The Proof is in the Results

The average starting salary for Capstone graduates based in the United States for 2021 was:

124,628

/YR

Average Base Salary

Latest Capstone Salary Overview (US 2021)

US Average Base Salary

$124,628USD

Duration to Offer

7WEEKS

Work Remote

75%

Our results page was designed to be more transparent about our Capstone Results. For an in depth explanation about why we chose to represent the figures below please read this blog post.

Launch School Capstone Results

All numbers on this page are for full-time Software Engineering roles. There are no "consultants", "evangelists", "entrepreneurs", "sales engineers", etc. Numbers reflect the accepted base salary only and do not include other compensation, such as signing bonus, annual bonus, raises, stock units, stock options, etc.

2021

Capstone Placement Numbers

Entered
Capstone

Graduated
From Capstone

Accepted
Job Offers

Placement Results 180 days after Graduation

1.4% (1) Not seeking in-field employment*
1.4% (1) Currently seeking job in-field**
1.4% (1) Accepted offer after 180 days

† Calculated from number who received offer within 180 days (68) divided by number who entered Capstone (71)

Graduation Results

100% of accepted offers reported salaries (69)
100% graduated did so on time (70)
Software Engineer is the most frequent graduate job title

United States Capstone Salary Highlight

Total US
Graduates

weeks to
offer

% work
remote

$121,000

USD Median
Base Salary

$124,628

USD Mean
Base Salary

United States Salaries Breakdown by Salary Range

Under $100K

1.7% (1)

$100K - $119K

33.9% (20)

$120K - $139K

39.0% (23)

$140K and Over

25.4% (15)

United States Graduate Salary Information & Gender Ratios***

Female Graduates

5.3 weeks

87%

$125,000 USD

$125,727 USD

Male Graduates

7.6 weeks

70%

$120,500 USD

$124,254 USD

Capstone Cohort Information (including Non-US Countries)

2021 Totals

71 students total
70 graduated*
69 accepted job offers**

Spring Cohort

24 students enrolled
24 graduated
24 accepted job offers

Summer Cohort

23 students enrolled
23 graduated
23 accepted job offers

Fall Cohort

24 students enrolled
23 graduated*
22 accepted job offers**

Additional Capstone Information

9 Canadian and UK Graduates with an average of $95,315 USD base salary and 8.3 weeks duration to offer
17% (12) enrolled outside of US

* 1 student made the decision to leave Capstone in the first week of the job hunting process

** 1 student is on a delayed schedule and is currently interviewing; we expect to reach 70/70 job placement after they accept

*** No students in this cohort identified themselves as non-binary

2020

Capstone Placement Numbers

Entered
Capstone

Graduated
From Capstone

Accepted
Job Offers

Placement Results 180 days after Graduation

† Calculated from number who received offer within 180 days (34) divided by number who entered Capstone (34)

Graduation Results

100% of accepted offers reported salaries (34)**
100% graduated did so on time (33)*
All offers accepted within 180 days from start of job hunt

See

Less

United States Capstone Salary Highlight

Total US
Graduates

9.1

weeks to
offer

% work
remote

$120,000

USD Median
Base Salary

$118,408

USD Mean
Base Salary

United States Salaries Breakdown by Salary Range

Under $100K

12.5% (3)

$100K - $119K

33.3% (8)

$120K - $139K

33.3% (8)

$140K and Over

20.8% (5)

Capstone Cohort Information (including Non-US Countries)

2020 Totals

34 students total
33 graduated*
34 accepted job offers**

Spring Cohort

11 students enrolled
11 graduated
11 accepted job offers

Summer Cohort

9 students enrolled
8 graduated*
9 accepted job offers**

Fall Cohort

14 students enrolled
14 graduated
14 accepted job offers

Additional Capstone Information

8 UK and Canadian graduates
$87,678 USD average base salary (UK and Canada)
7 weeks average duration to accepted offer (UK and Canada)
26% (9) enrolled were outside of US
Enrollment breakdown: US (25), Canada (6), UK (2), Australia (1)

* The 1 person who wasn't able to graduate worked with Launch School staff separately and then participated in the subsequent cohort's job hunt and landed a six figure job.

** One US-based graduate took a 100% equity role at a startup. Their salary was omitted since it's $0. This is the only time it's ever happened in Capstone.

