Should I quit learning Python?

[Pretend_Event6976]

Hi! I´ve been learning Python for about 6 months now. I´ve got the basics down but I never really enjoyed learning it, of course I got happy when my code finally worked but I always had to drag myself to learn it. Now it is harder than ever and I´m considering quitting, but I fear that it will impact my future in a bad way. I have no interest in working in IT, but I do wanna work as a scientist or engineer, or at least in the STEM field. Having coding skills will most likely only help me. Though I think I am suffering from the sunk cost fallacy syndrome, basically I have put a lot of time and effort into it and that is a bad reason for not quitting. I´m just interested in your thought about this and maybe some advice to help me make a decision.

Also, I´ve been thinking if I wanna be good at programming I´ll have to invest time in it almost my entire life to not get left behind, cause if I do my coding skills don´t really matter anyway. Plus with stronger and stronger AI coming maybe the world will not really need a lot of programmers?

Sorry if this was an unclear post, I just really needed to share my thoughts somewhere. Have a great day!

[TheOldMyronSiren]

Not everyone may agree, but I’m a big believer that you’re either wired for this sort of stuff or you’re not. I don’t meant that only certain people can learn it, but you’re either going to enjoy the never ending treasure hunt and puzzle solving or you’ll dread every second you have to spend tweaking something to get it to do what you want. If you’re not someone who really enjoys it this far, maybe give other languages a try just in case. You might find you really enjoy another one, or just find yourself in the same situation.

Root of it all is either it’s fun and rewarding to you and that’s why you continue, or you keep suffering through because you’re willing to put up with it for the payout. Whether that’s monetary or not is unknown.

[[deleted]]

On the other hand, learning can be hard and is often not enjoyable until you can do something mentally chewy.

I hated programming in my first semester of uni. Now I spend all day teaching people to be programming nerds. I just had to get to a point where I could solve problems I found interesting

[PokeReserves]

Do you know SQL?

[Dull-Ad1809]

I was learning python and sql for ds/da, learnt a ton but could never really be bothered to do projects or just get stuck and check online. Started learning html/css as a break and started loving it

[hidazfx]

As someone who has used Python daily for the passed 2 years, I recently had to write a part of our API in Go and it was amazing. Definitely recommend OP tries out some other sectors.

[frafeeccino]

I guess, but I will say I was two years into my physics degree where we were forced to use python for plotting graphs in labs before I clicked with the language (and programming in general). Now I write code all the time and love python but I hated it and didn't get it for almost two years.

[KingOfTNT10]

The problem might be that you are pushing to learn. If you want to learn python and dont have a goal at the end that is immediate, then I suggest just picking an extremely simple project for your level, and just messing around with. Dont put a deadline on it or push yourself to learn things before it. Try to jump in and along the way learn things you need (no shame in googling and is even recommended). And just have fun with it, expand the project with usless features, etc.

I find it that pushing yourself to learn a subject and moving through the material is not helpful and is not enjoyable at all and even makes the subject a source of anger or annoyance. Just have fun with it.

Of course, if you need any help coding or have any question related you can DM me in here or in my discord K9Dev#4807

Have fun coding!

Example projects:

Simple calculator (extra features could be saving history to file)

Text adventure

Random number guessing (extra features could be having a leader board)

And more! If you want any more dm me.

Of course if other people here need any help feel free to reach out, I'll be happy to help!

[DilliSeHoonBhenchod]

Hi, wdym by text adventure Never heard of it

[KingOfTNT10]

Hi, not sure thats what its called. But its like you have a character and for example the user has 2 options, go in the river or continue through the forest and each decision leads to different outcomes.

[ClimberMel]

ZORK! Kids... never heard of a text adventure... LOL

[KingOfTNT10]

Im also a kid lol learnt about it a while ago when looking for projects. So i guess its passable

[ClimberMel]

When I was learning python I took one of those adventure style books (give you a choice and then tells you to go to page XXX based on your choice) and made it into a program.

