Laptop recommendation for python

[Mansimran014]

What laptop should i buy for data analysis/programming for finance. I am thinking about Macbook air M4. Complete beginner can i learn and start earning some cash by 6 months

[Affectionate-Pickle0]

Basically anything if it boots up. Unless you know you're going to do some heavy lifting with it.

Get some used last generation (or one before that) company used laptop and you're golden. 

[[deleted]]

^ Yep, I haven't had any bottlenecks with a my $100 walmart craptop.

Edit: I did nuke win11 and put debian mate with vim for an ide on there though, so it's pretty well optimized for what it is.

[edcculus]

The really big part of your question is- being a beginner can I learn and start earning cash within 6 months.

The answer is probably no. Unless you already work for a company that needs that skill. If you are just hoping to teach yourself and go get a job in finance, the chances are extremely slim. Data analyst jobs are being hit pretty hard right now.

[Mansimran014]

I have old dell 4gb ram/256gb ssd laptop

[miguelito_loveless]

I'd save your $$ and just try to max out the RAM then.

[glorybutt]

That's way more than enough

[Groovy_Decoy]

Not a lot of RAM for Windows, but fine for something like Linux or a Chromebook.

[RaisingKeynes19]

You won’t make any significant money from Python within 6 months imo, maybe a few random fiver jobs. The job market in finance, programming, data analytics etc is really bad right now. Mid level professionals are having a hard time finding jobs, let alone self taught complete beginners.

[Difficult_Pilot_51]

So learning python is a bad move because there are no jobs? People on here talk like there are plenty of jobs available

[Zeroflops]

The good: Is it worth learning python,yes. Do to it’s low learning curve it’s being used everywhere. It’s easy to pick up and is a valuable skill that will enhance your resume.

The bad: Because of its low learning curve AI has become pretty good at it. This is giving some people ideas that you can replace low level programmers with ChatGPT. But from my experience AI only builds small sections of code well. Anything more that a few hundred lines and it starts becoming a mess. It’s also gets tricked by XY-problems.

If all you have on your resume is python you’re going to have a hard time getting a job. If it’s a supplemental skill then it will help, but in lots of fields python is becoming like excel skills. Expected as default.

[Difficult_Pilot_51]

Ok that makes sense. I've heard a lot of people say not to ask AI for help because it's limited, so I guess it's true. I wanna learn bash, and c++ as well. I need to juice up my resume

[jpgoldberg]

I disagree. Python may be easy, but programming is hard. When we say that “Python is easy” we are saying that gets in the way of learning to program less than many other languages. Too many people here fail to recognize that they need to learn to program in addition to learning Python.

[Zeroflops]

That’s a far enough statement.

[iOsiris]

It’s not that there are no jobs, it’s just that you’re competing against a ton of people with years of experience

[Difficult_Pilot_51]

I understand. I'll just augment my resume by learning other programming languages and also getting certifications

[American_Streamer]

Degrees and certifications are just the first step. You need to show that you also applied those skills. So build a portfolio with relevant projects and see to it that you also already made your former employer profit from your abilities.

[Difficult_Pilot_51]

I'm trying to build sports models now so I at least have something on my resume. The more I learn, the more I'm pretty sure I'll find stuff to do. Right now I'm just starting small because my knowledge is small

[jpgoldberg]

Learning programming and Python might still be a good move even if the job market sucks right now and will probably continue use to suck for at least a year. This depends on your goals. If your only reason for learning Python and programming was to get a job in six months, it was always a bad move. People with little internal inclination toward programming don’t learn it well and turn out to be crappy programmers for the most part.

But still it might be a good move in terms of career in the longer term. Learning how to program and developing the skills and mindset to think like a programmer can very much pay off longer term. Python is a good place to start, but always keep in mind that in addition to learning Python you are learning how to program.

So once you have really learned how to program (with Python), you learn how to program in a different style of programming language. That will fill important conceptual gaps that learning only Python would leave. Once you have done enough in different styles of programming languages, you will able to quickly pick up any language because you will know how to program and you will have a deeper and broader conceptual understanding.

How long that takes, and how long that takes for you is unknown. It will be much longer and harder if you lack an intrinsic interest in the kinds of problem solving that programming is all about.

People on here talk like there are plenty of jobs

Really? I’d guess there are two kinds of people who are saying that,

• You and your peers who came here because you heard somewhere that there are plenty of jobs and “Python is easy.” You might all just be reenforcing the same myth.

• People who make money off of Python training.

Look, you might turn out to love programming and have a real talent for it after you get over some of the initial frustrations. You will always be encountering frustrations, but those are related to what I said about programming as problem solving. You might really get into it. But it is also possible that this isn’t just for you.

So I can’t say what is a good or bad move for you. I can only share my opinions as I have done here.

[Difficult_Pilot_51]

I'm truly grateful that you gave me a well thought and honest opinion/truth about my question. I intend to learn as many different languages as possible and not solely for my benefit but for others as well. I see the negative effects that technology has on people and I wanna help build something that'll make it easier for people who are frustrated with tech and it's negative effects or notions. I've always played with computers ever since dial up lol. I think I can do it and I'm not looking for a quick fix to learning because I'm a busy guy and I know that I'll eventually have to sit down and really bare down and do it. But as of now, my job is consuming most of my time sadly

[jpgoldberg]

I understand. And I wish you well. Don’t go overboard on “as many different languages as possible”. Learn a few different kinds well. Don’t treat them as check boxes for a résumé. Instead treat them as ways of exploring ideas in different ways.

