The Capstone Program

I started Core in September 2020 and finished in March 2021. I then started Capstone in May 2021 and finished in August 2021. Within a month and a half of interviewing after that, I had 3 generous offers.I've been dabbling in programming since my childhood and even built database-driven applications deployed to Heroku, but it wasn't until I finished Launch School's Core curriculum and then immediately afterward completed the Capstone program that I felt like I was a software engineer.The Core curriculum experience was exactly as advertised, and exactly what I was looking for: a rigorous and comprehensive deep dive into the fundamentals of object-oriented programming, deconstructing and understanding what happens at every layer of the OSI networking model and under the hood of common methods, mastering SQL queries and joins, understanding the JavaScript runtime environment, the event loop, and asynchronous callbacks, and getting experience with REST APIs. The methodology behind the program is leagues above other training options, because you're actively engaged in writing code, taking timed assessments and live technical interviews, building projects, and getting feedback from experienced mentors throughout the experience.As much as I grew and learned during Core, however, Capstone was even harder and considerably still more worthwhile. While the go-at-your-own-pace approach of Core meant that we had time to soak in the material and make sure we understood it well before we could move on to the next course, the time-limited approach of Capstone taught us to not only quickly pick up a new language, a new framework, and new mental models related to deploying and running software systems on hardware, but to also then actually build and deploy an advanced application to solve a problem that no one had solved before, in a team environment. I cannot stress enough how important and invaluable this experience is both intrinsically, but also when it comes to being able to prove to interviewers, recruiters, and fellow engineers that you have been battle-tested in this industry, and triumphed.What sets Launch School apart from other approaches is exactly this double punch of: 1) an unlimited time to master the fundamentals on your own during the Core phase, followed by 2) the time-constrained and pressure-driven Capstone experience in which you and your team research multiple software engineering problems and then pick one to tackle together. Once you reach the Capstone phase with that underlying mastery from Core, you then not only learn many of the latest technologies and what problems each is addressing, but you even more importantly get to work on a joint codebase together with teammates, getting invaluable experience with system design, agile methodologies, and problem-solving along the way.Lastly, it's worth addressing Launch School's pricing model, because it was also one of the driving factors for me. Many programs require a flat fee, regardless of whether you get a job after you graduate or not. But Launch School believes so much in their program that you only pay for Capstone if and when you are offered a position. Not only that, but because of the ISA, how much you pay Launch School is in proportion to your offer salary. To me, that meant that their financial incentive was aligned with mine--and this manifested itself in the high quality of the material and the support that we received.

I came to Launch School from a non-technical background, unsure whether I could be successful as a software engineer. The mastery-based curriculum at Launch School provided a carefully curated path to follow via which I could improve my technical skills, learn to speak knowledgeably about programming concepts, and practice breaking down challenging problems. By the time I finished the core curriculum, I was confident in my mastery of the fundamentals and in my ability to pick up new languages or frameworks as needed.Launch School’s Capstone program took me to the next level. The strong foundational knowledge I gained throughout the core curriculum allowed me to quickly digest a wide breadth of advanced topics at a fast-pace and immediately use them. Along with my team, I was able to develop a tool that solves a complex real-world problem faced by engineers.After finishing Capstone, I felt more than prepared to hit the job market. I was able to secure three job offers in just three weeks. All of the offers I received were over 4x the salary I earned in my previous career.  Launch School’s core curriculum + capstone program gave me all of the tools needed to establish a long career as a software engineer in which I am able to do meaningful work, solve interesting problems, and earn a high salary.

I was a working architecture professional for 4 years before finding Launch School. I had dabbled in scripting and cobbled together some experience in the Python data science stack, but I had never found a course/taken the time that would allow me to learn programming from first principles.After nearly 18 months progressing through both Core and Capstone (build a project called Dendro in the process), I landed a job as a Senior Software Developer and tripled my total compensation from my previous role.I cannot recommend the LS pedagogy or approach highly enough, it changed both my life and the lives of everyone else in my Capstone cohort. LS gives you not just the skills to find an entry level SWE job, but the methodology for building a lasting and successful career in the world of computer science. I'd give the program 10 stars if I could.