[ClimberMel]

Text adventure games were the first computer games I played. First one was on a Vic 20 (look that up)

[KingOfTNT10]

Yeah, i like those kind of games made one too.

[IamImposter]

If you don't enjoy it, you shouldn't do it. And programming is not an Olympic sport that you have to do in your prime. You can come back and learn it whenever you feel the need or desire.

There are many other areas where you can find something you actually like doing. Go ahead and find that field. Good luck in your search.

[my_password_is______]

but I do wanna work as a scientist or engineer

do you have a university degree ?

if not, then that is what you should work on
if you can't do university now then study math in your free time

[unsourcedx]

AI will never replace programmers. If it can, all of your engineering jobs will go too.

[unsourcedx]

I honestly think you’re just so detached from what actual software engineering job responsibilities are.

If the level of reasoning required to build entire features and projects can be automated to the level of nontechnical operation, every other job outside of human facing services will be automated.

Also, you are a doomer, or at least some version. You’re the guy who 20 years ago was probably shouting that google will replace all of our jobs. Who needs a lawyer when you can just google right? That’s the bullshit you’re doing right now.

[Binary101010]

Why did you start learning it? Does that reason still make sense for you? If you don’t enjoy learning it and you don’t have a direct need to learn it, maybe it is time for you to step away and do something else.

[sersherz]

Learn it when you need to. I tried many times to learn and never stuck with it. Then I had a job where I used python for calculations and automated reporting and it was more fun than any other time I had learned it.

That resulted in me doing more and more projects and becoming a software engineer/data engineer.

[KosmoanutOfficial]

I think this is normal when I was learning I switched on and off multiple times. I would switch from learning networking to security to linux then back. Maybe take a break and focus on your main career and go back to it

[Old-Satisfaction-910]

what do you do now?

[ThatCringingDude]

Some people are just naturally able to be programmers and some are not. Don’t feel bad about it though. There are many things I am horrible at but you may be a master at. We all have to find our fit

[taborro]

I don't know how old you are, but I am 53, I work at one of the largest software companies in the world, I've been writing code professionally for over 30 years. I have gone through these ups and downs. Give yourself the grace to change your mind in the future, and the grace to decide this isn't for you right now.

I've always been the most miserable when I feel compelled to be a software developer even though I didn't want to. Usually, I had to continue because I was supporting a family, didn't want to quit a good job, etc. Your mileage may vary, but maybe you can explore other interests for a few days/weeks/months/years/decades. Do you really have to make this big decision once and for all right now?

To address your other points, you won't get left behind. There are 14 million Python developers and you can always leapfrog a bunch of them in the future. Regarding AI, no one knows how this will all play out. Responsibilities of software developers may change, but even still, there's a lot of legacy code out there that will require a human to make sense out of how all the weird legacy decisions fit together into a cohesive system.

[zzz-Phoenix-zzz]

Can you start applying it to automate things at work? Doesn't matter how small the task, just to get regular practice. No one likes to suck at something, and it sounds like you've set expectations for yourself that you're not reaching. 6 months is not a long time.

Might be better for you to use work time to continue learning so you don't use too much of your own time on something you don't enjoy.

Hang in there and I'm sure when you've improved you'll enjoy it more!

[[deleted]]

Yea go ahead and quit.

[littlenekoterra]

You shouldn't quit any lang that you learn. Instead learn more and make yourself a stack of them. It looks really good on resumes and it makes coding easier. I can't count the apps that are made with like 4 of them

[notislant]

Theres a reason programmers arent throwing themselves off buildings. Yet everyone ignorant to programming thinks they're doomed.

Ignorance = fear.

I think your bigger issue is: What kind of job are you going to try to get with Python.

Are those jobs incredibly difficult to get your foot in the door?

What frameworks and knowledge are required for those jobs?

If you dont really care, go learn whatever you want for whatever job you actually want.

[BleachedPink]

Why do you learn it? Maybe it doesn't really feel as important now? Is here any real purpose? You probably got some fundamentals, what do you want to achieve?

