S5E14: Student Spotlight - The Ups and Downs of the Core Curriculum with Patrick

About this episode

Brandi chats with student Patrick about his journey through the core curriculum, discussing challenges and the importance of flexibility in learning.

In this episode, Brandi chats with current student Patrick about his journey thus far through the core curriculum. They discuss what it's like coming from a background of feeling completely incompetent with a computer to gaining the confidence to lead SPOT sessions and encourage other students to do the same. Patrick also shares some of the more difficult hurdles he's faced. His initial plan and schedule for moving through the core curriculum were too rigorous, resulting in burnout and ultimately a false start where he paused his subscription while adjusting his expectations. After successfully restarting, as with many students, life happens and he must pause his subscription again. While most students hope for a very linear journey through Launch School, it's not always possible and this episode gives great insight into being flexible and allowing yourself the grace to take breaks. We hope you enjoy the episode and also have a rest when you need it!

People in this episode

Guest: Patrick

Topics covered

• core curriculum
• student experience
• burnout
• flexibility in learning

Keywords

• confidence
• SPOT sessions
• false start
• adjusting expectations

More episodes of Launch School Podcast

• 2024 Capstone Salary Data Insights with Chris · January 9, 2026 · 1h 8m
• Capstone 2026 Updates: Adapting to a Changing Market · August 18, 2025 · 1h 3m
• Major Curriculum Updates with Chris · April 26, 2025 · 1h 2m
• S5E16: Student Spotlight - Battling Self-Doubt, A Student Transformation with Sherece · June 10, 2024 · 37 min
• S5E15: Daniel Nalesnik - Founder of HackChinese and Core Graduate · May 27, 2024 · 1h 21m
• S5E13: Setting Students up for Success - Smooth Start Program with Karis · April 29, 2024 · 56 min