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.

I was able to get a new job, shifting from education to tech, after the first few courses in the core curriculum; my new employers complimented my ability to learn on-the-go and problem solve. I credit Launch School with helping me build those skills to the point where I could finally make the jump out of my old job that I had been thinking about for so long!
Kyle Ledoux
My problem solving skills also seem to have gotten increasingly better, both on programming and non-programming matters. Thanks to LS, I have really internalized the concept of looking at problems at a high level first, and then break down the steps to solve them.
Raul Romero Cano
I learned that mastery-based learning really works! I had a couple of pauses in my studying throughout the backend, and I was always amazed when I came back to the curriculum how much knowledge I had actually retained even after my time off. It's really fun to get further into the curriculum and see connections with earlier material - and it makes you appreciate how essential it really is to master that earlier material before moving on.
Ping Honzay
After completing the back-end portion of the core curriculum, I built an application to assist with a painfully manual payroll process. This saves several hours per week of some of our busiest and most highly paid team members while significantly reducing payroll errors.
Timothy Cummings
I finally found Launch school and it was everything and more I was looking for. A great curriculum, smart supportive people in the community, and a school that truly cares about the success of their students.
Mandy Cheang
It's through Launch School's high expectations of its students, its comprehensive resources and its supportive community that I've been able to achieve what I have so far.
Richard Morris
"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