Context: I completed the core curriculum over ~2 years while working full time. I resigned from my job and participated in the February 2021 Capstone cohort, and successfully launched my software engineering career immediately after.—Launch School is incredible. It's hard to overstate how effective it is at preparing you for a professional career as a software engineerI had my fair share of doubts all the way through Capstone. I knew I had learned an incredible amount in Core, but I really didn't have any point of reference for how I compared to other people in the job market.My confidence started to grow during the job hunt - as long as I was able to get past the HR checks for specific degrees or years of experience, things generally went better than expected. I was able to hold my own in technical discussions, and every engineer I talked to was blown away by our Capstone project - multiple people recommended I try to get funding and launch our capstone project as a business.I ended up accepting an offer as a senior software engineer at an early-stage startup just 2 weeks after I started applying. I was nervous knowing that there was "nowhere for me to hide" on such a small team, but I was excited for the chance to work across the entire tech stack. I've been working as a software engineer for about 6 months at the time of this writing, and the further out I get from Capstone, the more I realize how incredibly well Launch School prepares you for actual working life as a software engineer. I've already taken on a huge amount of responsibility working across our frontend, backend, and infrastructure, and I'm actively involved in planning the future direction of our product.At Launch School you learn the right collection of core fundamental topics to the correct depth to be an effective engineer. I've had to learn several new technologies on the job, but in every instance, it's been a straightforward process because I have the appropriate foundation to build on.I am incredibly grateful that Launch School exists. Of all the education paths out there, it is the most practically effective while also being uncompromisingly aligned with the student's interests.

I can't really say enough how much I value the experience I had going through both Launch School Core Curriculum and their Capstone program.  When I started Core, I had just a little bit of development experience, and my knowledge and understanding of programming was very limited.  I wanted a deep understanding of programming fundamentals that would provide me a solid foundation for a career as a software engineer.   I worked through the Ruby track, and each of the course units gave me another in-depth piece of that solid foundation.  The mastery-based learning approach really works and at the end of each unit, I felt like I truly learned the material.  By the end of Core, I felt like I had all of the tools I needed to write good code, problem solve, and put all the pieces together to make full-stack web applications.  Most importantly, I felt confident that I could go out and learn new technologies and languages on my own and grow as a developer.I decided to enroll in Capstone, because I wanted to take on a larger engineering project and was impressed with the projects that I had seen from previous cohorts.  It felt like an investment that would jump-start my career.  The experience was 100% worth it.  By the end, I felt like my knowledge and experience had doubled and that I was truly prepared for the job hunt and a career as a software engineer.  I ended up getting a job as an SDE II with a great salary and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Launch School to anyone interested in software development as a career.  It has been truly life-changing.

