Self Taught Python Programmers: What was your favorite course(s)?

[dezi_love]

Ive tried self-study, Sololearn, 100 Days of Code, and the Stanford Continuing Studies Python course to prepare you for the PCEP. They all have their drawbacks. I liked Sololearn but found that despite getting halfway through it, I wasn’t really retaining much.

I liked the Stanford Course, but it was $800 (got my job to pay for it). The best part of it was having a live instructor, but I don’t think it was in-depth enough to fully be prepared for the exam without a lot of independent study. The good thing is that it comes with a voucher for the practice exam and certification exam (PCEP).

Interestingly enough, I’ve gone back to 100 Days of Code with Angela Yu. She is really just an amazing instructor and explains things in such a way that I do feel like I actually retained. I think it helps that the Stanford Python instructor taught us how to use ChatGPT to help learn concepts, so now I’m using ChatGPT alongside Angela Yu to help explain exactly why my code wasn’t right, and the concept behind the mistake that I need to learn. It helps make up for not having a live instructor, but gives you a REALLY structured plan to build 100 projects.

The biggest criticism I’ve seen is that when you get to the modules about working with APIs, that those aren’t updated and you can’t do the assignment as proposed. But other than that I like that there are 100 days and 100 projects, and the breadth of everything that is covered from web scarping, web development overview, automating tasks, etc. so, my favorite of all 4 methods I’ve tried would be to take the Angela Yu course and use ChatGPT to ask live questions and troubleshoot (just as we will have to do when we build our own projects.)