The Capstone Program

A job reference of mine, speaking to my now employer, told them that one of my biggest weaknesses is a lack of belief in myself (which was revealing to me about the overall level of confidence I exude 😅).I'd done the traditional college route and was pretty disenchanted by the whole experience. After feeling like I'd payed so much money just to come out feeling lost and uncertain in my skillset, I was looking for something that seemed less focused on what they could make from me and more focused what they could make me. I looked at bootcamps but that seemed like the exact opposite of what I was looking for (even more fast paced in a shorter time span and kind of pricey...). I was about to go back to a brick and mortar institution to get my CS degree, then I stumbled on an article from a former Launch School student talking about their experience. From where they started, to where they were now as high paid Software Engineer. I was immediately sold by their story. The idea of going through a mastery based program and coming out feeling competent in a skill set was exactly what I was looking for and what initially attracted me to Launch School.This idea of building up mastery and only moving forward once you've proven your competence, with each course building off the last and coming out with a well-rounded education and strong fundamental understanding... this was exactly what I was looking for in an education experience, and a little bit, made me angry that this isn't the the standard approach in all educational institutions.It's kind of surreal, looking back. That "slow path to mastery" was so jam-packed with learning, it flew by before I knew it (though, in the moment, there were definitely some times where it felt like a slog and I really had to push myself to learn some of the later, advanced concepts).In the end, I can confidently say, the foundation I got from going through core, combined with the rigor of the assessments, helped me to gain a level of competence and a feeling of "I can figure this out" that I hadn't felt before, in any other field or program. I learned how to take a step back and analyze a problem and then, to map out my approach and come to a solution.Even in one of my more challenging technical interviews for a company, I was told by my interviewer the problem was intentionally difficult and obscure. But I took my time and mapped out my strategy (which took about 55 minutes) and was able to come to a working solution that I typed up in 5 minutes. I later found out, during the offer phone call, that was one of the things that really impressed them during the interviewing process.Core helped me gain a much-desired level of proficiency in my base understanding of how programming works; Capstone threw me into a fire and exposed me to scenarios where I had to keep moving forward and focus on the next step, trusting that my teammates and I could figure it out in the process.

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 :)

Starting Launch School can feel like a leap of faith, as it's formatted very differently from classic education. However, mastering the fundamentals of software engineering proved to be WELL worth it, giving me the tools needed to break down and understand any new engineering technology or concept. This led to my team and I developing a seriously impressive Capstone project (that had multiple people ask why we weren't turning our open-source framework into a business!) and provided many opportunities to impress during job interviews.Additionally, I really appreciate Launch School's inclusivity for aspiring women software engineers, given the stark gender disparity that persists in the industry. Within the prep curriculum, women's substantial contributions to the field were highlighted. While completing Core, the Women's Group gave space to disclose our unique perspectives, support one another, and share invaluable resources. During Capstone, both of my mentors happened to be women, which, when speaking with friends in the industry, is unfortunately rare. As someone who may have gone into computer science at a younger age if there were better representation of women in STEM, I am grateful that Launch School "walks the walk" when it comes to its female students. I would recommend Launch School to anyone looking to become a software engineer. While it took serious perseverance and hard work, the results are well worth it. I am now making 45k more than I did as a physical therapist, with substantially more career growth opportunities, all while doing something I really love! 

I'm fairly risk adverse when it comes to financial decisions; I was initially hesitant to transition into software engineering. Would I be able to find a job? Would the benefits of starting a software engineering career outweigh the opportunity cost of leaving my previous engineering role? With Launch School's mastery based learning & transparency around Capstone graduates' excellent results, I felt very comfortable joining Launch School & pursuing a software engineering career.
Trusting Launch School's process & curriculum throughout Core and Capstone was essential for me to land a six-figure, career-launching job after a little over a month of job hunting. All of the fundamental skills mastered in Core and the teamwork exercised in Capstone were vital - they built up confidence in my skills, helping me believe that I am truly a software engineer.
I 100% would not have made the transition to software engineering without Launch School. For anyone looking to transition into a software engineering career, I highly recommend Launch School due to its mastery based learning, exceptional support system, and proven track record of success.

I can't say enough about how well Launch School prepared me to work as a professional software engineer. Within my first month of my job, I have been trusted with leading major projects and features at my first company not only because of how strong my understanding and mastery of fundamental concepts are, but also because of my ability to communicate those ideas effectively to my peers. I feel very confident writing high-quality software, and the processes and practices I learned in Capstone allowed me to improve organization and practices for my team. Capstone prepared me for the day to day work of software development, and helped me learn new ways of thinking holistically about problems and approaches to engineering. The Capstone staff are all incredibly kind, helpful, and passionate engineers who are truly devoted to helping their students be prepared for and find incredible jobs that start great careers as software engineers. The structures and supports of both Launch School and the Capstone program focus on the most core, fundamental concepts and understandings that allow students to understand almost any technical problem. I feel extremely prepared for my career as a software engineer including my path forward as I grow.

