Launch School Reviews
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Sunny Beatteay Verified via GitHub
The Wisest Decision I Ever Made
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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. -
Max Verified via LinkedIn
The Results Speak For Themselves
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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! -
Nick Miller Verified via LinkedIn
Landed a Job as Backend Software Engineer
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I got laid off from a startup that was on a sharp downward trajectory in early 2017. After looking in the market for jobs doing what I had been doing and coming up dissatisfied all around, my wife realized it was time for me to take a look at the bigger picture. We sat down and brainstormed a list of ideas of things I wanted to try doing, learning about software making the top of the list. It quickly became the only item on that list after getting a taste from an Intro to Computer Science MOOC I took that summer. Armed with a desire to learn more, I went online to see what options were out there for turning my curiosity into a new career.
I don't know if it was the overly-positive, almost saccharine marketing that turned me off of most bootcamps, or the utterly realistic "we're here for the long game" marketing of Launch School, but once I read through Launch School's novellas on mastery-based learning and their pedagogy (after learning what pedagogy meant), I was hooked.
It took me just under two years to work my way through the Core curriculum and Capstone. Just a few weeks after finishing Capstone, I accepted a job as a backend software engineer at Science 37, a medical technology company.
I'm constantly surprised at how what I've learned at Launch School is helpful and relevant at my job. My first assignment at work was to take over development of a partially-built feature and complete it. The problem was that the existing code is written in Go, a language I have no experience in.
Whereas other engineers might jump straight into coding, my time at Launch School taught me to first comprehend, then code. I spent a majority of my time reading and understanding the existing code line-by-line to find out what had already been accomplished and how. Being that this was a language that I've never coded in before, I leaned heavily on official documentation to understand the nuances of the language and understand exactly what it was doing, something Launch School also taught me to do (and appreciate).
Once I had a good mental model of the feature as it was written so far, I could use the PEDAC process to surgically add or edit code as needed, changing only what needed to be changed rather than mindlessly hacking and slashing in an attempt to stumble into a workable solution. Invariably I ran into problems both with the code as well as the underlying architecture that the code would use. Thanks to the Capstone program, when I bumped into holes in my knowledge, I knew enough to take a step back and flesh out my mental model of what should be happening and why.
Launch School provided me with the skillset to systematically work through what would otherwise be an extremely daunting first assignment. I would not hesitate to say that Launch School was the most well-structured and effective learning experience I've ever had the pleasure of participating in. I would recommended it without a second thought to anyone wanting a career in software engineering.
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Will M. Verified via LinkedIn
Investing in yourself
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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.
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Jacob C. Verified via LinkedIn
Launch School is Everything I Had Hoped it Would Be
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I knew I wanted to be a software engineer, but before Launch School I never had a path to get there. I had tried various online courses but would inevitably hit a wall. I researched boot camps but I never felt like they could give me the depth I needed for the kind of engineering jobs I wanted.
Choosing Launch School was easy: the pedagogy of a slow path to mastery followed by the promise of in depth coaching through the Capstone program matched with what I thought it might take to make the transition to the career I wanted. Unlike other solutions out there, it felt like a sober approach to becoming a professional engineer.
I finished the Core Curriculum in roughly 2 years. Launch School’s focus on learning fundamentals enabled me to slowly build and integrate increasingly advanced software engineering concepts. In addition to this, the emphasis that Launch School placed not only on what I learned, but also on how I learned, enabled me to find a joy and practice in problem solving that I'll have for life.
After finishing the Core Curriculum I chose to participate in the Capstone program. I believe that the Capstone program gave me the rare opportunity to get serious mentorship and team experience that would have taken years to receive on the job. The results of the Capstone program speak for themselves: after graduating I found the job of my dreams. Not only do I get to work with a great team solving interesting problems everyday, but I'm also making a salary that is twice the amount of the ceiling of my former profession. I'll always remember the pride that I had when the interviewer for my current position told me that the reason I made it through the first screening of the interview process was because I did "the best job at solving the problem" that the interviewer had seen. The skill I displayed during that interview was the result of my hard work. But that hard work would not have been possible without the combination of a solid curriculum, intentional mentorship, and dedicated study guided by serious engineers. I don't think you can get that combination anywhere other than Launch School.
Launch School promises and delivers on a well thought out curriculum that consistently delivers on producing quality engineers. Ultimately, Launch School proved to be everything I hoped it would be.
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Chian Yee Verified via LinkedIn
Launch School- a life changing experience !
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Hello there. My name is Chian Yee and completed the course at Launch School from 2016 to 2018. Recently I went for 5 programming interviews and got 5 job offers, even one from IBM Hong Kong. I even got admitted into the University of Pennsylvania Master in Computer and Information Technology program. I really want to thank Launch School for the life-changing experience and education they gave me.
