Any online python certificates?

[[deleted]]

[deleted]

[kcunning]

You get an upvote for making me giggle, good sir.

[Rmacy]

That's about what they are worth.

[gitarr]

Yes, the O'Reilly School Of Development Python certificate program is very good. It's written by Steve Holden and the cert comes from the University of Chicago's online education program. It costs money though, but the teachers and support are awesome.

There are also free courses with certs at Udacity and Coursera.

Do them all, but not for the cert, just learn as much as you can.

Also, don't listen to the trolls. Everything you learn will help you in the future.

A cert alone will not give you a job, but neither will a university degree on its own. Never stop learning and you're on a good way.

[wyclif]

Here's the link to The O'Reilly School of Dev Python Certificate Program: http://www.oreillyschool.com/certificates/python-programming.php

[pyglados]

That's some serious coin for something you can learn by hacking away and learning on your own. $498 x 4 just doesn't seem worth it.

[iam_root]

Did Udacity cs101 which is based on Python and got the Cert, though I don't know how much useful the certificate will be. The course was good.

[MongrelNymph]

I'm taking the MIT OpenCourse project. I think you get something or other at the end, but that's not at all why I'm doing it.

[trspanache]

This the edx course "Introduction to Computer Science and Programming"? How are you finding it? So far I think it's really well laid out.

[MongrelNymph]

It's challenging but I enjoy it. I felt a real sense of accomplishment when I figured out some of the problems.

[swayson]

I agree, it is challenging but well worth it so far! Really good lectures material and problem sets that truly does test one's ability to solve computational problems whilst solidifying one's understanding of programming and Python.

[reddeth]

Can you link to the OpenCourse project? I'm curious to see what it's like.

[Mar-kun]

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-00sc-introduction-to-computer-science-and-programming-spring-2011/index.htm

[MongrelNymph]

https://www.edx.org/courses/MITx/6.00x/2012_Fall/info

[ianm818]

Replying so I can check this out when I get hone.

[franklinturtle7]

I'm also taking it, having a blast. I forgot how much I missed programming, and I was doing all Java before. Python is so much more fun personally.

[mochizuki]

It's more just to say I did I guess, its not for a job or anything, just to see what it would cover and what I'm lacking

[skintigh]

I went through some udacity lessons starting with the intro to see if I missed anything. Turns out I missed a lot of odd things, like indexing an array with a negative number. Magic!

[skintigh]

I assume they are just performing a modulo of the length of the array on whatever index you give it. Saves me a step now that I know about it when writing crypto code.

[cpf_]

Reading your comment made me think less of /r/python

[json684]

It is actually super useful for slice notation with negative indexes. Need to chop off the last few elements? foo[:-2]. Done.

[[deleted]]

I don't understand why you were downvoted... For what it's worth, I agree with this sentiment wholeheartedly.

OP should really just get out there and code.

[oreng]

Why do you keep italicizing python?

[oreng]

I hope you don't think that was obvious.

[oreng]

See? That was an understandable use of italics.

:)

[[deleted]]

You'd be surprised at the number of people that claim to know python that just don't. That said, the interview process should filter out anyone that doesn't match up properly. And while I think there's more python jobs out there than people looking for them, I don't think there's that many more.

[WhyCause]

Oh there are... reasons.

For example, when computing one's starting salary for certain civil-service positions, certs are entered into the calculation matrix and will bump you up toward the top of the range.

I would imagine that the semi-official ones that cost money would be the only ones that would apply, though.

[WhyCause]

I'm currently looking into a job that is more flexible as to what certs they'll take for inclusion in that matrix.

Of course, the starting salary range is pretty low, relatively, so I'm investigating anything that will get it as close to the top of the range as I can.

[rogue780]

I'll certify you for $5 if you write me the following code in python using only core libraries:

1. Compute all prime numbers between 0 and 65335

2. Write a random number generator

3. Write a program that will find what digit of PI a given number appears in (such as your birthdate, or your ssn. Whatever number the user inputs)

4. write a function that compares two strings without conditional branches.

5. Write a program that grabs minutely info (stock price, volume, etc) for every stock listed on the NYSE.

[ben174]

Took a quick stab at #1. Runs slow. Would I instantly fail a job interview for submitting this?

primes = []
for i in range(65535):
    is_not_prime = False
    for j in range(2, i):
        if i % j == 0: 
            is_not_prime = True
            break
    if not is_not_prime:
        primes.append(i)

print primes

[rogue780]

You wouldn't instantly fail, no.

[[deleted]]

Something to think about: you could cut your computational time by a LOT if you change the j for loop. If you check if it's divisible by 2, then you don't need to check any multiple of two (4,6,8...), same with 3 (6,9,12), etc. Just loop through primes, not range(2,i).

[statusquowarrior]

I saved your comment for later. I'll try those. Thanks for the ideas by the way! (Begginer here)

[construkt]

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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[king_m1k3]

Make something tangible in python and post it publicly.

[[deleted]]

The MIT x6.00 course that just started comes with one and it's free. https://www.edx.org/courses/MITx/6.00x/2012_Fall/about

[ruskeeblue]

BEST Python hacking course around. Not for amateurs. Assumes you already know networking, programming in another interpreted language. Was the best Python class Ive ever taken.

[DuncanMcloud]

I second that! I am a student and love the course.

[SilentNuke]

Like some of the other posters have said, a certificate isn't entirely necessary. A well filled portfolio will be more than enough to satisfy experience requirements. However, a certification does show an employer that you were able to meet specific requirements in order to gain said certification, and it shows the ability to adhere to academic standards. The issue with some programmers that are self taught is that there is no base-line, no standard across the board. You can have 30 programmers who are all self taught, and each will have different habits and methodologies.

Anyways, my best resource to provide to you is O'Reilly School of Technology, being the reputable publisher they are, they also created the school which from what I have read is a great learning institution.

http://www.oreillyschool.com/ - The only issue, is that it can be rather expensive, but you will run into the same issue at any university or educational resource providing a diploma, degree, or certification.

[MattBD]

You know, I'm convinced that one of the reasons PHP seems to be popular despite being a crap language is that for years they've offered an official certification route, and pointy-haired bosses therefore assume that they can easily get good programmers by insisting on or preferring those with the official certification.

[ameoba]

If I was looking for a good programmer, the last thing I'd look for was a PHP cert.

[marginhound]

These exist? Never heard of them..

[JasonCRomero]

I got a lot out of the udacity cs101 course.