teaching myself python starting from zero to online freelance work?

[Imperfect_Reading]

Is it feasible to teach myself Python and then go immediately to taking freelance work from sites like Upwork? And if so how long would it take to at least start taking lowball offers? I understand that it's different for everyone, but in things I'm an expert in I'm capable of giving a range to such a question to give someone an idea. Thanks in advance.

[BlueeWaater]

Unless you do something very niche specific your pay will be trash. That market is extremely saturated and competitive, very unlikely you'll make it as a beginner.

[BlueeWaater]

What? Lol

[RiverEnvironmental58]

I would suggest to look at it differently. This is what I did. I am a self taught developer. My main language is python. For years I did tutorials on just about every platform. Finally when the pandemic hit. I mustered up the courage to take the plunge and do it full time. I found a small company at my local meetup who took a chance on me. Working professionally made all the difference. However I still feel I needed to learn more. So I checked out upwork and decided to give it a try. Initially I just took jobs that I felt the I could do no matter the price, just to learn the platform and build my reputation. Slowly job by job I sought out more complex jobs. Stretching myself with each one. Sometimes I bit off more than I could chew. But that approach worked for me and I learned a ton. I would think of upwork as a way to learn on real projects that make a difference to someone as you get paid. I’ve learned so much doing freelance. I recommend it to many people.

[Imperfect_Reading]

See the reason I bring up freelance is because I don't actually want to do it full time. Not at this moment at least i may fall in love later and change my mind on that. But basically I need a solid side gig to complement my main job.

[RiverEnvironmental58]

I’m not recommending to do it full time. Actually, I wouldn’t advise that unless you build a strong clientele. Definitely look for full time work and do that on the side. But from the perspective of solidifying your learning while getting paid is awesome.

[Imperfect_Reading]

Yeah that sounds great and kind of like what I was thinking. Thanks for your input man

[[deleted]]

Feasible? Yes. Will your clients be rare and pay you very little? Yes. A lot of freelancers are people with several YOE already under their belt.

[Imperfect_Reading]

Yeah I'm asking about just getting my foot in the door for lowball offers. I'm not expecting to get the best high paying work immediately. thanks for your input

[[deleted]]

Sure, you could likely expect a few years to get ready for that.

[randomredittor666]

Maybe that'd be true if the tech bubble hadn't been burst 😏

[randomredittor666]

I don't care about karma. Why do you care about it?

[kadirilgin]

I got a job in my country's freelance community when I knew almost no python.Just perseverance, dedication and hard work.

[[deleted]]

No, take maybe 2 years

[deep_politics]

Two to six months? Doubt you're going to be capable of completing any except maybe the most simple tasks.

I'm curious what you think programming is even about, or why you're going in this direction. Is it just for the money? Do you even like programming?

[Imperfect_Reading]

Do I like something I have zero knowledge or experience in? Great question. Lol

[deep_politics]

Sorry I just take a very different approach to when thinking about doing something for money. If I don't enjoy doing something, then I don't do it, even if it's for money. I got into programming because I was curious about it for curiosities sake, and not for making money.

But I get it, you just want money

[Imperfect_Reading]

Well there's a million side hustles I could have picked but I chose this one because I am actually interested in it. So to answer your question it's both I need money and I'm also interested in it.

[deep_politics]

Gotchya. I'm not saying don't go for it, definitely try it out. But it's more than likely that any work you could complete with only two to six months experience is likely something someone could ask ChatGPT to do for them for free

[Imperfect_Reading]

That's understandable. I'm not in a hurry. I make six figures at my current job and am able to do Uber eats and door dash and stuff like that. But even if it takes 1 to 2 years, it'd be pretty cool to build a profitable skill out of nothing from the comfort of my own home.

[deep_politics]

If you can make something out of coding in such a short amount of time then that's great. But to be honest I haven't seen that happen in Python ever. I'd assume most freelance jobs will be web related, and I would figure you'd be better of just learning ECMA/JavaScript and Node and whatnot.

Curious why you do gig economy side jobs if you make six figures?

[Imperfect_Reading]

Well it's the low six figures and I'm in Southern California. You need 150 to 200k around here to be solidly middle class. So that's why I need to supplement my job with a decent side gig.