A Unique Approach
LS has a unique approach to teaching software engineering. You don’t just learn Ruby on Rails here. You learn fundamentals of programming like object-oriented programming, abstraction, encapsulation, polymorphism etc. These concepts are easily transferable to other programming languages. One of the core skills emphasized by LS is problem-solving. The whole course is peppered with plenty of programming exercises. Students are encouraged to find answers on their own first, guidance will come later. Even today, when I go for technical interviews, concepts learn from LS comes to me naturally because it is imbued in my mind after so many exercises.
LS used a mastery-based approach to learning. They make sure that students understand the basics before going to more advanced topics. This is so important because it prevents confusion and frustration later down the road. It also means that there is no time-limit (I personally took 1 year and 8 months to finish LS) and instructors/TA take the time to assess you. At the end of each subject, TAs/instructors will assess and interview you and if you pass the assessment, it means you really understand the subject.
A Place with Heart
Although it is an online learning environment, LS is placed filled with care and friendliness. I remember the first day I join the course, Chris, the instructor and co-founder personally greeted me to welcome me to the course. A special thanks to him also for writing me a letter of recommendation to the University of Pennsylvania.
TA are very friendly and helpful to me throughout my journey. They genuinely wanted to help you with your learning. Never had I had to wait for longer than a day to get a reply in the forum from them. Specifically, I want to thank Victor Paolo Reyes, Brandon Conway, Pete Hanson and Naveed Fida for all the help you extended me throughout the course.
Conclusion
There is an understanding that you don’t stop learning after you leave LS. LS provides a solid foundation for serious learners to learn on their own in the future. So if you are a serious learner and are willing to put in the effort and time to learn software engineering, LS can change your life!
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Adrian Carroll Verified via LinkedIn
A better way to learn
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Mastery Based learning is a concept that is easy to understand, accept and even embrace but I think it is only after experiencing its true power can you learn to fully trust it. When I began my Launch school journey I read all the MBL related literature that Launch School throw your way. I accepted it at face value. I understood the logic and was ready to apply it. And i did... to an exent. I remember working through the back end and still having a slight feeling of anxiety that the target day I had in the back of my mind was slipping further and further away. It was only when I reached the half way point that I was able to look back at what I had learned and know that this approach to learning really was different. From this point on I slowed down, really taking the time to soak up the material. Launch school seems like one of the best kept secrets in the software education sector. I stumbled across it by accident one day listening to a podcast. Other students have similar stories. Even after the podcast I wasted another four months trying to learn on my own before signing up to the program. When I signed up and tried the prep course I realised the full extent of the quality of the material. You might have read some of Chris Lee's medium articles on his philosophies around education and MBL but what you probably haven't heard him talk about is the sheer quality of the materials that have been put together by Launch School team. They have done an outstanding job of engineering an effective, cohesive and interesting curriculum. The attention to detail is second to none and this attention to detail inevitably gets imparted on students. The team of Launch school TAs and instructors are an extremely helpful and friendly bunch. They seem to be available no matter what time of the day or night you need help. Between code reviews, forum discussions and chat room inquiries they are always willing to go the extra mile and give you more time than you could have hoped for. After completing the core curriculum I feel like Launch School will always be part of me. I genuinely believe I could not have gotten to where I am now without it. Launch School has given me the ability to see problems that can be solved with software and see how these problems can be broken down and managed. Overall it has given me the belief that I can accomplish anything that I put my mind to, perhaps the most valuable lesson of all. -
Alex Henegar Verified via LinkedIn
An Invaluable Program for Those with Dedication
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I learned a little programming while in school but I thought I was too far along in physics to make the switch to computer science. After getting my doctorate in physics, I still had an itch to learn programming so I started looking for a way to learn. After six months of researching my options: more school, boot camp, books & tutorials; I stumbled upon Launch School. While listening to the podcast Learn to Code with Me, by Laurence Bradford, she was interviewing a founder of Launch School. Their approach to learning by focusing on the fundamentals was the key strategy I was looking for to ensure I would be left without gaps in my education. Launch School's perfect blend of one-on-one attention and self-paced learning allowed me to learn while working full-time. Their flexible teaching style allowed me to seek guidance when I needed it and buckle down with my headphones on when I was going strong. I spent the first six months in the program studying the fundamentals of programming before touching advanced topics. This ingrained the core concepts of programming in me so that when it was time to learn advanced topics I didn't have to keep looking back to remember the basics. This kept my focus sharp and progress steady. At this point I couldn't show anyone the programs I built because there weren't any. Launch School isn't about building a portfolio, it's about building a career. The second six months were spent on advanced topics, building complex applications, and gradually taking control of each project from start to finish. Launch School gave me more freedom, i.e. responsibility, as courses progressed; by doing so I became a self-sufficient programmer capable of making meaningful contributions to real-world applications. Thanks to Launch School I landed a full-stack developer position at a fast-growing start-up in DC. Launch School uses mainly Ruby and JavaScript to teach but the most beneficial lessons were not about the languages. They taught me how to progress through a problem, from origination to completion, in a controlled yet flexible way. And this is exactly what I was tested on in the interview for my job. My employer cared about my ability to think through a problem more so than my knowledge of any language. Learning the language is a must, of course, but it is not the true skill of a programmer. Every day on the job I use the skills I learned in Launch School. My job consists of at least a little bit of everything I learned in Launch School. Because I was prepared so well for the tasks they had in mind for me, I was able to take on additional responsibilities, become proficient with Vue.js (which I had no experience using prior), and even become a valuable resource for other new developers. Three days into the job my boss said, "I have never seen a new hire contribute valuable work to a production application so quickly." Suffice to say, I'm excelling at my job and it's all thanks to a tremendous amount of hard work, dedication, and Launch School. -
Tannr A Verified via GitHubRadically changed my life
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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.