It’s hard to overstate the impact that Launch School has had on my life.  I consider myself a studious person - I took high school and college seriously, got good grades, and made an effort to find a career that aligned with my degree and interests.  I unfortunately found the options for my specific field of study limited, so I’ve spent the past 15 years of my professional life in a series of stable but largely unfulfilling jobs.  Because of Launch School, I am now in a field that truly interests me, and I’m on an income trajectory that will allow me to give back, provide a stable base for my family, and accomplish many of the things that make life enjoyable to me.There are a few facets of Launch School, and especially the Capstone program, that make them such an effective springboard to a career in software engineering.  As someone who tried to learn a few programming languages and web development on my own, the structure that Launch School provides is important.  Even for someone who is focused and motivated, it can be hard to sustain the energy and interest needed to learn on your own without any feedback, any community, and any sense of how close you are to your goal.  Launch School provides all of these.  Knowing exactly what to study may just be the most challenging aspect of trying to learn on your own, because the programming world is both wide and deep.  While learning anything interesting is often time well-spent, it doesn’t necessarily get you closer to landing a paying job as a software engineer, which was my goal.That is Capstone’s explicit goal as well, and it does a fantastic job of preparing you for both finding a job/nailing the interviews, and the daily work the job requires once you’ve landed it.  It is important to note that the type of jobs the Capstone program prepares you for are not entry-level jobs.  Official job titles of Capstone students often range from Jr. Engineer to Sr. Engineer, however they all effectively require multiple years of experience, have great starting pay, and often allow you to work on the kinds of interesting problems that entry-level roles often don’t have access to.While the Capstone program prepares you incredibly well for your first job, that doesn’t mean that you’ll have all of the knowledge you’ll ever need from the start.  Your first role may require a language you don’t know, or it may require advanced problem-domain expertise, or it may use frameworks and tools you’ve never worked with.  And this is perhaps where the most lasting benefit of Launch School becomes apparent.  Because Launch School focuses on the fundamentals of programming, you have a solid base from which you can learn new material quickly and efficiently.  When you have to learn something new, and you most certainly will, that fundamental knowledge that was ingrained over years allows you to pick up concepts and identify patterns rapidly without getting bogged down by basic concepts.All of this amounts to a Capstone program that truly does prepare you for a career in software engineering and helps you get past the first few hurdles that can be a barrier to so many.  There will always be that little bit of imposter syndrome when you switch careers to an entirely new field, but after having spent the first few months in my new role as a software engineer,  I can honestly say I do not feel out of place and I do feel like I have all of the tools required to do my job effectively now and in the future.

Context: I found and began Launch School in December 2018, completed Core in December 2020, and went through Capstone in Spring 2021.
I got my bachelor's degree in Computer Science, graduating in 2020. Yes, that means I did Launch School alongside school. It was long and difficult road to persist and finish - I paused my subscription/studies several times in the 2 years I went through Core, and there were times when I nearly let go of my goal of getting to Capstone. The thriving and encouraging community is a lot of what kept me motivated - seeing people I had studied with during 129 getting amazing jobs and producing technically robust Capstone projects. I never doubted that if I stuck with it, I would get the same results.
Why go through LS when I had a degree? Put simply, school gave me broad exposure to CS topics and a good breadth of knowledge, but doing things like working professionally and writing production software in a language I knew nothing about a few months prior is all thanks to the depth of my studies during Core. Depth is something a lot of people are missing, and it's the real "secret sauce".
During my job hunt, I had the confidence and belief in myself to turn down six figure offers and opportunities that would have surpassed all of my expectations for a first job a few years ago. That's the power of a strong support system and incredible peer group - you know without a doubt what you're capable of achieving. I ended up accepting an offer in just under 6 weeks for a position I am overjoyed with, making a previously unbelievable-to-me salary, and having technical conversations daily that would've sounded like gibberish to me a year ago. I will never stop talking about LS to anyone who will listen!!

Launch School gave me by far the best learning experience I've ever had. It took me two years to go through the entire curriculum, but it was worth every second. I don't have a college degree, and I had never seen a line of code in my life before Launch School, but the job I got out of the process came with an outrageously high salary (especially for Arizona), and I got the job in under two months after hitting the job market.Capstone was key to get the results I got, but I think Core was where the magic happened. Not only did Mastery-Based Learning resonate with me as an education strategy, but it was also the best fit for my particular case. Since during Core I had a full-time job (and for a few months I even had a second job), the flexibility to study when and where I could was key to my success. Aside from that, the rigor with which I was assessed at every step of the way helped my confidence and skills soar, especially when it came to learning advanced topics fairly quickly like you do in Capstone and during the job search.On the other hand, I loved having peace of mind knowing that at any point I could pause my monthly subscription, and that if I couldn't or didn't want to finish Core, I wouldn't be tied to an ISA. Once Capstone was around the corner and an ISA was part of the equation, I was certain that I was going to be successful because I had already witnessed time and again how professional, effective and intentional Launch School is.After going through this process, I think that Launch School is not for everyone, let alone perfect. But if you don't care about how long the process may take, if you have grit and discipline, and if you want to launch a career as a professional software engineer with a top job, I think Launch School is the way to go. Please feel free to reach out via Slack, LinkedIn or any other way, and I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. Happy coding!