During the interview process, I found myself needing to quickly grasp Python—a programming language not covered in Launch School's curriculum. To my surprise, within just a few days, I successfully passed a take-home test and a live coding interview. I attribute this achievement to the strong foundation I established through Launch School's mastery-based learning approach in the Core curriculum and the Just-In-Time learning approach in the Capstone program.
The emphasis on fundamentals not only provided me with a deep understanding but also instilled a problem-solving mindset. The Just-In-Time learning model employed during the Capstone program was a game-changer. It not only refined my existing skills but also offered the knowledge needed to tackle new challenges effectively. With this foundation, I approached the addition of new skills with confidence, knowing that I had a solid framework to relate and build upon.
I am immensely grateful for the comprehensive and practical education that has not only helped me secure a great job in tech but has also paved the way for the beginning of my career.

I found Launch School from a random Reddit thread and I'm so glad I did. I was considering whether to join a traditional 3-9 month bootcamp, go back to college, or self-teach. Launch School stood out to me for a few reasons:- Rigorous curriculum & assessments: As a 30ish year old career transitioner with an existing college degree, I wanted to get serious about learning, have external accountability, and a clear path forward. Launch School gave me all of these.- Cost & Flexibility: I wasn't ready to commit $15k to 25k+ for a bootcamp or the cost of another college degree. I dabbled in learning programming before starting Launch School prep but was still evaluating whether this was the right career move for me. Being able to pay $200 per month and pause anytime without penalty was a huge benefit. I never paused my Launch School subscription and I ended up paying roughly $4,000 for 21 months of Core which was the best money I have ever spent on education.- Learn at your own pace: I talked to a few people who had gone through full time 3-month bootcamps. The long hours and aggressive schedule (where you miss a few days and you are out, with no refund) was not an option for me. I loved being able to set my own schedule with Launch School. It ensured that I had ample time to learn deeply and spend extra time when I needed it.- Low hype: I was looking for a program with history of results and realistic expectations for success without the VC funded over-hype. Launch School's website, online reputation, and results spoke volumes about the quality and gave me clear expectations going in. Those expectations were met and exceeded.What I didn't realize when joining was how robust and welcoming the student and alumni community would be. I got to meet and study with interesting and smart people from all over the world who gently pushed me to be a better student. I made lifelong friends who I have visited and worked with since graduating. The community of studious learners is a huge advantage.The Core program was thorough and challenging. I knew where to get support when I needed it. I spent a lot of time studying on my own, one-on-one with fellow students, and in small study groups. Assessments were stressful because I wanted to do well for myself and they were extremely useful as a tangible measure of progress and feedback on my learning. The Core program was laid out linearly so I always knew what to work on next. This was extremely helpful after after my prior experience jumping from tutorial to tutorial without learning or applying much knowledge. When I finished Core I felt like I'd mastered programming fundamentals and could take on harder challenges. I also gained a confidence in my ability to learn new things deeply which continues to support my curiousity today.The Capstone program was a shift in learning style, equally rigorous and rewarding. I learned so much in a short period of time and got to build actual software with a group of teammates. We learned, discussed topics and practiced techniques that helped my land my initial job and that I anticipate using for years to come. The job support after Capstone was thoughtful and incredibly helpful. Getting a software job is its own skill and Capstone helped me learn, apply, and iterate my own job search framework which I can carry forward to the future. I landed my first software job offer within a month of graduating and accepted an offer 3 months after graduating despite a tough job market.During the job, I realized how much my experience in Core and Capstone had prepared me. I was able to become productive within a week, submit code and shape features within the first month at a fast paced startup. Within a few months I was reviewing code of more junior engineers and leading small development projects. I worked with many new technologies and tools I did not learn at Launch School and was able to pick them up quickly thanks to my experience in Core and Capstone.Launch School's teaching style works great for self-motivated students who are ready to take their learning and career into their own hands. I got rigorous curriculum, a clear path forward, great feedback, and a solid community for $200 a month (Core). It was the best educational experience I've had so far and I'm grateful for it. If I were starting over in my software journey, I'd do it all again the same way at Launch School.The challenges I observed as a Launch School student (None of these detracted from my experience, but I think they are helpful to know for students who may be in a different situation than me):- The student and alumni community is large, friendly, and accessible. Launch School staff and teaching assistants are also friendly, supportive, and readily available. However, you must be proactive in engaging with the community and asking for help when you need it. Less outgoing, introverted students may need to get out of their comfort zone to engage with the community which is entirely online.- Launch School is not a shortcut to a guaranteed high paying job. It takes serious study and time to learn software engineering fundamentals deeply. That's what I was looking for and the time I spent was worth it. I was lucky to have financial support during the time so I could focus on studying and I know many people who worked and studied part time, which they couldn't have done with other programs.- Learning on my own (setting my own schedule, study habits, staying focused, etc) was challenging but extremely rewarding. I had periods where I lost focus and studied less but I kept on the path and grew my study skills over time. I came out of Core in the best "study" shape of my life.My recommendations for students considering Launch School:- Read all you can online about the program from the official website, subreddit, YouTube, Launch School blog + podcast, etc. There is so much information there that will help you decide if it is the right program for your needs and situation. Launch School has done a great job of laying out the key factors to consider when evaluating them vs other learning paths (many of which are applicable regardless of the path you choose). Many common questions have been answered by Launch School staff and others in blog posts and comments.- Try the prep course. It is free and well worth your time even if you decide Launch School isn't the right fit for you. You will also get access to the community and can ask questions there from a host of helpful folks and staff.