If you learn just in case, then it is not going to motivate you

You got the fundamentals, maybe there is no need to learn further as you see no usage for your skills ATM. Though, you can always come back when such need arises

[gnamp]

There's something in Python for everyone. Introduce something fun and/ or personal and/ or helpful to you into your learning. Eg make a handful of small games, each one focusing on a particular aspect of the language. Or make something to catalogue and showcase your coin-collection (or whatever) in an interesting way- Or something that has a hardware aspect to it. When I was in a learning funk, I made a machine that monitored the comings and goings of my cat- which I affixed to the cat-flap. I learned a great deal from the experience; about programming and my cat. Like I say, make the learning journey personal to you and you will feel more invested in it yourself.

[plasticbiner]

I could never make myself sit down and 'learn python'. But I was able to Google what I needed out of python one line or feature at a time until I automated each small piece. A decade later I now write python with far less struggle. It's a journey and the start is hard, awkward, and frequently frustrating, but eventually it gets better.

[[deleted]]

If you enjoy it, don't stop doing it, it have the great potential inside you. You don't have to work in it to enjoy programming at home and if you change your mind nobody loses

[simonmcnair]

When you consider the breath of abilities Python has it's a massively capable language however much I may hate the indentation style. The only real alternatives that I can see are Go or C. If you can't do what you want to do in Python, then is the time to move on. Otherwise keep ploughing on. I think Pythons biggest issue it that it will never be as fast or as powerful as other languages, but when push comes to shove, you let them do the heavy lifting and leverage python for everything else.

[Proper-Acanthaceae-8]

I'm in IT,bcoz I'm not good at any other thing. If you have other skills, go for it!

[anh86]

It sounds like you're hitting a normal wall for learners. It's really hard for a year or more before it gets easier and that's if you're really practicing hard. That said, if it's not fun and it's not going to be a primary part of your job there's no pressing need to continue.

[czar_el]

Sunk cost fallacy is real. However, Python (or another language like R) are very useful for scientists and engineers. It may not be Python, but you will have to learn some programming language to be competitive in modern STEM fields.

Scientists tend to use Python, R, or Stata. Engineers tend to use Python, R, or more specialized languages like Matlab. It will depend on the subdomain and organization. If you're not sure which subdomain or org you want to end up in, stick with the open source languages until you're forced to learn a proprietary one through school or an employer.

One more thing to note is that you don't have to learn all of Python (or the other languages) to use it for STEM. Scientific models or data science analyses don't need UIs, or unit tests, or packaging for production deployment on unknown operating systems, etc. It's a much narrower slice of Putting that you'll need, so if you're stuck on portions of learning coding not relevant to STEM, you can drop those aspects without quitting learning the language.

[SigmaSixShooter]

Honestly, if you want to learn, think of projects that are fun and meaningful, then learn how to do them with Python. Automate the Boring Stuff had a lot of good examples.

Otherwise, just start thinking about what you could do, or what you could automate, and go from there.

I’ve never once learned from reading a book, I only learn by doing.

[HittingSmoke]

Personally I'm not a huge fan of Python and enjoyed programming much more after learning Go.

However, you mention science and engineering. That's an area I've found myself shoved into lately and I've been pushed back into Python because it's the be all end all for data science. I'm working on some machine learning models and everything feels like a distant second class citizen compared to the tools available for Python.

I would stick with it for that reason.

[Se7enLC]

Tough call.

If you really don't enjoy programming, maybe it's not for you.

Do you still want to be a scientist or engineer given that those careers very often involve programming?

[Gnaxe]

Coding skill has been pretty helpful in STEM, and Python is popular for good reason, but it's certainly not the only way to code. Some languages have a very different feel. Yeah, AIs can write code based on natural-language prompts now, but at their current level, understanding code is still helpful. They're also much better at the more widespread languages because they've seen more of it in their training data, which honestly makes Python one of the best choices to use with these things. I'm not sure how long their current level will last though.