2019

Capstone Placement Numbers

Entered
Capstone

Graduated
From Capstone

Accepted
Job Offers

Placement Results 180 days after Graduation

† Calculated from number who received offer within 180 days (18) divided by number who entered Capstone (18)

Graduation Results

100% of accepted offers reported salaries (18)
100% graduated did so on time (18)
All offers accepted within 180 days from start of job hunt

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United States Capstone Salary Highlight

Total US
Graduates

weeks to
offer

% work
remote

$115,000

USD Median
Base Salary

$115,339

USD Mean
Base Salary

United States Salaries Breakdown by Salary Range

Under $100K

21.4% (3)

$100K - $119K

35.7% (5)

$120K - $139K

28.6% (4)

$140K and Over

14.3% (2)

Capstone Cohort Information (including Non-US Countries)

2019 Totals

18 students total
18 graduated
18 accepted job offers

Spring Cohort

6 students enrolled
6 graduated
6 accepted job offers

Summer Cohort

6 students enrolled
6 graduated
6 accepted job offers

Fall Cohort

6 students enrolled
6 graduated
6 accepted job offers

Additional Capstone Information

3 UK and Canadian graduates
$64,811 USD average base salary (UK and Canada)
3 weeks average duration to accepted offer (UK and Canada)
22% (4) enrolled were outside of US
Enrollment breakdown: US (14), Canada (2), UK (1), India (1)

2018

Capstone Placement Numbers

Entered
Capstone

Graduated
From Capstone

Accepted
Job Offers

Placement Results 180 days after Graduation

9.6% (2) Were not able to complete Capstone due to personal reasons**

† Calculated from number who received offer within 180 days (19) divided by number who entered Capstone (21)

Graduation Results

100% of accepted offers reported salaries (19)
100% graduated did so on time (19)

See

Less

United States Capstone Salary Highlight

Total US
Graduates

weeks to
offer

% work
remote

$125,000

USD Median
Base Salary

$122,316

USD Mean
Base Salary

United States Salaries Breakdown by Salary Range

Under $100K

5.9% (1)

$100K - $119K

17.7% (3)

$120K - $139K

70.6% (12)

$140K and Over

5.9% (1)

Capstone Cohort Information (including Non-US Countries)

2018 Totals

21 students total
19 graduated*
19 accepted job offers**

Spring Cohort

6 students enrolled
5 graduated
5 accepted job offers

Summer Cohort

6 students enrolled
6 graduated
6 accepted job offers

Fall Cohort

9 students enrolled
8 graduated
8 accepted job offers

Additional Capstone Information

2 Canadian graduates
$71,700 USD average duration to accepted offer (Canada)
3.5 weeks average duration to accepted offer (Canada)
14% (3) enrolled were outside of US
Enrollment breakdown: US (18), Canada (2), Asia (1)

* 1 US-based enrollee left for personal reasons. They enrolled in a subsequent Capstone cohort and accepted a six figure offer.

** 1 non-US based enrollee left for personal reasons and didn't return to Capstone.

Launching a Career

The Capstone Program is our "finishing program" at Launch School. The goal of Capstone and Launch School is to launch a rewarding career, not just land a job. Showing these salary numbers is our way of quantifying the quality of jobs for which our graduates are competing - and getting. Read more about the Capstone Program and see the outstanding Capstone Projects produced by our graduates.

Success Stories

These are students who have completed the entire Launch School curriculum, from the Core Curriculum through Capstone. The entire process typically lasts from 1-2+ years. Read their stories to get a feel for their journey and transformation.

"Completing Launch School's Core Curriculum and Capstone program was one of the best decisions I've made in my life."



Stephanie Cunnane

"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."



Adam Peterson

"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."



Austin Miller

"I'm 100% certain that absent Launch School I never would have gotten from there to here. Meaning a zombie GitHub account and no real knowledge or skill to a well-compensated engineer at exactly the type of company that an engineer wants to be at."



Ryan Schaul

"Launch School is incredible. It's hard to overstate how effective it is at preparing you for a professional career as a software engineer."



Will Lotherington

"I ended up accepting an offer in just under 6 weeks for a position I am overjoyed with making a previously unbelievable-to-me salary and having technical conversations daily that would've sounded like gibberish to me a year ago. I will never stop talking about LS to anyone who will listen!!"



Sheila Babadi

"I unfortunately found the options for my specific field of study limited so I've spent the past 15 years of my professional life in a series of stable but largely unfulfilling jobs. Because of Launch School I am now in a field that truly interests me and I'm on an income trajectory that will allow me to give back. provide a stable base for my family and accomplish many of the things that make life enjoyable to me."



Armando Mota

"I had never seen a line of code in my life before Launch School but the job I got out of the process came with an outrageously high salary (especially for Arizona) and I got the job in under two months after hitting the job market. Capstone was key to get the results I got but I think Core was where the magic happened."



Juan Palma

"I decided to enroll in Capstone because I wanted to take on a larger engineering project. 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."



Dorey Miller

"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."