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Patrick B Verified via GitHubSimply the Best Value Anywhere.
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I came into Launch School previously as a "dabbler" & finally decided to get serious about learning web development & programming. I did a ton of research before choosing Launch School, and I'm so glad I found them. You can just take my word for it: if you want to learn programming or web development, there really is no better way! I believe it's because of their core philosophy that mastery-based learning & fundamentals are the foundation to a successful technical career, and I couldn't agree more. Their program is thorough & well-supported by TAs, and the online community is great.
Also, the world of programming is so deep that it's often difficult or overwhelming when trying to figure out a where to begin & what to study. They've distilled the core knowledge down in a logical progression of studies that will make you a well-rounded programmer when you're finished. I even believe I've learned how to learn better, and I've become a better problem-solver in general throughout the coursework. I personally wasn't looking to change careers, but I have highly recommended this course & their Capstone program to others that showed interest in that path. I've even met some new friends that were in the program locally & we still stay in touch. Overall the experience has been very rewarding.
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Steven Fischer Verified via LinkedIn
Life-changing
I started Launch School with zero coding experience, and I am now gainfully employed as a programmer. I finished the core curriculum in just under a year. The transformation is long and certainly hard, but I don’t know of any curriculum – other than Launch School’s – that can teach web development fundamentals so well. Launch School is in a league of its own. I highly recommend it.
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Kristen Wilde Verified via GitHubA solid foundation
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I studied with Launch School for a year and a half (10/2016 to 4/2018) and completed the Core Curriculum. I chose LS largely for the convenience of being able to work at my own pace and on my own schedule, but I gradually came to appreciate this program even more for its content, depth, and community. I'm glad I'll be able to start my career with confidence in the strong foundation LS has given me.
One of the first things I learned at Launch School is that programming is much more than learning a language. There are many concepts that are absolutely vital to understanding how any programming language works (variable scoping, referencing values in memory, etc). Equally important is having strategies for problem solving and debugging. Clear explanations and well-designed exercises throughout the program provide a ton of practice with all of the above (and develop language fluency at the same time).
Another benefit of Launch School is the support provided by TA’s, instructors, and other students. I regularly used the discussion forums for asking lesson-specific questions, and the Slack workspace for coordinating study groups with other students. The dozen or so assessments, spaced throughout the program, were very helpful interactions. We are asked to provide succinct but accurate explanations of various concepts in our own words, or to demonstrate concepts with examples. The feedback I received from this process deepened my understanding significantly.
It is clear that the Launch School team really cares about offering the best program they can. Their use of mastery based learning is an innovation that they believe in strongly, and they are continuously working to improve and update their materials.
While the Core Curriculum stops short of covering any of the various frameworks developers typically use today, I can attest that knowing the fundamentals well makes learning new frameworks relatively simple. I wholeheartedly recommend the program to anyone who is serious about learning real web developing and is willing to put in the time and effort to learn.
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Cristian Rennella Verified via GitHubIt was the best investment of my time that I made. Even better than going to university!.
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At the beginning of 2017, I started with the course. I had many doubts because there were several other programs on the Internet, but I was lucky to choose this one and I want to help other people who may be going through this situation.
If you are looking for a course where they teach you the fundamentals on which to build your career, this is the course for you. But if you're looking for shortcuts or something quick, then this is not your best option.
After having finished the course in 1 year and 4 months, I can say that today I feel with super powers because I have all the necessary knowledge to look for a job as a programmer or even start my own startup.
I have a HUGE happiness because it was a dream come true and the possibilities that I add to my career are spectacular.