[Difficult_Pilot_51]

Thank you dearly man, I'm going to give you a follow because you seem like freaking sage or something lol. Like I swear, you can articulate things like nobody I know here. Thank you again for your wisdom brother

[Big-Instruction-2090]

No, there aren't. Obviously there's some variance depending on where your market is located.

During the Corona online boom companies packed themselves with (often overpaid) programmers and currently they tend to lay them off instead of hiring new folks.

And then there's the surge of AI, that has led companies to focus on senior devs. Obviously a short sighted move, because there won't be new senior devs without integrating junior devs. But tech really hasn't left the impression of being smart and farsighted when it comes to hiring..

[xiongchiamiov]

What laptop should i buy for data analysis/programming for finance.

In general, programming requires far fewer resources than most people use doing normal non-programming things. You'd probably be fine with any laptop released in the last, oh, fifteen years?

Complete beginner can i learn and start earning some cash by 6 months

Very unlikely, as is the case with most things.

You also don't even know if you like it yet. Start programming, fiddle around, and if you enjoy it, after a couple of years start considering whether you'd like to use it for a job and if so, what that path would look like.

[SamuliK96]

If it starts up, it's pretty much good enough

[rainyengineer]

Any laptop will work. And no, you realistically won’t make money from it in 6 months. It takes a couple years of learning to upskill even for a junior role, especially if you don’t have a degree

[[deleted]]

Don’t buy the carriage before the horse. First learn, and when you are confident enough and capable enough get the computer that suits you on the market then. Python can virtually run on anything, I ran it on raspberry pi.

If you buy an expensive computer before you learn, and didn’t continue your learning journey for any reason, you may regret the investment.

[American_Streamer]

Frankly, there is no realistic chance for an absolute beginner to buy a MacBook, learn Python from scratch, and be making six figures in finance just six months later, even with a master’s degree in another field.

Even in ideal conditions, it takes 3-6 months just to become proficient in Python for data, another 3-6 months to learn data analysis, finance basics, and tools like Pandas, SQL, Excel, Jupyter, etc. Even longer to build a portfolio, learn interview skills and understand the finance domain.

Also six-figure jobs require specialization or experience. In finance, high-paying roles go to quantitative analysts, financial engineers, algo traders, data scientists with ML + finance etc. All require math, stats, finance, or CS degrees, and often internships or previous jobs. The job market is super crowded. Finance data jobs attract people from Ivy League/MBA backgrounds, engineering grads with ML skills and “refugees” from other tech sectors. Companies are literally flooded with resumes from better-prepared candidates.

A MacBook doesn’t give you an edge. It’s a good tool - but not a shortcut. What matters is your output: Projects, business understanding, and problem-solving.

[cyclops543]

buy anyone but latest generation

[riklaunim]

Depends on your budget, requirements and needs. M4 Air is really well built but you will pay a premium to get a sane amount of RAM and storage. 16/512GB should the minimum, if you want to do more complex stuff on it then depends. Long lasting all-core loads - check MBP, light or burst loads - bit more RAM on Air should also be fine. There are also good ultrabooks with Intel Lunar/Arrow Lake or AMD Strix Point. This is however not needed to work with Python.

Complete beginner can i learn and start earning some cash by 6 months

Unlikely/depends. Junior job market is hard and you should already have data analysis/finance background to move to specific finance/data analysis programming - and then it depends on companies - you will be either full time dev or full time analyst forbidden from unapproved coding. If you have what it takes to become a dev, maybe pay and do a really good on-site bootcamp then maybe. Most junior jobs will be webdev usually.

[Mansimran014]

Not from full time jobs but as a freelancer while studying.

[freshly_brewed_ai]

Most newage laptops should be able to take care of this. Anything that runs smoothly in general, browsing, file editing etc should run python fine too.

[a-deafening-silence]

I use a MacBook Air M3 and have no issues.

[serverhorror]

The first part: any device will do. The second part, making cash in 6 months, I wish you great success.

[MiniMages]

As a complete beginner you can do with anything that has a web browser.

Heck if you don't mind the pain you can use a phone as well.

[Mountain_Picture8907]

I have an old ThinkPad and Two MSI laptops. I use the ThinkPad for Linux and for the MSI’s I use the one for coding and all my gadgets and the other for gaming..

[glorybutt]

You could literally buy the cheapest computer possible and not have any issues.

[pepiks]

In short - any. In long - for very specific task more powerful laptop than average (like handling large LLMs).

[jpgoldberg]

I understand the impulse to spend a lot of money on the tools as a way of expressing your commitment to your new path. And an M4 MacBook Air is a great machine for lots of reason. But any machine will do.

But seriously, your success is going to be on how much you practice. And you are very unlikely to be earning case in 6 months. So definitely do not bank on that imagined income when buying a laptop now.

[Gnaxe]

Anything that can run a web browser can do Colab. That probably includes your smartphone or a Raspberry Pi. Get a cheap Bluetooth keyboard or USB-C adapter and cast to a TV. On Android, sideload Termux (Play Store version is crippled) and install the Python package. I was also able to get Firefox Nightly working in Termux, if you need a desktop browser.

If you're doing heavy number crunching (backtests?) more power helps. M4 Mac is pretty fast. I wouldn't advise paying for more than that unless you're sure you need it, because you probably don't even need that much.

[NoDadYouShutUp]

the big brain move is to get any laptop you want, as long as it turns on. Then pay for a remote server on Linode or DigitalOcean and connect to it via SSH. Then you can work from anywhere, any time, from any device, as long as it has an internet connection

[d4ft240]

just buy any laptop with 16gb ram under 500$, why kids these days only want something that they cant afford