It's been a few years since I graduated from this program, and I've only got good things to say.A few years in the industry, and my subsequent job experience has given me context on the way the program is taught. As others have mentioned, the core curriculum is a self-paced part of the program, and this has been designed to ensure success for everyone willing to put in the hard-work -- not just the geniuses! New topics are not introduced until you have mastery of pre-requisites (it's literally not made accessible, and I think that's a genius pedagogical move). Even within courses, the material is broken down into absorbable, well-written text. There's a lot of early emphasis on learning how to learn, and developing a habit of asking good questions.There is TA support, and lots of avenues for asking clarifying doubts. The assessments for each course are fairly demanding, but once you're done with them, you walk away with confidence that you've really learned the topic.Once you've finished the Core Curriculum, if you choose to do Capstone, that flips the script into going to synchronous, discussion-heavy coverage of topics like DS/Algos, System Design and modern full-stack app development. Having a peer group of hard-working, technically sound people facilitates high quality conversations, and their guidance on Capstone projects is remarkably well-geared to what's in demand in the job market.As a neurodivergent person, the structure and organisation of the program set me up for success in a way that I hadn't yet found, despite attending well-regarded conventional institutions. If you're willing to work hard, this is the best way to learn to code, and then become a professional software engineer.

When I completed the Launch School and Capstone program in 2023, I faced a challenging job market in the tech industry. Despite this, I can confidently say that this experience was instrumental in my successful transition into the field. The program's bottom-up approach, emphasizing core programming concepts, was not only crucial for excelling in interviews but also invaluable in my daily role as a software engineer. This strong foundation enabled me to quickly understand and excel in complex, integrated concepts at work, marking a significant departure from my previous career.The Capstone program played a vital role in bridging the gap between academic knowledge and practical skills. Having been employed as a software engineer for the past year, I realize the program was akin to an introduction to the realities of a software engineering job. Engaging in tangible projects and producing concrete results, I not only developed technical expertise but also gained confidence. This experience significantly enhanced my resume, making me a more attractive candidate to future employers.A distinctive aspect of my educational journey was the project work I undertook with my team, which provided real-world team experience and taught me valuable lessons I continue to apply. The Capstone program stands out from other bootcamps because it allowed me to discuss challenges I faced while working with an engineering team. The team experience at Capstone effectively simulates the environment of a startup, developing and delivering a unique product.Transitioning to a significant role in the tech industry, I can vouch for the life-changing impact of the Launch School and Capstone program. This wasn't just a job shift, but a substantial career leap, facilitated by a meticulously crafted curriculum and a supportive network. In my current role and in any future positions, I would confidently recommend Capstone graduates for any role in my company, knowing well the comprehensive preparation and skills they bring. Launch School and Capstone didn't just teach me how to code; they paved the way for a transformative career journey.

I am extremely grateful I stumbled across Launch School's website while I was ten pages deep into a random Reddit thread reviewing coding programs.Launch School has changed my life, and I don't want anyone else to miss the opportunity.TLDR;1 . Launch School is not easy, but you have a great community of staff and students who want you to succeed.2. Launch School, for me, was a lifestyle. I dedicated ~20+ hrs a week to my studies.   3. Launch School is an investment. You will be paying ~$200/monthDespite all of this, it was 100% worth it. I increased my salary 6x going through the Capstone program. I have savings. I have disposable income. I found my thing.
If you are a motivated, self disciplined person, you can land a role in tech.The Core Curriculum is a great place to start, and many folks can get jobs upon completing this stage. I would encourage people to seriously consider the Capstone program as well. You will get an amazing "on-the-job" simulaiton that will prepare you for those coveted mid/senior level roles.