Capstone has helped me secure, and perform strongly on, a Level 2 Software Engineer role, with no prior experience.7 months on after finishing Launch School's Capstone Program, I’m now a strong-performing Level 2 Backend Engineer at Thought Machine, a high-growth, engineering-centric company based in London, UK, founded by a serial entrepreneur and led by ex-Google engineers.I recently passed my 3-month probation where I received only positive feedback, with my manager commenting “I feel you actually had a lot of skills already, and over the past few weeks you've been working out how to apply them to your work here. This is generally what I'd expect from someone with experience.” All of this despite actually having no Software Engineering work experience prior to Launch School's Core Curriculum!More specifically, this is what Capstone has helped me do:
Pick up enough Golang in 2-3 weeks - on the side while preparing for and participating in various interviews - to complete and pass a code challenge for Thought Machine
Ramp up quickly on Go, Python, gRPC and Protobuf, Kafka and Kubernetes to be productive on the job
Understand, participate and contribute to most code design and architectural discussions on the job
Own and deliver a small feature before the end of my 3rd month on the job, and with another feature about to start
The 1.5 years I invested into Launch School's Core Curriculum and Capstone Program, plus the modest financial costs (compared to the typical bootcamp, or a Computer Science master’s degree), has enabled me to skip the junior level (i.e. save 1-2 years of my career), and landed me a gross salary that’s very close to that of engineers in non-tech hub US cities, in a company that’s known for a technically best-in-class product and a culture of engineering excellence among clients, prospects, and industry observers.With these results, I would not hesitate to say that participating in Launch School's Core Curriculum and Capstone Program was easily the best decision I’ve made in my career so far.

I was one of the very first Launch School students in 2016, having transitioned from their precursor program that was not yet focused on mastery. My original goal had been to find an entry-level, "foot in the door" junior developer role. When such an opportunity came to me while I was about halfway through the core curriculum, I rejected Launch School's advice to continue along the slow path towards mastery. I accepted an underpaid role with a startup, then another with a marketing company.
My strong foundation from Launch School allowed me to excel quickly in the second role, and earn four substantial promotions/raises in two years. Despite this success, my salary was only about half the average for a Capstone graduate in NYC. Another Launch School student, who hadn't even begun his programming studies until months after I took the job with the startup, had accepted a software engineer position with a cloud computing company and was already well on his way to being promoted to a senior dev role. I had discovered through firsthand experience what Launch School instructor Chris describes in a webinar; taking the first job available to you as you grow your skills can make it very difficult to land a great role with an engineering-centric company. I knew I needed to make a change.
Even after accepting a lead instructor position with a notable bootcamp, I was unsatisfied with my career trajectory. I spoke with Chris, who told me that with hard work I could qualify for Capstone. I worked furiously to complete the core curriculum, and joined the largest yet cohort of Capstone students. It was only once I joined Capstone that I saw the true power of "just-in-time" learning that is unlocked by a focus on mastery. In isolation these skills had helped me earn millions in additional revenue for my former employer, but spending each day being challenged by brilliant, like-minded developers opened up a new level of possibilities. I refined my understanding of higher level concepts, designed and built an amazing project with a distributed team, and landed an engineering role with a world-class organization led by a legendary tech entrepreneur.
My own hard work was integral in my achievements, but I can't overstate how important it was to have an organization like Launch School invest such significant time, energy, expertise, and resources in my personal and professional growth. They genuinely care that I succeed, and achieve an outcome that will bring me joy. Launch School helped me change my life, and I am forever grateful.

