The Slow Path for Studious Learners to a Career in Software Development

Structured Curriculum from First Principles

Our program is about slowly building up mastery of fundamentals, so you understand how higher level abstractions truly work from the bottom up. Our goal isn't to teach you how to use React or Rails, but to show you how to construct accurate mental representations of first principles in order to tackle fundamental engineering problems. Our goal isn't to help you find a job, but help you launch a career. Our goal isn't to teach you to code, but to teach you how to deconstruct and problem solve like an engineer.

By Software Engineers for Future Software Engineers

Launch School was founded by experienced software engineers. We know what it takes to not only break into software, but to build and grow a career as an engineer in the software industry. Our objective is to increase your lifetime earnings by millions of dollars. This is what makes Launch School unique and why we focus on the long-term results of a career. Our curriculum was created by software engineers for future software engineers — you.

Launch School gave me confidence. My background is in statistical analysis and economics, and I always felt like I was just winging it at my job even after years of college and grad school. With Launch School, I was deeply learning something for the first time, and actually doing it with intention.
Fernanda Franco
Learning the fundamentals has helped me in a lot of ways. I am confident in my ability to both read and write code, to understand syntax at a level that most JavaScript code that I encounter doesn't have me scratching my head wondering what exactly is happening with each small detail, to trace errors and debug problems efficiently, to research and find critical information in the documentation, to fully understand a problem and then solve it systematically, to understand how different components of a project interact with each other, and the list goes on.
Ian Austin
The Launch School experience has completely changed how I view my own potential and abilities, and how I view learning. I'm excited to apply the mastery approach, along with the techniques and methods I've now found work well for me, to many more fields over the rest of my life.
Alex Dzwonchyk
TAs were always willing to listen and help. Every TA I interacted with throughout the back-end courses was incredibly kind. I always felt the LS staff (and even fellow students) were in my corner rooting for my success. That is a rarity from my past educational experiences.
Jesse Smith
As a Launch School student, I can attest to the transformative power of the program. The curriculum is challenging, but the effort invested pays off in the form of true confidence. This program has elevated my programming skills to new heights, and I couldn't be more thrilled about a career in this field. It took some time, but it was worth it.
Hernando
Leaning into the Launch School process has really helped me build on top of pre-existing knowledge, that's made me feel a lot more confident and develop a strong sense of clarity over why I am learning a particular component of the technology. Overall, it has been really helpful for me and I'm enjoying it greatly.
Elaine Vuong
"We're one of the oldest and largest coding schools in the world."

Our Learning Goals

The key to unlocking higher level understanding and skills that last a career is focusing on fundamentals. We designed our curriculum with the following learning goals.

  • Fundamentals first, fundamentals throughout
  • A focus on learning things that don't change
  • Learn slowly and deliberately
  • Learn to be proficient, not just build awareness
  • Learn to understand problems, not solutions
  • Learn in a circular fashion

Our students love us, and if you are committed to building a career in software development, you will too

  • Sienna Wood
    Denver
    Software Engineer

    Experts always return to fundamentals because they are the foundation on which everything else is built. Launch School’s core program embodies this principle by emphasizing mastery of fundamentals through purposeful individual study.

  • Steve Kolock
    New York
    Front-end Developer

    I got a different role making significantly more than twice what I had been making as a 'web specialist', putting me firmly in six-figure

  • Letladi Sebesho
    Johannesburg, South Africa
    Full Stack Developer at Co-Foundy

    This programme opened possibilities for me that would have taken me years to reach

  • Sunny Beatteay
    New York City
    Software Engineer

    From the first glance, it was apparent that Launch School had been founded by industry veterans. I have never encountered a curriculum more in-depth and rigorous

A Serious Training Curriculum That's Designed to Launch a Career

Core Curriculum

Mastery of Fundamentals

Capstone

Launch Your Career

Complete the Core Curriculum courses and pass their assessments, and you'll have mastered the fundamentals. Participate in our Capstone Program, and you'll launch a career.

The Proof is in the Results

The average starting salary for 2024 Capstone graduates is

$115,766

(See Results & Outcomes for more details.)

Our graduates have been hired by industry leading companies and some of the most competitive startups

Start our preparatory courses now for free. When you're ready for the real courses, it's just

$199/month

Continue reading about how our pedagogy works and why we're able to produce such amazing results. This is how we're different. You should really read this.

Our Pedagogy