The combination of the Core curriculum and Capstone is a very thoughtfully designed system, and one of the most fun and rewarding journeys I’ve been on as a student. The focus on fundamentals in Core provides an effective set of tools to define and solve problems, while also helping you gain a high degree of familiarity with programming languages and their unique characteristics. There is plenty of practice, a great community and TA sessions to help you overcome any difficulties, and the self-paced nature offers a lot of flexibility and freedom so that you can genuinely enjoy the process of learning. The rigorous approach offers a deeper look at what you are learning and why - for example, learning the fundamentals of a language before using complex tooling and libraries, or properly understanding databases before jumping into using an ORM.To supplement this, Capstone offers a thorough transition into exploring and dealing with industry-standard software engineering problems. Working together with a team for months on a challenging issue exposes you to many different aspects of software engineering work such as debugging, estimations, and picking up relevant knowledge very quickly. It also gives you the opportunity to understand and deal with uncertainty, vaguely defined problems, and teamwork issues - these are important skills that will set you apart from many other engineers. The exploratory process of the program allows you to come in contact with a wide variety of tools, architectures, and patterns that are commonly used in both small and large software companies and teams. Due to its constant updates and real world feedback, you can trust that you are learning about highly relevant concepts.It is rare to find a place where you can team up with people who possess a shared sense of commitment, timelines, and expectations, along with a competency in software engineering that can enable you to tackle and solve meaningful problems. 6 months into my job as a software engineer on a platform team, I’m able to grasp and contribute to architecture discussions, systems design decisions, and implementation details. Additionally, Launch School’s focus on the clarity and precision of language pays dividends when communicating with teams and engineers across an organization, or writing effective documentation. Most importantly, Launch School has introduced me to great engineers who are also great people, and helped me gain the skills and temperament to be a capable and reliable software engineer. After you land a job, you also get to join a very experienced and engaged alumni network! Launch School is the best option available for anyone looking to transition into the field, and your trust will be rewarded not just with tangible results, but a great community and a memorable experience.

As someone making a mid-life career transition, Launch School gave me the tools to do what I thought would have been impossible a few years ago: land a mid-level software engineering role with a six-figure salary, while having no prior experience in a tech-related field or even a related degree. For me the stakes were pretty high coming into this career transition: I have two kids and was coming from a career where the pay was already high, so I really needed to be able to skip the entry-level junior roles to make the transition to software engineering worthwhile. And that's exactly what Capstone and the entire Launch School experience prepared me for.What I love about Launch School is that the approach doesn't focus just on getting a job but rather on launching a rewarding, long-term career in software engineering. And that to me is probably the most significant difference between Launch School and a traditional bootcamp where the bar is simply to get the proverbial foot in the door: as a Capstone graduate you are truly positioned to compete for mid- to senior-level roles if you put in the work and that's what you want.But make no mistake: it's a long, difficult (yet highly rewarding) journey to get through Capstone and the Core Curriculum that comes before it. It took me 3 years (including a 7-month break) from first enrolling into Core to securing a job after completing Capstone. Could I have gotten a job 1-2 years earlier had I gone to a traditional bootcamp instead? Possibly. Would it have been worth it? Absolutely not. Capstone put me in a position to start my career 3-5 years ahead of where I would have landed had I attended a traditional bootcamp, with a salary $50K+ higher. So while the path to a career in software engineering took longer through Launch School, my starting point is higher with way more upside potential— and not just because of the higher salary, but because of the knowledge, skills and experience acquired along the way that enabled me to land that job in the first place.So all in all, I am incredibly grateful to Launch School: for the high quality curriculum, for the low-risk cost structure, for every staff member invested in my success along the way, and for putting me on a path to a life-changing career. For anyone who is serious about making the transition to a career in software engineering and has the time and resources to do it, I would recommend Launch School without hesitation.

