Online software engineering bootcamp, live cohorts, real instructors who answer in under twenty minutes. Job within six months or get your tuition back. We've sent 1,847 people into engineering roles since 2018.
Spring cohort · live online · Mon — Thu evenings
4-min sample · Week 8 · React state
Five phases, transparent before you apply. Hover for detail.
"I'd tried two other bootcamps and a CS minor. Switchback is the only one where I felt like the instructors actually wanted me to learn."
*Conditions apply — see terms. Honored on 94% of refund requests since 2018.
All currently employed at FAANG-tier companies. Average 8.4 yrs exp.
Every student gets 90 minutes/week of 1-on-1 mentor time with a senior engineer in their target track.
§ Curriculum · 16 weeks · 5 phases
No "learn to code in a weekend" nonsense. Just a curriculum we've refined over 23 cohorts, taught by people who do this work for a living.
JavaScript proper, including the parts most courses skip. CS basics for non-CS people. Git. The command line.
React from first principles. Hooks. Routing. State. Testing. Building real interfaces. The thing your portfolio will be made of.
Node, Postgres, REST, GraphQL. Authentication you'd actually trust. Deployment that doesn't fall over. SQL until it feels natural.
A solo full-stack project, scoped by you, built in three weeks. Code review with your mentor twice a week. Ships to production.
Resume. LinkedIn. Mock interviews twice a day. Salary negotiation workshop. Continues for six months after you graduate, free.
% of students placed in engineering roles within 6 months
$38k above pre-bootcamp median income across the same cohort.
Across 23 cohorts. Currently employed: 96%. Still hunting: 4%.
§ Student stories · 23 cohorts
Three among 1,847 — the most common path through Switchback is from a non-tech career to a junior engineering role. We're proud of every one.
Was: Middle-school teacher · 12 yrs
Now: SWE @ Shopify · since '24
"I taught 8th-grade math for twelve years. I left because the only people I learned from there were the kids. Switchback was the opposite — I learned every day, and they kept up."
Was: Restaurant manager · 9 yrs
Now: Senior SWE @ HubSpot · since '21
"I ran a restaurant. I was 34 and broke. Switchback got me my first eng job in 4 months at $84k. I'm now a senior making 2.4× that, and still in touch with my cohort weekly."
Was: Veterinary tech · 6 yrs
Now: Frontend @ Stripe · since '25
"I came in terrified of math. By week 6 I'd built something I was proud of. By week 16 I had four offers. Whatever you think about your math brain, Switchback proves you wrong."
§ The honest answers
No. Roughly 70% of our students have written zero code before applying. We do have a 15-hour free pre-work module that we ask all admitted students to complete before day one — it covers the absolute basics so the first day of class isn't a wall.
If you complete the program in good standing (≥85% attendance, capstone shipped, ≥40 applications submitted in weeks 15–24), and you don't have an engineering job offer of at least $60k within six months of graduation, we refund your full tuition. We've honored this on 94% of refund requests since 2018. The other 6% didn't meet the good-standing threshold — usually attendance.
Most people can't, honestly. The program runs Mon–Thu evenings 6–9pm ET live, but there's another 12–15 hours per week of solo work expected. Students who try to work 40+ hours a week tend to either fall behind or burn out. If you can drop to part-time, we strongly recommend it.
JavaScript and TypeScript, primarily. Frontend: React, Tailwind. Backend: Node, Express, Postgres, Prisma. Plus the supporting cast: Git, the command line, CI/CD basics, and enough cloud (Vercel + Render) to ship real apps. We don't teach Python, Java, or Ruby — those are great, but we'd rather teach one stack well than four poorly.
No, and no. Switchback isn't a degree-granting institution. What you get is a portfolio, a network, and a skill set — and 94% of our 2024 grads will tell you that's what employers actually hired them on. If you need a degree for visa reasons, we can connect you with a Master's program partner that grants credit for our coursework.
The application takes about 35 minutes. Includes a short coding exercise, a written essay, and a 20-minute call with our admissions team. No fees, no commitment.