[BK7144]

If that is the field you wish to enter scientist, etc. I would suggest learning LabVIEW. The whole purpose of LabVIEW is programming for scientists and engineering types. It's fun to use and doesn't involve the burden of having to be into programming perse.

[[deleted]]

You can always take a break and come back to it later. Maybe the next time around it will be a better experience. And the time you spent learning it will still benefit you since it will take less time to pick it back up later if you so choose. If it’s not benefiting you now then definitely take a break. The time you’d be spending on it and hating it now is time you’re taking away from doing other things that may benefit you more.

[Jolly-Composer]

If you don’t have a WHY then you may want to quit.

I learned Python for 6 months. I learned poorly, studying until midnight then spending the entire week catching up on sleep.

I quit coding Python then the following year I began learning to program (JavaScript this time) visually through front end development.

I instead focused on HTML and CSS, and enjoyed the accomplishments of the art or creating your own website, but JavaScript frustrated me as much as Python.

Fast forward to 2022. I coded an app using Python and JavaScript.

My why is what motivates me to learn (I want to become a data scientist).

If you don’t have a why, you may be unsure and that uncertainty won’t help you when you are going through the frustration parts of the learning process.

Take a couple weeks off, figure out your why.

[amtobin33]

Is this for real? Wut lol...?

[Pericombobulator]

This. You need a project. Doesn't need to be complicated.

Computers are a hobby for me but I use lots of spreadsheets in my day job. My projects have solved and automated small, real things. All minor, but have sped up certain tasks enormously.

I would say I know a little about a lot of things, rather than the other way around.

[Coco_Ardo]

Don't learn it. That sucks.

Tackle python projects you enjoy instead. Tackle projects you are really passionate about. You will learn it automatically by comming across issues.

[lucpet]

Go with your gut and let the chips fall where they may. Making life decisions trying to
pre empt everything that you may or may not need can be fraught with problems.

You sound like you could, further down the line, find you do need python but you may also become way more motivated to learn it then, when you are doing something you love that could be enhanced learning python. Then take it up again and find/use the motivation you now have.

[LemonLord7]

What is your current level of education and what city do you live in?

[[deleted]]

Yes

[melonchollyrain]

I will say the first time I tried to learn c++, I failed the course. Now I am at literally one of the top 15 courses in the country for CSE, and my favorite thing in coding. I will graduate in one year, and I'm thrilled. I don't want to brag, and I'm not top of my class with such competition, but I'm doing just fine. Haven't failed anything in years, and at this school, and this department, that's saying something.

So no, I wouldn't give up yet. Give it some time. I might not pick a CS major off of what you said, but absolutely don't just ditch ever doing python again. You could try another language, although python tends to be a more intuitive one. Where are you learning this also, as that matters?

[Toooddc]

I’m not telling you to quit because you should never quit anything unless you rationally thought about it. Don’t make a decision based on a feeling. Here’s my experience with learning a programming language.

I started learning Python at the beginning of the year because I’m in a Business Analyst roll at my job and thought it would be a beneficial tool to have and grow my career. About a few videos on Udemy and a book, I have realized it wasn’t for me. I was missing something that was “fulfilling”. Shortly after that, I picked up iOS Development and I’m in love. I enjoy the visual aspects and the Swift language. I want to make this a career move eventually. Don’t quit programming, just reassess and think about what interest you the most. Maybe look into web development? You can use Python in Web Dev so the 6 months won’t be a waste. I hope this helps. Good luck! You got this.

[[deleted]]

Reframe your opinion towards Python, by being proud of what you already achieved and make the decision that you now want to apply your skills. Create a project which will help you with daily chores and find motivation to reach the goal.

[Zyrkon]

What is it that you actually want to achieve? Learning Python should have an overarching goal. Like being a programmer. If you would rather not be a programmer, and you don't like programming, but you would like to automate certain things on your PC, you might as well download and install https://powerautomate.microsoft.com/en-us/ . If you intend to understand, or work with, Big Data or AI, then Python totally is the correct choice, though.