Launch School focuses on the fundamentals - things that don't change even as frameworks and libraries rise and fall in popularity. Mastering this base knowledge set me up to more easily adopt new languages and frameworks and expand my understanding to more advanced, integrated concepts.
Launch School emphasizes breaking challenges down into smaller pieces and examining them from various angles. They provide a framework for developing and updating your own mental models for the concepts. They push past rote memorization until students fully grasp the "why"s behind the techniques.
I can't speak highly enough of the support of both the staff and student community fostered at Launch School. Questions are answered promptly, suggestions for improvement are taken seriously and adopted quickly, and camaraderie between students is both encouraged and supported by the Launch School staff.
The assessments guaranteed I was able to both write and speak with confidence and precision about technical concepts. This was vital in preparation for my technical interviews and a career as part of a technical team.
Not everyone can take the time to learn to this depth. It is a long and intense journey. However, those who commit to the Launch School path will find themselves surrounded by dedicated and encouraging fellow students and staff who will then comprise a strong network of top-notch Software Engineers.

If you’re a Launch School student, you already know that the curriculum and instructors are top notch. As a Capstone student, you can expect the same level of pedagogy, rigor, and thoughtfulness. The only difference is that Capstone is several times over more intense, more interactive, and even more personalized.
Before my cohort started, I had many worries. Would the remote nature of the program result in a diminished learning experience? Would very recent changes to the program result in worse outcomes for graduates? Were the promised outcomes simply “too good to be true”?
During the first week of Capstone, these worries of mine quickly dissolved. Our cohort was distributed all over the US, but everyone was synchronized on the same schedule. Moreover, our twelve hour days were meticulously planned, even down to lunch and break times. Activities were optimally split between lectures with our mentor, cohort wide activities, team activities, and individual work. Time was precious, and we wasted none of it.
We also made ample use of real time video chat. There were even a few occasions where my team spent the entire day on video chat, either discussing research and/or pair programming. The whole thing just felt very collaborative in general. I learned something new from each of my Capstone peers, and it was truly a delight to go through this crazy experience with them!
By the time the job hunt phase rolled around, Capstone surpassed my already high expectations yet again. Yes, we were all on different schedules now. But there was never a time when I didn’t know what to do next. I was pushed so far beyond my comfort zone in the areas of networking, facing rejection, and even public speaking. I presented a talk about our Capstone project at various tech meetups in the Bay Area, and the feedback was nothing short of incredible.
Was it all worth it in the end? Without a doubt, my answer is a resounding yes! After 10 weeks on the job hunt, I accepted an offer for a position where I’ll be making more than $100k/year. Moreover, this job is everything I wanted in terms of location, company size, product, and people. I’ll be using Python in my new job by the way, and I’m not worried at all about the change in language. I know that the fundamentals I learned at Launch School will be more than enough to carry me through.
Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t easy. The Capstone schedule was so demanding that I dreamt about code at night. Besides that, it was really difficult to explain to my friends and family what I was doing. People discouraged me from moving to the super expensive Bay Area before I had a job offer. If you’re mentally prepared for all that though, then I would definitely encourage you to go for it. Capstone will propel you like a rocket ship to the moon.

I attended Launch School from 2016-2018, first doing the self-paced full-stack core program and then the Capstone program.  Both parts were fantastic - well worth every minute and every penny I put into them.Launch School's mastery-based curriculum emphasizes deep understanding of programming fundamentals that I now use every day as a full-time software developer.  Although these fundamentals are taught in Ruby and/or Javascript at Launch School, and I've found that the principles and mental models I developed apply to any and all programming languages.The core curriculum was self-paced, which gave me the flexibility to consume the material at my own speed (some things were easy and quick, and I needed more time to master others) and on my own schedule.  The Capstone program was an opportunity to bring those skills into a collaborative project, learn collaborative tools (more advanced git, GitHub, project-management tools, etc.), get coaching around job searching and interviewing, and really prepare for the day-to-day work of a software engineer.2 years later, I'm still at the great job that I found with the help of Launch School's curriculum and instructors.  I highly recommend this program to anyone serious about becoming a software engineer!