I ran across Launch School after about a year of trying to teach myself coding with low-costonline resources. I was working full-time, and my efforts up to that point had not been toosuccessful. But the moment I started reading Launch School materials was the moment mystudies started building towards something bigger. “This process will take longer than youwant it to, but if you take your time and do things the right way, it will be worth it.” It was amessage I didn’t really want to hear after I had already put a year into the effort, but amessage I knew that I needed to hear anyway. No other course I had tried was stating thistruth so clearly and honestly. I knew up front that the first two or three months of LaunchSchool would cover material that I already knew well, and I would feel a bit frustrated atfirst about “starting over”. Nevertheless, I jumped in right away, with the realisticexpectation that it might take another two years or more before I could accept a job offer.Friends and family were incredulous when I shared my excitement about this program, butthere was no reason for me not to be hopeful. The pedagogy–starting from the ground up,building mastery of fundamentals, verifying the knowledge of students before allowingthem to continue, and slowly building confidence through that verification–made all thesense in the world to me. And Launch School had the results to back up their claims, not onlywith numbers, but with real people. Engineers with credentials, people who had beenthrough the process and were now working for amazing companies, were hanging aroundin the chat channels, answering questions and talking about their work. I trusted theprocess from the beginning because I was convinced that everything about Launch School was genuine.To make a long story short, the process worked. The Core Curriculum taught me thefundamental concepts I needed, and at my own part-time pace. Capstone extended andintegrated that knowledge by cultivating it in a dedicated, full-time, team-basedenvironment. Working every day with other students, and with program graduates asmentors, I was able to learn interviewing skills and contribute to the development of anamazing product. I began to feel proficient. Capstone prepared me so well for the hiringprocess that, once I finally started interviewing, I was full of confidence, and there were nosurprises. I knew I belonged in those hiring pools because Capstone had given me thepreparation I needed.After finishing Capstone, I secured a job as a Senior Software Engineer within six weeks,with essentially the Capstone average salary–a higher salary that I had originally hoped for.Now it’s been a year since I graduated. I’m at a company where I love to work, and I’m ableto jump into any task or project that interests me and find my way thanks to my strong background in the fundamentals. I work at a company that supports continuing education,gives me a voice in what projects I work on, and has a clear path to promotion and careerdevelopment. My family is able to buy a new house. And honestly, this is all thanks to LaunchSchool. I was nowhere close to making this kind of progress after a year of self-study. Butafter less than two years in Launch School, I had everything that I needed to get a great job as an engineer and build a lifelong career. The same has been true for many others, and I would recommend Launch School, the Core Curriculum and Capstone, as an excellent choice for anyone who is interested in starting a career in software engineering.

Completing Launch School's Core Curriculum and Capstone program was one of the best decisions I've made in my life. Launch School helped me build strong programming fundamentals, and Capstone taught me essential software engineering skills. Those two things allowed me to land an excellent software engineering position at Mozilla working on the Firefox browser.The fundamentals Launch School teaches are table stakes for interviews for good engineering roles. You need to be able to break a problem down in a PEDAC-like way and clearly explain your approach. And you'll need to do this within a time limit and under pressure. In my job hunt, I encountered many interviews that were remarkably similar to Launch School live-coding assessments. There's no way I would have been as successful in real-life interviews if it weren't for those Launch School assessments.In Capstone, you pivot from just programming to the larger world of software engineering. It's a big jump, but you'll definitely get the structure and support you need to pull it off. Capstone is heavily optimized to help you land the best software engineering role you possibly can - that's its only goal. So the curriculum is constantly being updated to reflect what students are seeing in their job hunts. (The two times I shared experiences from my job search, within a day, a Capstone staff member had updated the curriculum to incorporate those experiences.) You'll also have access to a large collection of real coding challenges students have gotten in recent interviews. And then the Capstone project! This is a large-scale, technically challenging project that you'll complete as part of a fully remote team. For me, the benefit was two-fold: 1) I grew tremendously as a software engineer by working on this project, and 2) the project played really well in interviews. It showed my interviewers I was able to understand a problem domain, have deep technical discussions and consider engineering tradeoffs. I also drew heavily from my project to answer behavioral questions and to prove I had solid experience working as part of a remote team. I could go on for days about Launch School. But I'll just say that, if you put in the work, Launch School absolutely delivers on its promise of a career-launching software engineering job.

Before I begin, I would like to establish the two core tenets behind Launch School's teachings that form the premise for this review:
Learn slow to move fast
Focus on the fundamentals and ignore fleeting trends
I'll explain why I think these principles are key and how Launch School accomplishes this, and then discuss how they helped me land my first proper SWE job paying above mid-level FAANG total compensation and my second job paying above senior-level FAANG compensation a year later.First off: learn slow to move fast. Launch School inverts the schooling system we are all familiar with by mandating that students get at least an A- on their assessments. This forces students to prepare deeply, and it's common for students to take at least two months before attempting the first Ruby/JavaScript course (you get used to it and time needed per course falls over time). For example, one of the first lessons was about variable declaration/initialization/assignment, and learning it in excruciating detail was extremely tough. Yet spending time forming mental models and typing out explanations in assignments solidified my understanding, and once it clicked I was free from making such errors. This effect snowballs. Being able to learn about functions without difficulties regarding variables makes learning much easier!Second, focus on the fundamental technologies. In Core, Launch School avoids teaching frameworks, and instead focuses on the core tools used by each segment of a web application. For example (and this is not an exhaustive list of the core tools taught), you learn how to construct an SQL query, rather than use a scripting language to do so. You learn about HTTP, then construct an HTTP request from scratch, and serve your own responses without external libraries. You'll use HTML and CSS to replicate a web page and, later on, JavaScript to animate its contents.Why learn these core tools instead of whatever gets the job done? It's simple: these tools have been used for decades, and will continue to be used in the future. If you started by learning a library like React, what happens when there's an error that isn't documented? You would go into the source code and, suddenly, you're confronted with JS code! Moving jobs and want to try Vue instead? You'd struggle without an understanding of JS, since the React syntax wouldn't apply. However, understanding JS means that any time you're stuck, you can reach into the code and solve your problem. This applies to the other parts of the tech stack: understanding the fundamentals lets you understand related technologies much easier in the future.As such, completing Core provides you with the coding skills needed to get multiple offers from top engineering companies (I had two offers after completing just the back-end portion). However, there is a final mental shift needed to become a solid software engineer, and that is where Capstone comes in. The close mentorship of the LS team allowed me to develop the following competencies I've observed in top software engineers:
Problem-centric thinking
Just-in-time learning (only after the mastery-based learning above)
Vital soft skills in communication, teamwork, negotiations and more