If you sincerely want to be a professional programmer then I recommend what I did, spend a year and a few months of your life studying at Launch School, it will undoubtedly be your best decision.
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Roy Huang Verified via GitHubBest decision I have ever made for my career
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I decided to start learning programming when I was 27. I tried many different resources on the Internet, either paid or free tutorials, but none of them really worked out. I mean, those are really great resources, however, I never felt I was able to achieve anything or build my own project after finishing the lessons. Then I came across Launch School.
I was looking for lessons that are systematic and intense. After browsing the syllabus of Launch School, I found it offers plentiful contents, not to mention great preparatory lessons and quality digital books. At Launch School, it's not about languages themselves. It's all about fundamentals and concepts. One of the instructors of Launch School used to tell me that any languages and frameworks can be out of date, and only if you have the solid understanding of the concepts of programming, you would be able to adapt yourself to the web development world.
After a few months learning at Launch School, I felt that I have a better command of Ruby and JavaScript, and I can start my own projects from scratch. At the moment, I had a chance to apply for an internship as a Rails developer, so I used the projects I built during I was at Launch School (some of them are assignments) as my portfolio. Guess what? I got the offer! I nailed every question I was asked during the interview, and I felt extremely confident. It's all because I have been practicing interview skills during the assessment at Launch School.
I have been working as a Rails developer for almost 2 years. I might not be able to make this if I didn't choose Launch School. It's definitely one of the best decisions I have made in my life.
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Sonia Verified via LinkedIn
The real deal that leads to a sustainable software engineering career
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I’ve been with Launch School for over one year, and am happy to share that thanks to Launch School, I landed a Software Engineering Team Lead position at a multinational tech consultancy. Aside from being a good resource for beginners, Launch School has proven transformational to me as a prior startup founder with a few years of programming experiences and a MS in Software Engineering.
My intention with this testimonial is simple: no matter what cool things one has done, knowing things from the ground up is THE way to go in the long run. I’m currently half way through the Launch School curriculum, so I’ll focus on how the methodology sets me apart even when I’m not through with the curriculum.
Mastery-based learning
Even a child can code. But does one know what’s going on under the hood? The zealous attention at Launch School to knowing “What does X mean?” or “What does this line of code do?” or “Why does it do X versus Y?” makes me more of a master than my Master’s degree has made me.
Interviews
Interviewing is a skill in its own right, and it takes practice for one’s interviewing skill to catch up with his or her competence level. The requirement to pass interviews at Launch School motivates me to make this extra layer of coordination into an integral part of my problem solving (a.k.a. thinking out loud), facilitated by the emphasis on correct use of terminology.
Career-focused
One reading assignment in the orientation course makes points about the types of companies there are for a software engineer to launch a career, and also the differentiation between being in a cost center versus a revenue center. This talk is immensely helpful for me to persue companies that are worth moving forward with among the many options out there.
p.s. I gave a rating of n/a for job assitance because techincally they don't provide that in the core curriculum. I cannot speak for the Capstone program but I believe there's a lot more job search support in there.
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Jamie Verified via GitHubBest online web courses
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LaunchSchool helped me to transform from Software Developer to Full Stack Developer.
My background is C++/C# in enterprise software, but the city I am living in has more opportunities for Web Developer, after hours investigation and studies, I finally chose LaunchSchool to help me do the transformation, and it has been proven to be the best decision I made in recent years. I have experience in OOP and Web Services, what I miss is cool web stuff, so I directly jump to Front End to learn JS as a dynamic/prototypal language, JS MV* frameworks, Browser, HTML/CSS, etc. I am really into the way of learning by doing and mastery. The 1n1 interviews helped me to set up confidence, learn how to think loudly, express ideas/algorithms, split problems.
After 6 months of after work learning (20hrs/wk), I feel confident to work in web development and started my job hunting. I interviewed 2 companies and got 2 offers within a month or so...much better than I thought...never been that popular before. I want to thank Launch School for the wonderful curriculum and the assessments, because I would not have been as prepared if it weren't for that.