It's hard to overestimate the role Launch School's Capstone and the Core Curriculum programs played in me getting my first full time tech job. No part of this was quick and easy - but it was absolutely worth it.
If I had to summarize the experience in way too few words, I would say the Core Curriculum had taught me how to think as a developer, and Capstone taught me everything I might need to do well in the current job market. Now, I don't say 'everything' lightly. This really was nearly 'everything', and acquiring this knowledge was, again, not easy, but when you know the fundamentals well - it's doable. Without knowing them - probably not.
And that is Launch School's real success - with the right selection of materials and with Launch School's mastery based program, a Launch School graduate can take on new challenges quickly and intelligently. This played a key role both while interviewing and learning new concepts and technologies on the fly, and on the job, where learning new things quickly is probably one of the most valued skills an employee can have.
Launch School's core curriculum & capstone programs do this right. I really cannot stress this enough. When I had started I was worried that this might take too long - I am now shocked at how far I've come at such a relatively short time. My first full time tech job far exceeded my expectations in terms of salary and seniority level (even after reading about all the success stories). I could not have hoped for a better result, and I can say with great confidence that this is all thanks to Launch School.

My college degree in Actuarial Science did not prepare me well enough to land a job in the field. I was stuck working in a role that required only a high school degree. That went on for a full year. I was able to pay my bills and have some savings, but I realized that I wasn't happy at my job - it lacked meaning. That's when I started looking elsewhere - into tech and into programming. I eventually found Launch School.
Launch School is one of the best decisions that I made. The learning journey may be long, uncertain and at times, rough, but finishing the Core Curriculum and Capstone have been absolutely worth it. I want to point out a few tangible benefits having gone through this process with Launch School.
Having mastered the fundamentals, it has improved my ability to learn new technologies quickly. I was able to pick up React/Redux in a short period of time and tackle take-home assignments with confidence. Even if there are unfamiliar requirements (such as handling 3rd party API calls), I was able to look up appropriate resources and learn how to build certain features quickly and implement best practices. This helped me passed interviews and often landed me into on-sites.
Capstone is another level. Coming out of it, I gained a strong understanding of high-level systems architecture, data structures, algorithms and some CS fundamentals. On top of it, I built an impressive project, which employers find impressive. All that makes me an invaluable candidate to good companies. Capstone also provides zero-interest loans, which helped me to pursue my highest goals in finding my next job - despite receiving numerous rejections and not-so-great offers.
I eventually landed an offer with DigitialOcean - which is beyond my imagination! I am so grateful to have the opportunity pursue my career with a company that supports long-term growth, a caring community and great work-life balance. Not to mention a great salary, excellent health benefits, free lunches everyday, and a long list of other perks. I would not have landed this opportunity without Launch School and Capstone.
Besides landing a career-launching job, I also get to make life-long friends. Sunny and Julius are the alumni that not only inspired me to finish Capstone, but also gave their support throughout the long job hunt process. I am also happy to say that we all work in the same company now!
Finally, I would like to thank the people behind Launch School - Chris, Kevin and the amazing TAs for providing us a path to achieve greatness. Not just in terms of salary numbers, but also in building confidence and the skills necessary to land great jobs.

