instance. So if you understand the concept and how a function is used, then you can easily fix the bug.
And the last part of the training process is about writing the code from scratch. That’s one of my highest goals. You don’t want to be dependent on AI. You want to be able to say, ‘I want to perform this task. Which library should I import? Which specific functions do I need to call from that library?’ That’s the main benefit that I got from learning on CodeSignal.”
What advice do you have for other students like you?
“First of all, you have to recognize your gaps. You have to know what you are good at and what you’re not good at. We can use AI to write our simulation code, get our papers done and published… But when it comes to applying for jobs in the industry, these people want you to know what you are doing. They want you to be accountable for your work.
Don’t wait until the last moment to start learning. Commit to learning about how to program in R/Python, or how to program in SQL. I started learning about SQL because I knew that at some point I will start using it. So even if right now you are not using SQL and you know that at some point in the future you’ll definitely need it, start learning it from now. Today is the best moment to start learning.”
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Did CodeSignal Learn help you learn a new coding language, prep for an interview, or land a new role? We’d love to hear from you! Share your story with us here.