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.

Rather than any concept or mental model, I think the greatest thing that I've learned with the back end, is that I am capable of anything with some discipline, I have managed to get a bachelors degree before, but was never a good student, but with Launch School help I have reinvented myself and know I consider myself an excellent student, with the confidence to learn anything that I want to.
Raphael Costa
Despite the challenges I faced throughout my journey in Core, the curriculum surpassed all my expectations. I am genuinely impressed by its thoroughness, thoughtfulness, and rigorous nature. Completing Core has been a transformative experience for me. I am amazed by the new skills I've acquired and feel genuinely confident about my prospects in the field of software engineering moving forward.
Harold Camacho
Learning fundamentals has helped me with confidence in learning new material. The best part is, when I read about more advanced topics, I am able to draw upon what I've learned here to frame my mind as I'm learning something else.
Linus Phan
Launch School has imbued practical knowledge, habits for learning, and approaches to problem solving that I didn't have before. Having all of these opportunities has also cost the fraction of any CS degree or bootcamp, and the level of know how and the approach to solving problems is incomparable to bootcamps that cost 7-10x as much.
Austin Miller
I am amazed not just at how much I've learned, but how much I retained what I learned. In college I remembered long enough to pass the test. Now I've learned enough to go into more advanced levels of the topics Launch School covers. Having this confidence I've gained in a subject that was so intimidating and confusing when I was studying by myself is priceless.
Joe Castrigno
One of the the greatest way the curriculum has helped me is simply to be around such lovely people from the community. Although there was a pandemic going on for the entirety of my time at Launch School, I haven't been this socially engaged for years. At a basic level, it's helped shift my view of myself to a more positive one since the people around here appreciate me.
Iuliu Pop
"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