Ben Zelinski

"Finding Launch School has been life changing. I got an amazing six-figure job offer that was above and beyond what I ever dreamed was possible."



Cody Stair

"In my job hunt which lasted exactly two weeks there was never an interview that I walked into where I wasn't confident. This confidence and drive instilled in me by Launch School allowed me to go to multiple interviews succeed in various interview formats and join a company that I love as a senior engineer."



Gabriel De Almeida

"Capstone has helped me secure and perform strongly on a Level 2 Software Engineer role with no prior experience."



Kelvin Wong

"I can't speak highly enough of the support of both the staff and student community fostered at Launch School. 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."



Melissa Manousos

"Even after accepting a lead instructor position with a notable bootcamp I was unsatisfied with my career trajectory. It was only once I joined Capstone that I saw the true power of "just-in-time" learning. I refined my understanding of higher level concepts designed and built an amazing project with a distributed team and landed an engineering role with a world-class organization led by a legendary tech entrepreneur."



Derick Gross

"I had a mountain of student loan debt that I'd taken on to get an undergraduate and then graduate degree and knew I'd never be able to pay off. I completed the core curriculum and joined Capstone which then got me a six-figure salary as a Software Engineer within 4 weeks of starting the job hunt."



Wendy Kuhn

"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."



William Mills

"I had been working for ten years in a different industry and was ready for a career change. I was at the point where I needed something beyond self-study to prepare me for a career as a developer. Luckily I found Launch School."



Jason Overby

"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. My first full time tech job far exceeded my expectations in terms of salary and seniority level."



Daniel Rote

"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."



Jacob Coker-Dukowitz

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



Sienna Wood

"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."



Nick Miller

"I eventually landed an offer with DigitialOcean - which is beyond my imagination!"



Ying Chyi Gooi

"Anyone who aspires to push themselves to be the best that they can be should consider Capstone. Capstone really is a fantastic career-launching step."



Josh Nelson

"The core curriculum provides a solid platform and jumping off point to go learn almost anything you could want to in programming"



Max Appleton

"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."



Tannr Allard

"I never thought I'd be making 6 figures in my twenties but I just landed my number 1 choice company and in a mid-level Software Engineering role just two weeks after completing Capstone."



Steven Shen

"And the end result? I've landed my dream job at DigitalOcean as a Software Engineer II for the Network Services team skipping an entry level role and working on projects & technologies that I thought out of my reach just 2 years ago. And more than doubling my salary from my previous job!"



Julius Zerwick

"Your ultimate goal should be to get one of the top jobs out there. And trust me the Launch School team and their curriculum are more than capable of helping you to achieve that."



Konstantin Minevskiy

"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."



Tiffany Han

"Within 10 weeks of my first application I had accepted a large salary and a small bonus at a company whose mission I was genuinely excited about."



Elise Olivares

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



Sunny Beatteay

"I often thought about making a career change into software development but it wasn't until I found Launch School that I felt confident that I could make that ambition a reality."



Walid Wahed

"Had it not been for Launch School and Capstone I would still be working a dead-end job with no real ambitions. Now that I am on the hiring side I would not hesitate to hire Capstone graduates from Launch School especially from personal experience that Capstone is the real deal."



Timmy Lee

"Capstone - If I could sum it up in one phrase it'd be this: you will blow yourself away. Your foundational investment will payoff as you build something truly awesome."



Lukas Nimmo

"I was able to join a company in a new domain with a new tech stack because Launch School doesn't focus on the hot topic of the day but the more important underlying ideas and concepts."



Michael Mentele

"I can say with confidence that there is simply no better way to launch a career in software engineering than with Launch School."



Tyler Guillen

"Thanks to Launch School's guidance philosophy curriculum and Capstone Program I am now a Software Engineer working a job in NYC and earning well over $100k/year."



Antoine LeClercq

"I have not once regretted my decision to join Launch School and its Capstone program."



Vincent DeVendra

"The fact of the matter is that I simply would not have been provided the top quality job opportunity that I ultimately accepted if it wasn't for the process that we followed and the mentoring that we were given."



Perry Carbone

"After completing the curriculum I now find myself able to dive into open-source code even in languages that weren't on the curriculum. The level of focused methodical thinking required to make it through Launch School makes learning code bases and languages just a matter of setting aside a couple weeks' time."



Nicholas Pizzigati

"Within just one year of part-time study I went from "I have no idea what I'm doing" to "with enough time I can build anything with code". That confidence boost alone is enough evidence for me to say that Launch School's learning model is by far the best I have ever experienced."