When I started my journey into programming I quickly realized that there was a million resources out there and very little structure. I was constantly battling the questions of "what should I focus on and to what depth?". In addition, I saw a lot of flashy quick-turnaround solutions flooding the marketplace. My intuition told me that programming was a difficult undertaking and that cramming all that I would need to know into a 3 - 6 month window seemed too good to be true. Fortunately, during my search I found Launch School. They confirmed my belief that becoming competent in programming is a long-term, fundamentals-focused journey. After having spent the past two years learning in Launch School, I can attest that the Launch School philosophy is the right path for long-term growth.
The Core Curriculum does a fantastic job of laying a solid foundation. You'll need that foundation no matter what you decide to do and it is a natural ramp to the topics covered in Capstone. Capstone really is a fantastic career-launching step. It first covers valuable subject areas that are out of scope for the core curriculum and combines it with what you learn in the core curriculum to build challenging and impressive projects with your team members. By the time I finished Capstone I felt much more grounded and confident as an engineer then I would have otherwise.
Aside from the obvious technical training, Launch School really pushed me to hold myself to a higher standard of learning. I now have a stronger drive to learn than when I started and I enjoy pushing my boundaries. I also learned how to really believe in myself and that I bring significant value to the table for employers. During my post-Capstone job hunt I turned down job offers that I would have been thrilled to have received before I started my journey with Launch School. I believed that, even while they were great offers, I was worth even more. This doesn't get talked about a lot, in regards to Capstone, but it was really drilled into us during the process to believe in our abilities and our value. That newfound confidence paid off with an amazing fullstack engineering job offer that pays almost double what I made as a manager in my prior career. I wouldn't have had the belief in myself to hold out and get job I did without the training I received at Launch School.
Anyone who aspires to push themselves to be the best that they can be should consider Capstone. It will be hard. It will be daunting. But it will be well worth it once you are done.

In August 2016, I had been exploring web development for 6 months but without any clarity. I knew I wanted to become a software developer but I did not know how. That is when I found Launch School and the answer became clear. While the pricing and pace drew me in, the mastery-based learning philosophy is why I excelled.
From 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. While other programs are teaching frameworks that last a year, Launch School is teaching the principles and skills that last a lifetime.
"Trust the process" is an inside joke among Launch School students, but it is a sentiment that perfectly captures the essence of the program. Over the span of a year, I invested well over a thousand hours into my studying. That dedication does not come without a fair share of impatience and self-doubt.
Many students encounter a "mid-life crisis" halfway through the curriculum. They have learned enough to get a job and are tempted to take the money and run. I learned that from experience and immediately regretted it.
While any half-decent developer can get a "job", Launch School is teaching its students how to build their careers. By the time someone finishes the Core Curriculum, they will be in the 90th percentile of job candidates. The Capstone program will take them the rest of the way.
Launch School's Capstone Program is fast-paced and demanding, but with a solid understanding of the fundamentals, I excelled. I worked with two other developers to build Conclave: a decentralized, collaborative editor. Very few engineers can say they have worked on decentralized systems to the degree that I have, and those engineers are Ph.D. candidates.
Any possible doubt I might have had about Launch School was erased during the job search. My comprehension of core principles combined with the Capstone Project made me a top contender. In 8 weeks time, I received 7 offers. Not only did I accept an offer from my #1 choice company, DigitalOcean, but I also qualified as a Software Engineer II -- skipping the entry-level position.
Choosing the join Launch School was the wisest decision I have ever made and it will continue to pay dividends for the rest of my life.

Dissatisfied with my previous non-technical career, I started looking for online programs to learn web development and programming, and after several months trying out several programs, decided Launch School was the best fit for me.
For someone who is a life-long learner and is curious about understanding concepts at a foundational level, Launch School is the perfect curriculum. It does not promise quick, easy wins or make grandiose claims about transforming your life in 3 months. Instead it give you the direction and material you need to learn programming, while providing feedback and motivation along the way through assessments and TA support.
Over the course of the core curriculum and the Capstone program, I logged several thousand hours. It allows you to learn at your own pace. You have to bring your own discipline and effort, and at times the depth of the curriculum will challenge your patience. However, 2 years later, previously knowing very little about the fundamentals of programming, I just accepted a competitive software engineering job that is everything I could have hoped for in a new role and more. I can honestly say that Launch School has transformed my career and the trajectory of the rest of my life.
The core curriculum provides a solid platform and jumping off point to go learn almost anything you could want to in programming. The Capstone program is what really prepares you for the job market. It gives you hands on experience owning a highly technical project from the ground up, and working collaboratively with other intelligent, motivated engineers. The guidance we received throughout from experienced industry veterans was invaluable - I can’t imagine ending up where I am today without their support.
I would highly recommend Launch School and the Capstone program to anyone who is prepared to be dedicated and serious about transitioning into this exciting field. Their results so far speak for themselves!

