When you’re close to committing to a career change and are seeking to find the coding bootcamp that best fits your needs, one of the key questions you should ask is, “How successful are the school’s alumni at getting jobs following graduation?”
A good way to find the answers you’re searching for is by looking at a school’s outcomes report. After all, student success is a reliable metric to help you determine whether or not the school delivers on its promises.
Launch Academy does not shy away from making its outcomes report public. This Boston-based software engineering bootcamp believes that its “unsustainable-by-design” approach to an immersive coding education prepares graduates to benefit from the rewards of their hard work—and it shows.
Launch Academy’s 14-week full stack bootcamps expose learners to key tools in development before diving into career prep and post-grad support.
Schedule an info call today.Launch Academy’s Commitment to Outcomes Transparency
It’s one thing to claim to have great student outcomes and it’s another to back it up with concrete, easily understandable, and consistent data reporting. Launch Academy’s active participation in the Council on Integrity and Results Reporting (CIRR) showcases its dedication to transparency.
CIRR is a coalition of 18 coding bootcamps that are committed to publishing standardized graduation and job placement data to demonstrate transparency and accountability of student outcomes. Deepening its commitment to transparency of student outcomes, Launch Academy’s Co-Founder Dan Pickett volunteers time to serve CIRR as a board member.
“CIRR standards are transparent. We’ve fixed the problem of schools manipulating or hiding their outcome data by requiring that for CIRR members, the outcomes of every enrolled student must be reported in a single, simple, clear report,” the non-profit group said.
Each outcomes report aims to answer the following:
- How many students graduated on time?
- How many students accepted a full-time job in the field for which they trained within six months?
- How many students secured part-time jobs?
- Did the school itself hire any of its own graduates?
- How many students’ jobs are in fields outside of what they studied for?
- What are the salaries of grads who started jobs in their field of study?
Knowing the answers to these questions gives you, the prospective student, the power to make an informed decision based on clear and honest reporting.
By agreeing to adhere to specific student outcome calculations, CIRR schools ensure students can make an apples-to-apples comparison when they are making the important decision of where they should go to learn to code. Clear and concise reporting criteria and outcome formulas also provide for outcome data transparency and decrease student’s risk of misunderstanding the success factors graduates have experienced in the past.
A Breakdown of Launch Academy Outcomes*
*see Launch Academy’s cirr.org reports for most recent information
Launch Academy is a software development bootcamp offering a full stack curriculum that is divided into three phases to ensure the optimal roadmap for students to learn to code.
- Ignition. A part-time, eight-week virtual phase
- The Immersive. A full-time, 10-week in-person phase; and
- Post Grad Support. Demo day style pitches to hiring companies, job support, advanced curriculum, and lifetime access to alumni support that include providing placement services and free curriculum upgrades every 90 days so graduates can continue learning on the job and gain promotions
The curriculum is designed to be “unsustainable”, which means students are required to work harder in the course than they would in a real-world software development position. Launch Academy’s pedagogical philosophy around this mindset ensures that students have “the skills, work ethic, and drive necessary” to excel in their careers.
So, does this formula translate into success?
Figures from Launch Academy’s H2 2019 Outcomes Report proves the approach. Based on the H2 2019 CIRR-approved report, 100% of graduates found employment in the coding field within 180 days of graduation.
Other key takeaways include:
- 83% are employed in a full-time position
- 12% are full-time apprentices or on contract
- 4% are part-time or short-term contract workers
- Graduates earn a median salary of $72,000
While Launch Academy alumni have gone on to explore a variety of careers in tech, the most frequent job titles for graduates include:
- Junior Software Engineer/Automation
- Front End JavaScript Developer
- Junior Full Stack Software Engineer; and
- Front End Web Developer
Launch Academy Is a Marathon, Not a Sprint
You’ve seen the results that Launch Academy produces, but how can you become a part of the Launch Academy success story?
Alum Ross Hurlock is just one of a thousand Launch Academy alumni. Previously a research assistant and a manager at a comedy club, Ross now has a full-time role at Six River Systems—a major career shift made possible by the skills he picked up at Launch Academy.
Coming from a non-technical background, Ross found that the structure of the curriculum, which includes pre-work upon enrollment and prior to the program, is an excellent way to be introduced to coding.
“It exposed us to new tools slowly while steadily increasing the difficulty. I felt completely prepared for the 10-week course,” he said. The unique-phased approach also provides students with the ability to decrease the risk that comes along with committing to a coding bootcamp.
Ross said the program isn’t to be taken lightly, calling it “rigorous but fair”. He also believes that Launch Academy’s program works the way that college should have always been. “Instead of focusing on GPA, everyone is focused on learning the material and collaborating,” he added. This coincides with Launch Academy’s “learn by doing” approach to education.
Ross admitted that the program has a more intense workload than his current job and it requires a significant time commitment. “But it’s a bootcamp. [Phase 2 is] not designed to be sustainable for longer than 10 weeks,” he said. And that intensity is exactly what prepares students for the workforce afterward.
Aside from its rigorous approach to software engineering training, Launch Academy’s program also comes with built-in career services. These include career coaching, intense technical interview prep, a comprehensive approach to personal digital asset production including Github and LinkedIn profiles, cover letter and resume creation, and more.
The Career Services team helps prepare students prior to interviews by walking them through interview formats. The engineering team will even provide free advanced skill training if it will help prepare students to succeed during interviews.
“They were my main support network immediately after Launch Academy while I was looking for work,” Ross said, adding that the school’s Career Services team also helped him to review and negotiate contracts and job offers.
Just like a marathon, staying consistent and putting in the hard work at Launch Academy paid off for Ross.
Leveling Up After Graduation
Launch Academy likes to say that “the alumni relationship really begins after graduation.” That’s because the bootcamp is in it for the long haul with its students. It wants to see students prosper through the growth stage of their career, not just during their first job out of the bootcamp.
What exactly does it mean to be a Lifetime Alumni of Launch Academy?
Firstly, it means you have lifetime access to curriculum updates. Launch Academy updates its curriculum every 90 days based on feedback from hiring managers. This pertains to the in-demand skills they seek in people they plan to hire over the next 60 to 90 days onto their software engineering teams.
An updated curriculum is released quarterly and all alumni have access to it, dating all the way back to 2013. This means that you can continue to upskill and level up on new technologies and languages for free while you gain more experience working in tech.
Lifetime alumni also have free access to the Launch Academy office space after 2pm, from Monday to Friday, to work on solo projects or collaborate with others. This shared space means you also get the chance to engage with 1,000 fellow graduates, allowing you to continue to build your local network within the developer community.
Ross’s involvement with Launch Academy and his subsequent success has a lot to do with the alumni community. He came to the program because of a recommendation by a co-worker and after graduating, another alum became the reference that landed him his current role.
Finally, you have lifetime access to Launch Academy’s job assistance for when you’re ready to move to your next job, ask for a promotion, or continue to level up in your career. The bootcamp’s dedicated Career Services team will be ready to provide you with the key resources you need to make that transition happen, at no additional cost.
Again, it’s a marathon, not a sprint with Launch Academy.
An Easy Answer to a Complicated Question
Looking for a bootcamp can feel like a daunting task. But, it doesn’t have to be. As Ross said, “Launch Academy is a place where good, smart people work. I will always look for advice from good, smart people.”
If you’re ready to work hard with people like Ross and other like-minded talents, apply to Launch Academy’s next cohort on their website.
Interested in learning more but not yet ready to apply? Schedule an Info Call with one of its co-founders here.
About us: Career Karma is a platform designed to help job seekers find, research, and connect with job training programs to advance their careers. Learn about the CK publication.