I'd like to share my experience to new LaunchSchoolers, don't doubt, trust LS, follow the syllabus, make your efforts, your decision is 100% correct. -
Steve Verified via LinkedIn
Rigorous, Flexible Program Centered on Mastery
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Launch School does a better job describing its curriculum and philosophy than I could, so I'll focus on the results in my life due to their focus on 'mastery-based learning'. Before starting Launch School I had done a small bit of HTML and CSS, I had a digital marketing background, and that's about it regarding my experience of websites. I was in a 'Web Specialist' role at a small, non-tech-savvy organization, that entailed digital marketing and basic frontend work, and I decided to commit to learning web development as a result of becoming more interested in the web development aspects of my job. Launch School seemed the way to go after reading reviews and because I wanted something that was rigorous but would allow me to continue working. Outcomes - Pay Since one of the only ways to measure outcomes when comparing bootcamps, curriculums, etc. is via salary, I'll talk about that. Without getting too specific about pay, within 4 months of starting Launch School, I was able to leverage my experience as a 'web specialist' combined with my knowledge gained from Launch School to become a frontend developer, at a salary significantly higher than I had been making. The Frontend curriculum is not the first portion you learn, but I was able to take some of the concepts and overall knowledge and improve my frontend work as well. Before I even finished the whole program (it took me about 2 years, including a few months pause when I started a new role), I got a different role making significantly more than twice what I had been making as a 'web specialist', putting me firmly in six-figures. Money isn't particularly important to me, but having an in-demand skill set, with the ability to really dive in, analyze, and learn new technologies/frameworks/libraries, and deliver quality software, is important. And again, I know it is a common measure of outcomes. Outcomes - Knowledge / Growth One of the most significant stimulants for growth that you experience at Launch School is the assessments. These involve quizzes, projects, and mock interviews. I remember for the Frontend Assessment, that, when an instructor explained the project he said, 'this is going to be difficult, but I think you're going to really learn a lot', and he was 100% correct. I look at that project as one of the pivotal moments in my learning at Launch School. It pushed me to really drive beyond the specific tools we had learned to embrace the concepts and incorporate new libraries and APIs. I am avoiding getting too specific, but I definitely believe that is one of the most important factors in how I have grown through Launch School. To me, that project demonstrated more than anything else the difference between mastery based learning and just learning the hot new thing. I can pick up and learn the hot new framework, but I can also discern when to use it vs when to pass over it in favor of something that is less flashy, but better for the job at hand. Launch School teaches you not only how to engineer and build applications, but also to understand and solve the underlying problems / or make the right trade offs based upon the circumstances. The entire Launch School staff, from instructors to TAs, are excellent teachers who are relentless in their focus on producing knowledgeable programmers, and set high standards for learning. They don't let you take the easy route and it shows in how much you grow. I cannot recommend Launch School enough. I honestly would not be in the career I am today, or as passionate about it as I am today, without all of the hard work and dedication they put into designing the program and continuously improving it. -
JD Fortune
There and Back Again
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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. -
Dylan Spyer
Launch School
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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 :)
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Stephen Watzman
Changed my life
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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. -
Alex Riviere
Leveraging Just-In-Time Learning
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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.
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Bob Rodes
Superlative
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I was not a typical Launch School student. While most people who join are switching from something else early to mid-career, I joined as a 62-year-old software developer with over 30 years of experience, with the goal of bringing my skill set up to date. It worked out very well for me.
I had taught myself enough HTML, CSS and jQuery to put a decent website together, but I wanted to get strong skills in JavaScript and improve my HTML and CSS. As it turned out, I was taken way beyond the goals I started with. I became a strong expert not only in JavaScript, HTML and CSS, but I also learned Ruby and PostgreSQL to an expert level. I now have a set of coding skills that is very much in demand.
I can't say enough about the quality of the courseware and TAs, the camaraderie among the students, and the motivational power of the human-graded written and interview assessments, which you must pass at least one of for each course before moving on to the next one.
Launch School is exactly what it says it is. If you come prepared to do things their way, you will master the skills they teach. They structure things so that you aren't just given the concepts and sent on your way. Rather, you are asked to work on the concepts they give you until your understanding of them is perfected. When you graduate, you will have skills that hiring managers are looking for, and you will stand out for the thoroughness of your mastery of those skills. -
Austin Miller
Life Changing Education
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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. -
Adam
Launch School Changed My Life
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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 Entrapment
In 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! -
Mike del Rio
Excellent All Around
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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. -
Dorey Miller
100% worth it
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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. -
Mark
Not worth it. Not practical. Waste of time
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I’m a Javascript grad from LS and this course isn’t worth it at all. There are no projects. Self studying will take less time than LS and there is much better material out there for much cheaper. The study sessions are weird, the instructors can snitch on you to the Owner of LS if you don’t do well in the sessions. My advice would be to get on Udemy or Youtube and you can get the exact same material, with less typos and grammatical mistakes and for much much cheaper.Chris Lee of Launch School
Founder
Jun 27, 2021
Hi Mark,
I'm sorry to hear about your bad experience at Launch School. I've always maintained that student-school fit is really important and just because it didn't occur here doesn't mean the student can't succeed or that the school is bad. No program can be a good fit for every student. The key, in my opinion, is being able to leave the school immediately if there's not a good fit.
