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.

The community at Launch School is second to none. There are so many people from alumni, staff, and students who want to help you succeed. In the Slack channels I see staff constantly answering questions and trying to be helpful. Whenever I have asked a staff member a question it has always been met with a thoughtful and supportive answer.
Cameron Bibb
I was initially skeptical of the value of PEDAC, but I stuck with it, and can now say it’s one of, if not the, most important lessons that I’ll take with me from LS. It’s improved my ability to systematically work through interview-style coding problems as well as plan new projects.
Scott Graham
After completing only the backend part of the core curriculum, I was offered a Rails testing job, but I turned that down and have since stopped applying for jobs. It was really gratifying to know that after what seems like such a short time, I'm already in a place where I can feel okay turning down a job.
Austin Miller
Mastering fundamentals enabled me to pick up similar technologies easier. Although I don't know python programming language, I am able to understand python code because of the object oriented fundamentals I learned in JavaScript and Ruby courses.
Avshar
Launch School has helped me to remember that there is joy and excitement in the learning and in the journey to get where I'm going.
Austin Nelson
All of my professional experience has been in recruiting, which is basically sales. When I first joined Launch School, I wasn't sure if I had what it took to solve technical problems. However, I trusted the process. I'm now astounded by some of the more difficult problems I'm able to solve. A good education is supposed to be transformational. Launch School delivers on that promise.
Hernando Delgado
"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