Through my experience with Core and Capstone, I joined a cybersecurity company dealing with 10 trillion digital interactions a week and immediately hit the ground running as a software engineer. These experiences then snowballed and I'm now in a crypto fund handling large investments into decentralised finance and P2P loans. During the interview, I was questioned about my philosophy behind software engineering, and needless to say I was leaning heavily on everything I've experienced in Launch School.I can safely say that my life has been transformed by Launch School, and I am incredibly grateful to the team’s vision of a new pedagogy in software engineering. Beyond engineering, the philosophy of Launch School, particularly that of mastery, has deepened my appreciation for slow-and-steady progress, which has helped me in my other hobbies such as language learning and music. The facets of my life that have been touched by LS continues to surprise me, and I can safely say this has been the most fruitful investment I've ever made in my life. If you are eager to challenge yourself to reach new limits, then Launch School is 100% the course to go for.Once again, thank you so much for Launch School and I hope that the School continues to inspire others as it has inspired me.

Context: I currently work at Gatsby JS. I went through the capstone program from february 2021 to June 2021. I got a job in 6 weeks after i started my job search.I'll start by saying, I cannot over emphasize how effective this program is.I went through the capstone program starting in February 2021. This capstone program is easily one of the toughest things I've ever done in my life and also one of the most rewarding experiences. The program allowed me to form friendships with the right people and at the same time it gave me the tools necessary for a productive career as a software engineer.I particularly want to highlight:- In capstone, there are highly competent staff that make themselves available to answer questions- I too was sceptic about the salary - but, I'm proof that every single person in my cohort got a salary above $100k and sometimes above $150k base salary.- I use the same approach to tackle very complex problems i face today on the job as i did within my capstone project.My fair warning: This program is for a person who can take the time to dedicate to it - I warn everyone - it doesn't matter if you have kids, are in a relationship, no relationship, no other commitments: the capstone program will take whatever amount of time you possibly have for about 4- 6 months so be ready. It is an experience that i regularly say, it was necessary but not something I would want to have to do multiple times in my life. It is hard and time consuming but also fun in a challenging way - if you enjoy the process of capstone - you will enjoy working as a software engineer.To the one that is on the fence about the capstone program - I'd say:1. What you gain with the capstone project is not necessarily just knowledge but experience - everything in their curriculum is pretty public so you could learn the content on your own. After being on the job for a while, i can tell you that it's pretty clear when someone has learned a bunch of concepts but can't coherently put them together in a way that a team would benefit from. With capstone - you work with a team, you build confidence in your ideas, and you build context for actual engineering problems.2. The best benefit is probably the staff and research done by the staff - The staff plays an under-appreciated role in all this. The staff vets projects ideas to make sure they are actually industry relevant ideas. Each time a cohort hits the market, the capstone team evaluates how they hit the market and pivots based on the changes in the market. This allows you as a person to focus on learning and trust that when i go look for a job i am really ready. There are also working software engineers who act as mentors through the program to coach and guide you through the process.3. After a certain point you are actually losing money if you try to emulate this program on your own - at one point I thought about just doing a 'fake' capstone project on my own or with some friends - and there were two things that made me reconsider. A. What if I am wrong about what i think would be a job relevant project and waste my time. B. How do i know what to study for a job I've never had when there's conflicting information on the web. Because of these two reasons I opted to 'trust the process' and signed up for the capstone program.I hope this helps you whoever you are