There are shorter and easier paths to getting a job in tech, but there are good reasons why I stuck on the slow path at Launch School. I didn’t just want a job, I wanted a rewarding career where I could meaningfully contribute and grow for years to come. With the baseline knowledge and habits established in the core curriculum and the intensity of the Capstone program, I feel well prepared to stay relevant across an ever-changing industry for decades to come.
When I started Launch School’s mastery-based core curriculum, I had no software development experience. I had just entered my thirties and was looking to make a 180° career change. It took me 21 months of full-time study (including time in the Capstone program) before I even started my job search. I live in Toronto, Canada, where salaries are lower than in the US for software developers, but I’m still in a position of almost tripling my previous best salary and doubling my vacation days.
Embracing a mastery based learning path is more difficult than it sounds. It’s been transformational for me, but it’s also not for everyone. You really need to trust in the process to succeed. Looking back on my time at Launch School, the instructors all have high expectations, but also genuinely want you to succeed and are amazing at providing useful feedback and pushing you to the limits of your ability and beyond.
The community is very active on Slack and supportive about responding to questions in a really well thought out way. The teaching materials are great at getting you to dig deeper into problems and force you to really understand and be able to communicate why a snippet of code does one thing or another.
While I was in my job search, I felt well prepared for the types of questions I was asked and wasn’t really surprised by anything about the process. I don’t recommend LS to everyone because it only works if you’re willing to put in the time and effort and commit to embracing the methodology -- but to the people who are capable of undertaking that kind of commitment, it really does work.In my job I feel very well prepared to learn the things I don't know yet on the job, and most importantly to ask the right questions. LS drilled it into my head to take a procedural approach that focuses on understanding the problem before writing any code. That training is really paying off for me while solving problems in production code. 
One of the great things about LS is that the free prep materials are in-depth and a good taste of what the curriculum is like, so if you get through those, I think you’ll know that the program is right for you before paying anything.

Soon after starting Launch School, I dropped out of college to study full-time with Launch School. I was a senior and close to graduation when I dropped out. Many people I knew called me crazy and doubt was thrown at me left and right. Despite this, I knew it was the right decision and I knew that if I persevered through Launch School's rigorous curriculum, I could prove to everyone else it was the right decision, too. Today, my life is proof that I made the right decision to trust Launch School. Launch School did nothing short of radically transforming my life and jump-starting my career.

I began Launch School with no programming experience beyond writing simple programs that would print silly messages to the standard output of the terminal. Over the course of about a year and a half, I progressed through the curriculum, logging in total thousands of hours in study and practice time. I embraced the rigor of Launch School and took the concept of "Mastery" as far as I could. Launch School caters to the highly motivated person who cannot accept sub-par performance or understanding. I knew this was the place for me because my own personal standards were high and Launch School was able to hold me to them in times of struggle, fatigue, and motivational lulls.

I received job offers for developer positions in my area before I had even finished the core curriculum. I was tempted to take them, but turned them down in order to participate in the Capstone Program and aim for the absolute best job I could get.

Capstone changed my life. Launch School poured resources into my success and they made sure I had money to live so that financial stress didn't derail my focus. After finishing Capstone, they helped me move to New York City, where I presented my project at speaking events, resulting in referrals from other engineers who were impressed with my work. Within two weeks of sending out my first application, I was getting contacted so often that I had to start turning away opportunities for interviews. I had the freedom to choose where I would work and I ended up accepting an incredible offer for a Software Engineer II position from a tech startup in Manhattan (I didn't apply for any entry level positions). It came with a signing bonus, a well over 100K starting salary, the flexibility to work in the office or remotely, and the opportunity to work closely - and be mentored by - very talented veterans in the field.

It's the best decision of my life and I wholeheartedly recommend Launch School for the serious-minded and motivated student who want to learn things well and are not ok with just surface-level awareness.