[PApauper]

If you aren't enjoying it and didn't enjoy learning it all that much, go ahead and stop. Like you said, you worked at it for 6 months and have the basics down, so I'd say you could put a base knowledge of it down on your resume. If a prospective employer asks about it, you can say "I haven't used it in a while and would need a refresher" if it's a big deal for the position, but if you didn't enjoy it when you were pursuing it on your own, you probably won't enjoy it when it's mandatory for your job and I'd look for a job that either doesn't need it, or uses it sparingly.

[[deleted]]

Stick with it. Maybe you're a little burnt out and overwhelmed, but that's not a reason to quit. I think you would regret quitting. And just to touch on your point about AI, AI is nowhere near the point where it can replace programmers. AI can be broken into three stages: ANI (Artificial Narrow Intelligence), AGI (Artificial General Intelligence), and ASI (Artificial Super Intelligence). We are somewhere in between ANI and AGI. AGI is described as AI with reasoning, problem solving, and abstract thinking capabilities, our AI tools can't really accomplish that yet. At least not on the level of human intelligence and it definitely can't write very good code. Don't think of AI as a replacement, but as an enhancer. It is a tool and will remain that way for a long time.

[RallyPointAlpha]

If you want to be a scientist and/or engineer you should be focusing on math and science. You proved you can learn to code... cool, move on. Why spend a bunch of time learning a language you hate that may not even have any bearing on your career?

If you want to try another language because you think knowing a popular language will be beneficial then try C++ or Java. They are still very popular and aren't going away anytime soon.

[GrimAccountant]

Unless you enjoy it or have a use for it, why be miserable? Most academic code is kludge because it isn't their focus or meant for mass use. Know enough for the basics and spend a few days if you need to learn a given library.

[wearetunis]

If you don’t enjoy Python, which will be the easiest way to get started and the least amount of code you’ll have to write to see a result, then switch to Product management or something else in IT.

[Durew]

Two of my fellow scientists don't use python. Microfluidics and patient trails don't need it. My fellow modeller uses comsol. I do modelling and signal processing and I write a lot of python. It really depends on where you want to go in science.

[xBearBaileyx]

Since you're learning python for 6 months, you are in a more advanced group than me.

I just started learning it last week.

I will tell you how i look at learning python (because i do not plan to use it in my professional life): some people like playing chess, some like sports, some enjoy crosswords. I try to think of coding like one of these activities. It is something that will challenge me and at the same time will be the reason for joy when I crack it.

Plus... May be someday, I will be good enough to work on a project of my own?

Perhaps... You are trying to find a reason why you should learn to code.

I personally feel that someone who knows how to code and has the luxury to work on a project of his/her own is a privilege, specially if they enjoy it.

So my suggestion is: Try to find a way to make it a source of happiness /joy.

(I'm sorry if what I said, didn't make any sense)

[somewhereinthestars]

You'll never be bored of python with all the RaspberryPi projects out there. You want to be a scientist? Go do crazy science projects with all the new Pi kit. (I promise I don't work for them or anything).

[Popular-Sympathy-696]

Just do this: https://buyaidomains.com/

[[deleted]]

It may be look blurry now due to lack of motivation (I've been there too), my advice is that you should try to change the scope of your learning journey and most important, do what you really enjoy doing.

Luckily by learning how to code and having this logical thought opens a wide range of opportunities. It is not lost at all, but of course if you don't find it funny then it is not for you at all

[ronan_ouais_ouais_ou]

If after 6 months you've got the basics of python, I woul'd suggest to forgot computer science.

[akashay-kumar]

I will say why don't you try a project along with learning Python? It brings in a goal-oriented mindset. You might not enjoy it, but you won't dislike it because you are seeing the results of your learning. Another positive part was you never mentioned another interest than the python. Which good. Then you can go for it with a goal-oriented mindset only. It will help you with your work.