  Launch School’s Core and Capstone programs are life-changing experiences. It’s difficult to overstate how much they already have and will continue to improve my life for the rest of my working years. Everyone has that dream of making six figures, but Launch School helped me achieve it.   However, as Chris and everyone at Launch School will happily tell you, the program is no easy feat! Over the course of about a year and a half and around two thousand five hundred hours, I worked my way through the Core and Capstone program. Before even starting the Core program, Launch School shared strategies for learning efficiently, and started pushing me to think of mastery as this metaphorical road on which I should just keep making my way.   In Core, I routinely employed many of those strategies to learn and solidify the fundamentals of programming through Launch School’s rigorous, in-depth, meticulously curated materials. I supplemented all the readings, documentation, lessons, videos, modules, exercises, study guides, written assessments, live coding assessments, and projects with thousands of flash cards, countless impromptu study groups with peers, and of course, lots and lots of coding. With Launch School and support from the warm, welcoming, international community of students, I learned the basic principles of software engineering, so much so that I was able to turn down an offer for a Software QA position paying $60k halfway through the Core program and never regret doing so.   The Core program teaches the fundamental concepts of software engineering and instills a way of thinking and approaching problems unmatched by any other program. Rather than a four-year degree that focuses on esoteric theorems, low-level constructs, and classic data structures and algorithms, Launch School offers a much more focused, pragmatic education. Rather than all the bootcamps, Launch School has no interest in getting you in and out as fast as possible knowing some React and Rails so you can get a $60k entry level web developer job. If you’re willing to put in the time and effort and strive to constantly ask and find the answer to “What’s happening and why? How about when I tweak this?”, you will master the material.   If you decide to continue with Capstone, you will encounter a completely new kind of learning, where you instead practice reading documentation for what you need to know, prototyping and getting some code working, and continue iterating from there. This kind of just-in-time (JIT) learning would not have been possible for me without the solid foundation and understanding of core software engineering concepts that I gained through the Core program. In Capstone, you’re given a lot of free rein to continually explore unfamiliar, exciting problem domains and spend hours or days researching any number of topics, from triggering AWS lambdas, to how to connect two running Docker containers using a Docker network, to determining what problems Kafka addresses, and much more.   After a couple months at my first position post-Capstone, I feel competent and comfortable. I know that what I work on next week could very well involve a tool I’ve never heard of and that I will most certainly be asked to solve problems I have not yet solved. I am confident that with a deep knowledge of the fundamentals and the ability to learn what I need to when I need to, I’ll be able to solve these problems. I’m so excited and so grateful that Launch School has helped me embark on what I know will be a challenging, meaningful career. 

Launch School helped me switch careers and changed my life! After spending 1 year and 7 months going through the Core and Capstone program, I am now making more than 3 times my previous salary while working completely from home with tons of flexibility.I felt lost. I was about to turn 40 years old, and I was not fully satisfied with my current job, but I had no idea what else I could do for work. A friend of mine pointed me in Launch School’s direction, and I immediately recognized what a special opportunity it was.Here are some of the things that I found really set Launch School apart from many of the other options out there:
They provide a free trial portion of their program
The Core curriculum is self-paced and can fit around your schedule
You can leave any time if it's not a good fit (there's no entrapment)
They are transparent about how long the program will take (1200-1800 hours)
They are upfront about how rigorous and demanding the program is
They focus on helping you develop the skills that will allow you to excel in this field
The Capstone experience helps you skip entry-level jobs and accelerates your career trajectory immensely
Free TrialThe first part of the curriculum is available for free to try out with no obligations, and that made it very easy to “test the waters.” During this prep course, I was able to judge both whether I thought I would enjoy coding as a new career path and also whether I thought their teaching style would be a good fit for me.Self PacedOnce I decided this was the path I wanted to be on, I started working on the material at my own pace, while I continued working. I also have a small family which made it imperative that I could fit studying in around other important things in my life, so the self-paced and asynchronous structure was perfect for me.
No EntrapmentIn addition to the free trial to test out the program, once you begin core and beyond, you can quit at any time if you don't feel like it's a good fit anymore. Many other coding programs demand a significant amount of money upfront with no way to get out of their program if you find later on that their teaching style isn't a good match for you. Launch school has a low monthly subscription that you can end at any time (or pause if life gets crazy), which puts the student in complete control and offers little risk - especially compared to the others!
Long, but effectiveI knew going in that this was going to be a long process, and Launch School doesn’t try to sell anyone on the idea that they can have all the skills necessary to start a software engineering in just a couple of months. In fact, quite the opposite. They go to great lengths to make it clear that habits don’t just form instantly - they require significant time. This was refreshingly honest compared to many other pitches out there. Seriously - how do you “get good” at anything in life? It takes time.
Rigorous, but effective
The program is challenging. Launch School has high standards in order to make sure you are adequately developing the skills you need to be successful. It does the student a disservice if they are not learning material deeply enough to engrain it, which is why completing each course is such an accomplishment. When you pass a course you can be sure that you’ve learned those topics very well and feel confident moving on. Developing the right skillsLaunch School takes an iterative approach to its curriculum, especially its Capstone program. They are in constant communication with graduates to find out what they are encountering in the field and make adjustments to stay current. This is really important in a field that seems to be ever-changing. This, coupled with the focus on learning the fundamentals deeply ensures that when you do begin your career - you are ready.CapstoneI know that everyone’s situation is different, and I was very fortunate to have life circumstances that allowed me to participate in Capstone. I feel as if the Capstone program accelerates your career by allowing you to start your career at a mid-level or senior-level position instead of at an entry-level position. To me, it’s the equivalent of helping you “play out your rookie contract” right from the beginning. This means that not only do you increase your earnings out of the gate, but also, your life-long earnings are likely to be significantly higher as well.After graduating from the Capstone program I accepted a job at an awesome company, with people that I really enjoy working with, working remotely with flexible hours, and making a salary I never even dreamed of. I’m incredibly grateful for Launch School and for my friend who suggested them!

