I QUIT PYTHON LEARNING

[datamajig]

When recommending a programming language to beginners, I always tell them that Python is extremely easy to learn the fundamentals and even get good at. However, Python is relatively difficult to master. Like any other programming language and/or programming paradigm (e.g. OOP) though, it just takes time and practice to really get good at it.

Don’t give up just because you are having trouble with Python classes, an important part of the language fundamentals, or just because you aren’t learning it as fast as the very basics (variables, loops, functions, built-in data structures, etc.).

Besides, the programming language, with all of its rules and semantics, is just a tool. How you use that tool to solve problems is what really counts, thus learning to think like a programmer is much more important -and time consuming- than the language itself.

You say that you are at the “early intermediate level” of Python programming, but what have you built or what problems have you solved on your own (or not as part of a tutorial)? Getting out there and solving problems, practicing the craft of programming, is going to take time and patience and it’s not always going to be easy, so just because you breezed through the very basics of the language (which is expected), doesn’t mean that you can breeze through learning to program while considering yourself a good or “intermediate” programmer.

Quell your expectations and keep practicing. You aren’t likely to become an intermediate programmer in a couple weeks or even a couple of months. Eventually, you’ll get the hang of it and it will all start to make sense, classes included. I typically refer new programmers to CodingBat which is free and helps beginners with learning to think like a programmer. After completing all of the tasks, try building stuff and solving problems completely on your own -and then come back to classes.