We designed Launch School with this primary idea in mind -- that anyone can leave Launch School at any time if it doesn't feel right. I'm wondering why you decided to finish the JavaScript track despite negative feelings? If it was something that we did to make you feel that you had to stay at Launch School, please let me know as I want to improve and that's not the feeling I want people to have. We are against educational entrapment.
My goal is to build the most student-centric program and that, imo, centers around be transparent and allowing people to come and go as they please. Most places make it very easy to sign up but impossible to leave. We are the opposite: it's very difficult to pay us money (we require a manual admissions process), but it's very easy to leave (self service to stop anytime).
In any case, if you still feel wronged by your experience at Launch School, please send me an email (chris@launchschool.com) and I'll see what I an do to make it right. -
Ben Z
Laying the Foundation for Growth
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The Core Program does a great job of laying a solid foundation for growth. Interviewers were always impressed to learn about Launch School’s chapters on reading documentation and PEDAC. In the age of Bootcamps, the ability to solve problems and find answers is rare in new graduates, and Launch School’s emphasis on this pays off very well.
That payoff is easy to see in yourself as well. During my interview process, I was asked numerous times to build small applications with frameworks, and even entire languages, with which I had no previous experience. The confidence Launch School’s process gave me allowed me to feel comfortable taking on those challenges, and with the skills I developed during the Core Program I was able to meet those challenges.
The Capstone Program is where you build on your solid fundamental base and dramatically increase your worth as a new hire. The Capstone Project and the higher-level concepts taught during Capstone are what allow you to stand out in a crowded job market. During an initial interview I heard “I don’t know why HR forwarded me your resume, because you don’t have any experience. But I’m so glad they did, because your Capstone project is really impressive! I’ve even showed it around the company!” Two weeks later I accepted an offer from him for a salary that is $30-40k more than I would have otherwise been thrilled to make, had I not gone through Capstone.
For the past two years I’ve been singing Launch School’s praises as a coding school. I knew I was learning valuable skills, but I had to trust the process and hope that my efforts would eventually pay off. Now that they have, I can recommend Launch School as a life-changing opportunity. -
Josh
I was promoted after learning and finishing the Core curriculum.
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I remember starting Launch School almost two years ago in 2018, about the same time that I started a new job. I was already working in tech as an IT Systems Administrator, but I wanted to propel my career into something more fulfilling where I could not maintain systems all day. I wanted to get out of the grind of a cost centric job and propel myself into something that provided more value to the business. After dabbling for years, trying to find a program that worked for me, and never feeling satisfied, I finally ran into launch school and started the Ruby Track.
Suffice to say, I have finished the core curriculum and was promoted to a DevOps engineer at my current company. I have Launch School's Core Curriculum to thank heavily for providing me the skills needed to transition into my current role. I almost exclusively use python for automation in my current role; working with API's and the bottom-up approach that launch school provided has helped me succeed in this endeavor. At the beginning of launch school, I wondered how you could have so few courses, and people still admitted that this course could take a year+ to get through. Once I started, I ducked into the deep pool of reality on how much information Launch School expects you to master.
From learning arrays to reading documentation to solving problems, everything went into so much detail I immediately knew this program was for me. Learning the basics started to give me incredible insights into stuff that I was already working on at work but had no idea how they worked at a fundamental level. I always ended up googling for answers and would spend hours searching for someone else's solution to fit into what I understood to solve the problem that I had at hand.
Currently, I am a key point of contact for developers when they need help with an API because I have demonstrated my knowledge and expertise in understanding how an API works at a fundamental level. I know how to dissect APIs so well that I have almost become a resident expert. Making calls to an API is the same stuff you learn in Launch School but with little extra knobs and features attached.
This fundamental approach is true for almost everything that I currently do at work and why I firmly believe that Launch School is worth the time and effort. You will see things in the Launch School curriculum that are hard to find almost anywhere else on the web without long hours of searching. The thing with Launch School is once you are done, you will realize just how fundamentally necessary everything is. You will continue to go back to that foundation for everything you do, regardless of what language or program stack you decide to work in or pursue. -
Jeremy
In-Depth Curriculum, Extremely Knowledgeable TAs, Extensive Assessments, and High-Caliber Students
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I'm early on in starting my software development career, as I graduated Launch School's Core Curriculum just a couple weeks ago. I'm busy preparing my portfolio, seeking out open source projects, and expanding my network. That being said, I am already aware of how Launch School has given me the skills to analyze new problems and grasp how different programming pieces fit together.
In my opinion, the best features of Launch School are the in-depth curriculum, extremely knowledgeable TAs, extensive assessments, and high-caliber students. The curriculum is thorough, organized, and carefully scaffolded to build upon each block of knowledge from course to course. Students can get any question about the curriculum answered quickly by TAs. Assessments are thorough and demand precision in all responses. And, because of all of these things, Launch School by and large attracts students who are diligent, serious, disciplined, and incredibly motivated. Every student that I had the pleasure of coding with cared deeply about the work at hand. We all shared a common goal of wanting to master the material.
