LaunchSchool: An online school for Software Engineers

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.

Learning fundamentals has given me the abilities and confidence to get hired as an engineer at PayPal where I'm solving problems every day alongside smart and awesome people. The future is really bright for my career now and it's entirely thanks to my decision to start Launch School.

Alex Dzwonchyk

It has been rewarding to begin to experience JIT learning as I'm more confident skimming rapidly through documentation and absorbing and implementing various tools and APIs and understanding them. I really believe Launch School is as effective as people say it is.

Justin Brereton

I can't overstate how much of a life lesson the concept of "mental models" (MM) is. I don't know how to explain it, but after hearing and thinking in terms of MMs I really never consider something out of reach, just maybe not within my time budget. It makes so many possible life paths feel reachable if you just wanted to spend the time to go down them, if that makes sense. "Mental model" is definitely a term that people around me are going to get used to hearing a lot.

Benjamin Boinay

Revising assessments after being graded ensured my understanding was rock solid. In the past, I would have been satisfied with an A. There was never the time to back fill any gaps of understanding after completing a course in traditional schooling. By the time I was a professional in my previous field, I realized that my knowledge was built on shaky foundations. The self paced nature of the Launch School enabled me to build strong fundamental knowledge.

Peter Hua

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

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

"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.

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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

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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

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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

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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.