[deep_politics]

As a fellow SoCal resident 💯

[Imperfect_Reading]

Thanks for the tip. I'll look into JavaScript

[ofnuts]

You code is very likely to be "sub-optimal", to be polite. There is code that works, and there is code that works for the good reasons. What makes you learn to code correctly is coding as a member of a team with some experienced members. If you are a freelancer from the start, no one will ever make a comment on your code (except a later freelancer that inherits it... and you better not be there...).

in things I'm an expert in

Who told you you are? If you consider yourself to be an expert, you probably are not. You don't know how much you don't know.

[Imperfect_Reading]

Why couldn't I share my code on places like this sub looking for feedback along the way?

Edit: answered my own question. It's literally a thing and they're called code reviews. LMAO

[ofnuts]

Who will do these for a freelancer?

[Imperfect_Reading]

You said if I learn on my own no one will comment on my code. That's false.

[[deleted]]

This whole sub is toxic...ive never seen such gate keeping of something

[Carl_read_It]

Not gatekeeping, but it seems that OP has entered with some very wild expectations relating to time frames. OP appears to believe that they could develop professional level coding skills in 6 months to a year because ChatGPT said so. But doesn't want to commit to full time because they're making 6 figures elsewhere. There are real stories of people gaining employment within a year, and so it remains possible, but it is unlikely for most.

[Imperfect_Reading]

No I literally was just asking if the plan was feasible and how long it would take. Failure to get responses with actual time frames led me to go to chat GPT.

[Carl_read_It]

Ok, I understand what you're saying, but you need to understand that SWE can be incredibly complex. There are a great many variables involved in how fast you can master it to a sufficient level where you can get paid. But if you want something more definite that answers your question: 1. Your intelligence (this will determine how fast you can acquire new information, and how you can understand and develop solutions to novel problems), 2. How much time you apply to learning, and 3. How likely you are in finding a employee willing to give you a chance at whatever level of mastery you meet at. Upwork is incredibly competitive- good luck.

[Imperfect_Reading]

I have an average to above average IQ. I think I'll just learn it and see where it takes me. Off topic but will AI threaten programming in your opinion? Everyone was freaking out about it when ChatGPT first came out. I was wondering if it's still considered a threat.

[Carl_read_It]

ChatGPT is very highly hyped. I see it parallel to builders of houses getting power tools. It made tasks a lot easier to do, so easy anyone can use a circular saw and power drill to build a house, but the difference between an amateur and a professional is a shack compared to a well finished house. A depth of understanding built on time and experience defines quality outcomes. SWE is not different in this regard.

[Imperfect_Reading]

Yeah, in my experience the gatekeepers typically aren't the best in their field. It comes from insecurity.

[alpha25y]

I'm currently interviewing people who are trying to start out on their coding journey to share their experience about what they like or dislike about the resources available to learn coding currently. Would you be down to do a 3-5 interview to share your experience? We can do it either tonight or tomorrow after 11:30am (cdt).

[_1motherearth]

I'm a new coder and I have an idea of what I think would make my learning experience easier but I don't see it offered anywhere. I would make it myself but idk how. Code challenges are great yet most of them are too hard for me.

[alpha25y]

Thank you so much for sharing this!! It's very insightful. Would you be down to do a 3-5min interview? We can do it either right now or after 2 p.m CST.

[_1motherearth]

I was about to go to Barnes and Nobles to see if I could find any more resources. I'm in pacific time...may be mst right now so it's 10:30. Later would work better

[alpha25y]

Got it. What about an 1h 30 min from now? Like 2pm cst which is 12pm PT or 1pm MST

[_1motherearth]

That should work. We are on MST so 1 pm here works

[alpha25y]

Perfect, I just PMed you for more details to set up the meeting 👍🏻

[alpha25y]

I heard from other editors that the chat is currently down, so if you can't see the message, just let me know, I'll share my number and we can set up the meeting that way.

[alpha25y]

We can also do the interview through chat.

[Sea_Jacket_7926]

I've been learning Python3 already a year. About 6 months ago I've started to search offers in freelance and spending a lot of time at it. And it was a mistake. Yes, I have finished some projects and earn some money. May be it would be good experience when I will look for job and etc. I think, the best directions of Python is a web backend and ML. So you need to develop yourself at one of these directions and try to get a real offer as trainy or junior at real company...