When initially researching and comparing coding schools, I realized that Launch School sees learning software development as a lifelong journey of mastering a craft, not learning to code in three months in order to land a job. Launch School is honest and transparent with what they offer. Just by taking a look at the website, you can see that there isn't the window dressing that other online coding schools have. Before enrolling with Launch School, I stumbled across a section on their website: "Who our Program is NOT built for". The description is frank about the extensive time investment, difficulty of the courses, and strict philosophy on first principles at the exclusion of the newest, most sought after modern frameworks.
It was clear to me that Launch School wasn't interested in just making a sale to one more customer. The people behind the program believe in the work that they do and the approach that they have. On top of that, they offer a free preparatory course and a dozen free eBooks. And the commitment is only month to month, so I was never locked in longer than I wanted to be.
The curriculum content can be daunting and at times even overwhelming. But rest assured that by taking your time, slowly combing through the material, connecting with other students, and taking advantage of opportunities to ask TAs all of your questions, you can and will get through it all. If I can do it, then so can you. -
Melissa M.
An Incredible Community for Web Development Education
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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.
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Tiffany Han
Capstone Exceeded My Expectations
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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.
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Daniel Roth
More than a bootcamp
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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.
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Ying Chyi Gooi
Landed a Job at DigitalOcean
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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. -
Josh
Trust The Process, Results Will Follow
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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. -
Steven S
The guaranteed (but slow) path to success
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When gyms advertise "Train here to get lean and jacked within 10 weeks!", most of us roll our eyes and are skeptical. But coding bootcamps do the exact same thing and people bite.
LaunchSchool is the "boring" coach that tells you to follow a longer path but you'll 100% get into the best shape of your life. And trust me, it works.
If you want to land the best jobs in the tech industry without having to go through a 4 year computer science degree, LaunchSchool will help you do that. I recently landed multiple offers from FANG type companies and I couldn't have done it without LaunchSchool.
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Sean D
Opaque grading policies marred by hidden criteria
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I wanted to give Launch School a high rating. As a developer with 3 years experience, I came into the program to iron out my weak points rather than learn programming from the beginning. But after taking, and not passing Launch School's written assessments multiple times, I've lost confidence that their grading scheme is fair.
The `this` keyword is one of the most complex subjects in vanilla Javascript. I spent several days learning its rules from several sources, including Launch School's materials. I detailed the rules of `this`, ordered by priority, wrote examples to illustrate how `this` is determined in different scenarios, and repeated these explanations for unusual cases including arrow functions. Launch School gives one about 11 minutes per question on the test I took, to give perspective. The grader assigned a 3/5 score and didn't elaborate why points were withheld.
This wasn't a one off. In multiple questions a 3 or 4 out of 5 score was given with no explanation of why. Generally for the whole test, one can lose only 8 to 10 points and still pass, causing one to fail the test (Not Yet in Launch School's terms) if he receives too many 3s and 4s. This is what happened to me.
After the grader marks the test as a Not Yet, Launch School has a policy that you can not ask where you went wrong or whether your new answer that you worked on would pass. This opaque practice leads to scoring less than perfect on the same questions and continuing to not pass.
When I asked the TAs, and Chris Lee, the lead instructor, about this, I was given only vague suggestions to study more, find study groups, and write explanations in a teaching format. The underlying issue of why very detailed explanations of the concepts received not-passing scores was never addressed.
My theory about how Launch School's graders assign points, is that they value their own material highly and look for specific nuances listed there, and nowhere else. So if you study material from other sources (a common practice in programming) and incorporate it into your answers to cement the concept at a deeper level, you will actually be more likely have points removed, because the answer lacked specific phrasing that they look for but never explicitly mention.
If you are reading this and wondering what to do instead, I would suggest either the programs at App Academy or Hack Reactor -- both top rated boot camps -- or simply self study, and implement your knowledge in the form of projects to show off to potential employers.
The Launch School program has potential. But their grading scheme, in my opinion, needs to be revamped to have less hidden criteria and subjectivity in point assignments.Chris Lee of Launch School
Instructor
Apr 30, 2020
I started writing a response and it turned out really long, so I posted it on my Medium account. Please take a look and feel free to reach out if there are any additional questions (hello@launchschool.com).
https://medium.com/launch-school/our-first-non-five-star-review-cad827b1484c -
Florence
The online learning program with best value in the market
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I would say Launch School helped me build my confidence in programming and helped transform me into a software engineer with my non-technical background.
