Launch School

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

During the interview process, I found myself needing to quickly grasp Python—a programming language not covered in Launch School's curriculum. To my surprise, within just a few days, I successfully passed a take-home test and a live coding interview. I attribute this achievement to the strong foundation I established through Launch School's mastery-based learning approach in the Core curriculum and the Just-In-Time learning approach in the Capstone program.



The emphasis on fundamentals not only provided me with a deep understanding but also instilled a problem-solving mindset. The Just-In-Time learning model employed during the Capstone program was a game-changer. It not only refined my existing skills but also offered the knowledge needed to tackle new challenges effectively. With this foundation, I approached the addition of new skills with confidence, knowing that I had a solid framework to relate and build upon.



I am immensely grateful for the comprehensive and practical education that has not only helped me secure a great job in tech but has also paved the way for the beginning of my career.

I 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. 

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

Launch School helped me switch careers and changed my life! After spending 1 year and 7 months going through the Core and Capstone program, I am now making more than 3 times my previous salary while working completely from home with tons of flexibility.
I felt lost. I was about to turn 40 years old, and I was not fully satisfied with my current job, but I had no idea what else I could do for work. A friend of mine pointed me in Launch School’s direction, and I immediately recognized what a special opportunity it was.
Here are some of the things that I found really set Launch School apart from many of the other options out there:

1. They provide a free trial portion of their program
2. The Core curriculum is self-paced and can fit around your schedule
3. You can leave any time if it's not a good fit (there's no entrapment)
4. They are transparent about how long the program will take (1200-1800 hours)
5. They are upfront about how rigorous and demanding the program is
6. They focus on helping you develop the skills that will allow you to excel in this field
7. 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!

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.