Caleb Smith

"I landed a 6 figure job which was much more than I expected. Prior to accepting the offer I was telling recruiters/employers I was looking for $75-80k/yr. After a couple of weeks of interviewing I was turning down offers at that dollar amount. During my interviews I was complimented several times on my Problem Solving abilities using the techniques provided by Launch School. The coding challenges were actually much easier than the problem sets Launch School provides."



Steven Alston

"After completing the back-end curriculum I applied to one dream job and I got it!"



Liz Fedak

"Though I was skeptical at first trusting the process and basing my knowledge on problem-solving and fundamental skills has paid dividends. The problem-solving skills I picked up while attending Launch School have made me not only a more competent web developer but also a more competent person."



Gino Bonanno

"The thing with Launch School is once you are done you will realize just how fundamentally necessary everything is. Suffice to say I have finished the core curriculum and was promoted to a DevOps engineer at my current company."



Josh Crane

"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."



Jeremy Stryer

"If you cannot do Capstone for whatever reasons let me assure you that the Core Curriculum is more than enough to prepare you for a successful entry into the software engineering world."



Markus Unger

"This could be the program for you if you're looking for something that's more on the hardcore end of the spectrum."



Ryan Gilbert

"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."



Tommy Caruso

"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."



Alex Henegar

"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."



Sonia Lin

"Launch School has given me the belief that I can accomplish anything that I put my mind to; perhaps the most valuable lesson of all."



Adrian Carroll

"I've gained the attitude of constantly looking for better ways to do things understanding my tools more deeply and working to become a better developer."



Conrad Beach

"It is clear that the Launch School team really cares about offering the best program they can."



Kristen Wilde

"I even believe I've learned how to learn better and I've become a better problem-solver in general throughout the coursework."



Patrick Brennan

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



Steve Kolock

"There was never a moment when I felt as though I was glossing over a key detail and that aspect of the program gave me the confidence to tackle increasingly difficult problems as the months went by."



Chris Theodoridis

"It was the best investment of my time that I made. Even better than going to university!"



Cristian Rennella

"Launch School has already given me not only the ability to create full stack web applications from scratch - it's also given me the confidence to get a new job writing code and solving problems."



Alex Dzwonchyk

"Launch School gave me all of the core tools I needed to start building meaningful useful software applications."



Charlie Reese

"Launch School truly prepares you to be an asset on day one of a real job in the industry."



Jevon Hayter

"Launch School doesn't just teach you the fundamentals of programming and web development but it also gives you the tools and context to learn anything you want to learn on your own."



Hsuancheng Chen

"I'd like to share my experience with new Launch Schoolers don't doubt trust Launch School follow the syllabus make your efforts your decision is 100% correct."



Jamie Wen

"I've been working as a Rails developer for almost 2 years now. It's quite likely that I wouldn't have made it if I hadn't chosen Launch School."



Roy Huang

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



Letladi Sebesho

"Taking this program is one of the best decisions that I have ever made."



Yufei Chen

"I landed what I consider being the perfect junior ruby developer job before even finishing the program."



David Besserman

"In the end I landed a great job after I completed my study at Launch School."



Peter Karth

"In the end I truly believe that Launch School changed my life."



Daniel Schonfeld

"Signing up for Launch School was a life-defining moment for me."



Liam Brady

"I still can't believe that I went from a job that was basically shuffling papers to a job that lets me build an app for Olympic games."



Toni Cesarek

"Bottom line complete this program and you will have all the skills you need to land a job or build your own products."



Jeffrey Knox

"After only 3 weeks of finishing the program I was working full time as a Jr Developer in an amazing company in downtown Toronto."



Eduardo Poleo

"This is the course to go for to get a concrete foundation on programming."



Sheng Yeong

"It's probably the best investment (time and money) I did for myself in a long time."



Arjun Rajkumar

"This program is by far the most advanced cost effective way of learning how to be a real programmer and get paid like one."



Gus Pares

"I highly recommend Launch School's program for anyone who wants to learn how to code and land a job as a software engineer."



Robert Jewell

"The ones that I had on my short list were Bloc.io Thinkful General Assembly and Launch School. I chose Launch School because it was the only one that was forcused on building students a robust foundation and because its model allowed me to work through the courses at my own pace."



Dito Hartoto

"If you are considering doing a bootcamp or any sort of online course to become a web developer you have found the one - Launch School."



Yvette Gonzalez

"The true value of this course is actually learning how to think like a developer how to approach your problems and how to seek out the answers."



Patrick Ng

"If you're really considering becoming a Web developer from scratch this is the right place for you."



Roy Zinn

"I highly recommend Launch School for beginners to web development or programming in general."



Anthony Licari

"In just 2 months after completing the last course and submersing myself into the local Rails community I got an offer as a Rails developer from a Fortune 100 company."



Robin Paul