The self-paced course with a very low cost allowed me to learn to code with more flexibility while I also had a job at the time. Yes, it might take you a longer time to finish the core curriculum. If you aim to get a developer job within a very short period in 3 - 4 months, you might be hesitant to join Launch School. However, building a solid programming foundation really helps you to become a real Software Engineer in your career, and it is a key to differentiate yourself with a lot of "coders" in the market. If you are serious to build a career in the software field, and not just getting a job ASAP, you will not regret learning from Launch School.
The instructors and TAs are also very helpful, supportive and they are always active in the learning platform as well as Slack channel, if you get stuck somewhere in the course content or need code review, they are always there for you.
Finally, whether or not you are in LS's Capstone program, the instructors and alumni are willing to help if you need any job assistance. All you need is just to reach out and ask questions in the Slack channel, they are so easy to approach.
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jevon d hayter
A message from the guy who graduated college and couldn't write one line of code!
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I'm going to get to the point. Did Launch School prepare me for a job in the industry? At my job as a Systems Analyst we use a reporting tool to make query's to our database. After taking the database course and learning SQL at Launch School I know everything the tool is doing and why. The basic principles of programming that I learned at Launch School have been priceless. We code in a proprietary language for a enterprise application. I have been able to read the code of the coders before me and figure out how to make changes without having training in this language yet. I would say reading code from my classmates at Launch School was a good idea. I guess that's why my instructors at Launch School told me to do it. I am in a room with the Server team, System Admins and a Web Developer. I not only understand the problems they face and discuss but can offer assistance and ideas. So Launch School teaches you more than just how to code in Ruby or JavaScript. It truly prepares you to be an asset on day one of a real job in the industry. I refer young adults to Launch School every time I get the chance, It's life changing! ~ Jevon D. Hayter Systems Analyst, HTC Global Services -
Tommy Caruso
Slow path with a big payoff
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I was starting my final year of a CS degree and I had been diligently learning to code outside of school for the past year. I would work through a new tutorial or follow along with the code examples in the latest book that I bought and feel pretty good about what I thought I knew. Unfortunately, when I would open a new text editor and try to create a new project from scratch I would just sit there frozen. I just could not get to a point where I could apply what I was learning in a meaningful way. On top of that, I was getting distracted by all the new/latest languages/frameworks/libraries that were popping up every day. I was trying to learn everything at once and I really did not have any idea what was relevant. I needed to be job ready when I graduated from college. I was considering attending a bootcamp after I finished school. This was not a very desirable option for me. I have a family and going away for a few months would have been hard, not to mention the financial burden would have been hard to bear. In my search for bootcamps I came across Launch School. I had not considered an online school up to this point, but reading through the materials about what they were offering really piqued my attention. It was clear (from their literature) that it was going to be a long and slow path to success. You were not going to jump right into a Rails project; you would start at the beginning learning the foundations of Ruby. Here is where I almost moved on. I felt like I knew the basics and I was ready for something more substantial. I ended up deciding to "try" Launch School for a month or two. I convinced my wife that I could do both college and Launch School concurrently and that If it worked out I would be job ready about the time I graduated. Plus, I thought that I would just breeze through Ruby fundamentals and be working in Rails in no time. As an aside, I spent 20 years in the US Military. Going to college full-time, taking care of my family and working through Launch School ranks high in my list of hardest things I have done. Within the first couple of days of starting Launch School I realized what I really did not know. College taught me a lot of valuable theory and learning on my own allowed me to learn the basic syntax of the language, but I really did not truly grasp what it meant to be a software engineer until Launch School started to teach me to decompose the Ruby programming language. Within a couple of weeks I was starting to program with purpose. I realized that previously, I was getting lucky a lot. I was surprised that I made anything work before without understanding concepts like variable scoping rules, pass by reference vs. pass by value and mutation of the caller. The best part was that although the language we are using was Ruby, I knew now how to decompose a programming language. I even attribute some of my success in school, where I was using Java and Python, to these skills and first principals. Launch School also placed an emphasis on being exact in how you talk about code as well as problem solving, both of which were instrumental in me landing my first developer job. My first job was not as a Ruby on Rails developer or even Ruby. I was primarily using Node and React and they were transitioning towards Elixir. The training I received at Launch School gave me a common ground when it came to talking about code with my potential employer. Being exact and explicit gave us a shared understanding of the problems we were discussing. My ability to quickly discuss how I would set about learning a new language or framework quickly set their minds at ease about hiring someone with little experience in the stack they were using. The biggest take away that I got from Launch School was confidence. I solve software engineering problems for a living and every day I reach back to the patterns that I learned here and still marvel at how relevant they are and how neatly they fit. As I continue to learn, I focus a majority of my attention on the things that don't change. When something is hard, I lean into it instead of backing away.