Before diving into my review a bit of context about me: before starting Launch School I had dabbled in a bit of self directed learning on and off into programming basics but on the whole was a true beginner. I was looking to transition to a second career and first heard of Launch School on a podcast. I've been working as a software developer a little over a year now and I truly can't imagine how else I would be at my current job, and excelling at it, without Launch School. Launch School's focus on fundamentals provides a solid foundation for anyone who is serious about starting a rewarding career in software development. Principles taught early on in the program have been worth their weight in gold: from feeling confident reading lines of code in a new language in interviews to using self guided learning to become proficient in many new tools and languages quickly at work. Capstone is very similar to the type of top notch jobs that graduates target. Working with driven learners you'll spend as much (or more) time thinking about problems as you do trying to solve them. This is exactly what top employers want, developers who can prioritize what problems are worth tackling before jumping into solutions. Best of all the Capstone experience lasts as long as you want. If you want to keep learning at an accelerated pace after starting an amazing job there's a community of like minded people always willing to offer support. After finishing up Launch School's core program I was convinced I had mastered all the principles covered. After wrapping up Capstone I was blown away by what a few motivated developers could accomplish in a short time: putting together a great solution to a "real world" problem. During the past year positive feedback that I've received from management has included being able to communicate clearly about my work. This is a skill that is emphasized throughout Launch School's curriculum. Passing (or just completing!) timed written and interview style assessments in Core requires providing very to the point concise answers. In Capstone things are taken to the next level when it's time to learn how to present a project that's required months of research and technical work in just minutes to employers.  Parting advice: there is a ton of information on Launch School's site, take your time watching the videos, reading the articles, checking out the message boards... Everything is presented in a plain matter of fact way.

Launch School, at least at the time of writing, does not do much marketing, if any at all. So if you are pursuing a career switch to software engineering and web development, it's likely that you did not first encounter Launch School at the top of a Google search result. Instead, you probably encountered those boot camps, advertising that you will become a software engineer or developer in a few months while charging you thousands of dollars for a curriculum you can find online for free. In short, Launch School is unlike anything that I just described. Their lack of marketing is just one of many of their distinctive traits that underscore how a great product or service can rely mainly on its quality to attract those who seek it. So if you've found Launch School, you've probably dug deeper than the first search results to discover a more rigorous pedagogy, without the heavy price tag at the end.One of the first things Launch School has you read is their article detailing what Launch School is and isn't and whether or not it's a good fit for the prospective student. Unlike predatory boot camps where it's easy to join but hard to leave, there's no slick marketing involved that tries to lure you in as the unsuspecting student. Instead, there's full transparency and you do not feel pressured to join. Furthermore, their payment plans are flexible and reasonable. As a result, you are also not financially pressured to stay if you were to join and decide to leave. Most importantly, there are no "get-rich-quick" implications that you could become a professional in just a few months. Rather, their cornerstone pedagogy centers on the importance of mastery and first principles, cultivating skills through a slow but rigorous path. This approach is not just a contrarian mindset but something that they implement through their detailed curriculum and enforce by their rigorous written and live coding assessments. These standards ensure your mastery and that you have the proper mental models and foundations set in place before building on top of them with higher order concepts.Earlier I acknowledged that the curriculum of most coding schools can be found online for free. Technically, that's true, and I personally resolved to self-study in the beginning of my journey. However, as I went on to discover, software engineering is a field riddled with rabbit holes of tools and technologies. Without the proper curriculum and guidance, it's tough to focus on the core principles. Launch School will thus act as your beacon, so long as you trust the process and persevere, your efforts will almost certainly reward you in the end.These are the factors that make Launch School stand out in the ever-expanding field of coding schools. It's truly a hidden gem of a learning center, a place to not just learn but to personally grow alongside a supportive community of motivated students.