Six months into my software engineering career, I’m seeing the dividends. The foundation I built at Launch School allows me to deliver high-quality work at the pace of peers with years more experience.

After taking a two-year career sabbatical, I found myself as a 30-something year old with a large gap on my resume and unsure of what to do next. I’d tried learning to code before, but it never stuck. It always ended in me giving up. I wasn’t even sure if software engineering was the right path for me. I regained an interest and this time did some serious research to find the best education available. Through this process, I decided to give Launch School’s free material a shot. What did I have to lose?

I fell in love with their approach almost immediately. I was drawn to the emphasis on mastery-based learning and the idea of progressing only when concepts were deeply understood. The “slow path” mindset that Launch School drills into their students resonated deeply for me. It reinforced a fact that remains very near and dear to me—consistency trumps everything. That mindset became foundational.

Six months into my software engineering career, I’m seeing the dividends. The foundation I built at Launch School allows me to deliver high-quality work at the pace of peers with years more experience. Watching Launch School continue to innovate, like building LS Bot, their AI learning assistant, makes me proud to be an alum. And also gives me a little FOMO :)