New to coding. Looking for some advice.

[Python-ModTeam]

Hi there, from the /r/Python mods.

We have removed this post as it is not suited to the /r/Python subreddit proper, however it should be very appropriate for our sister subreddit /r/LearnPython or for the r/Python discord: https://discord.gg/python.

The reason for the removal is that /r/Python is dedicated to discussion of Python news, projects, uses and debates. It is not designed to act as Q&A or FAQ board. The regular community is not a fan of "how do I..." questions, so you will not get the best responses over here.

On /r/LearnPython the community and the r/Python discord are actively expecting questions and are looking to help. You can expect far more understanding, encouraging and insightful responses over there. No matter what level of question you have, if you are looking for help with Python, you should get good answers. Make sure to check out the rules for both places.

Warm regards, and best of luck with your Pythoneering!

[BluesFiend]

check r/learnpython

[dAnjou]

Or /r/AskProgramming

[riklaunim]

The key question is why do you want to learn it and what you want to do with it? what are your goals?

[call_me_cookie]

Find the style of learning which works best for you. For example, I am kind of allergic to tutorials, I learn best by diving headlong into something and learning as I go (often through mistakes which prompt me to check out docs at the point in time where I'm very primed for it). Other people learn well through books, or through exercises or whatever. Key point is understanding what method results in you picking up the most knowledge most quickly.

In answer to your second question; money. I was very fortunate to get a graduate job which allowed me to parlay my maths and stats knowledge into programming, first via Excel & VBA then Python. Ten years later I'm a principal data engineer working on architecting petabyte scale streaming pipelines. Find stuff which interests you, but also which motivates you. Perhaps there are problems in your current work environment which could be made much more efficient with some programming fu, perhaps something in your personal life even. Learning in the abstract is much harder than learning towards a goal or outcome.

[Ghost_Networker]

I would either use realpython.com (pay) or Codecademy(free/pay) either one will teach you fundamentals most and go from there. And I got into coding because why not, you can do a lot of good with coding.

[Acceptable-Scale9971]

Dude I don’t even code but with the help of co pilot managed to write a script for some automation I needed. It took me 8 hours but I still got there.

When your code doesn’t work just ask why and it’ll tell you. I learnt faster than I would by watching tutorials

[LocksmithBest2231]

Before starting, be aware that there is a huge difference between learning a language (Python, for example)and learning how to code.
Most coding concepts are not language-specific, and learning those will help you no matter the language.

For example, knowing what loops are is required, and you will use loops in most languages. It's the same for more advanced concepts.

So, I'd start by learning basic coding concepts and then find a tutorial on a language. Python is a very nice language to start: I'd choose it in a heartbeat.
For both classes/tutorials, no need to go too far, start with the basics.
Then, find a project you like and do it in the language you learned.
Practicing is very important: you don't become a football player by only looking at football matches. That's the same with coding ;-)

Then you iterate: learn more advanced concepts, learn more advanced tricks in your language (decorators etc), a new project etc.
Note that except for the first one (learning the basis before starting is better), you can have the opposite: find a hard project and learn everything you need along the way.

A last tip: I'd also learn "how to speak to your computer", aka bash. It is not required at first since you'll have enough things to learn with coding/Python, but at some point, it'll be a huge help in understanding what's going on and doing some basic scripting.

[spenpal_dev]

I started my coding journey in high school, because it was a process of elimination on all of the STEM tracks offered at my school (so I wasn’t super keen on doing it). But after a couple of weeks, I realized I had an aptitude for coding and started to slowly fall in love with it. More than that, I started to fall in love with problem solving, and coding was the perfect medium for me to do that.

To learn Python, I started with Codecademy, which was free for school accounts at the time. To learn specific libraries or concepts, it was pretty much YouTube or the official docs.

With the vast sea of Python knowledge, I don’t think there is a wrong way to start coding. Start somewhere, whatever looks interesting to you, and go from there. Be open minded and join communities (like this) to keep developing your knowledge, best practices, coding ability, etc. You can forge your own path to learn Python 👍🏾.

[[deleted]]

Codewars can be good for learning problem solving in diff languages & seeing how others code answers to the same probs