LaunchSchool: An online school for Software Engineers

The Slow Path for Studious Learners to a Career in Software Development

Structured Curriculum from First Principles

Our program is about slowly building up mastery of fundamentals, so you understand how higher level abstractions truly work from the bottom up. Our goal isn't to teach you how to use React or Rails, but to show you how to construct accurate mental representations of first principles in order to tackle fundamental engineering problems. Our goal isn't to help you find a job, but help you launch a career. Our goal isn't to teach you to code, but to teach you how to deconstruct and problem solve like an engineer.

By Software Engineers for Future Software Engineers

Launch School was founded by experienced software engineers. We know what it takes to not only break into software, but to build and grow a career as an engineer in the software industry. Our objective is to increase your lifetime earnings by millions of dollars. This is what makes Launch School unique and why we focus on the long-term results of a career. Our curriculum was created by software engineers for future software engineers — you.

I don't think I can oversell how important learning fundamentals has been for me. Not only did it basically shift my entire view of learning in all venues, but it made me realize that any learning goal is attainable with the right outlook, planning, and dedicated practice.

Kyle Ledoux

I continue to be impressed by the Launch School staff and their professionalism. The assessments are, I think, one of the best parts of this program.

Severin Perez

Knowing when to move on and circle back at a later point, if necessary, has been a skill I did not expect to come away with from the curriculum, but stands out as one of the most useful since it’s so transferable to other areas of my life.

Kevin Counihan

A great aspect of the Launch School experience is the wonderful community! There is nothing more motivating than meeting and growing alongside other like-minded individuals who share the same goal, and I am very thankful for the friends I made along the way!

Earl Veloso

I have always suspected that taking time to get fundamentals engrained—as opposed to rushing through things just to produce "something" quickly—is the best way to go. But life is full of pressures to do the latter, to "beat the clock". I now have something to point to as unmistakeable evidence that slow focus on fundamentals, whenever you have the time to do it, is something that is possible and works. I'm pretty sure I will never again feel ashamed of taking my time to learn something well.

Bethany Pietroniro

I feel that going through the core curriculum has been very transformative for me. One thing I've noticed is that when faced with learning something complicated, new, and difficult, I get this sensation of, "Ah yes, I've been here before.". So many times throughout this journey I've come across something that is at first confusing and opaque, and come out the other side with clarity and understanding. It's given me an overwhelming sense of confidence that I can learn new things even if they seem very difficult and complicated at first.

Duncan Britt

"We're one of the oldest and largest coding schools in the world."

Our Learning Goals

The key to unlocking higher level understanding and skills that last a career is focusing on fundamentals. We designed our curriculum with the following learning goals.

Fundamentals first, fundamentals throughout
A focus on learning things that don't change
Learn slowly and deliberately

Learn to be proficient, not just build awareness
Learn to understand problems, not solutions
Learn in a circular fashion

Our students love us, and if you are committed to building a career in software development, you will too

Sienna Wood

Denver

Software Engineer

Experts always return to fundamentals because they are the foundation on which everything else is built. Launch School’s core program embodies this principle by emphasizing mastery of fundamentals through purposeful individual study.

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Steve Kolock

New York

Front-end Developer

I got a different role making significantly more than twice what I had been making as a 'web specialist', putting me firmly in six-figure

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Letladi Sebesho

Johannesburg, South Africa

Full Stack Developer at Co-Foundy

This programme opened possibilities for me that would have taken me years to reach

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Sunny Beatteay

New York City

Software Engineer

From the first glance, it was apparent that Launch School had been founded by industry veterans. I have never encountered a curriculum more in-depth and rigorous

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A Serious Training Curriculum That's Designed to Launch a Career

Core Curriculum

Mastery of Fundamentals

Capstone

Launch Your Career

Complete the Core Curriculum courses and pass their assessments, and you'll have mastered the fundamentals. Participate in our Capstone Program, and you'll launch a career.