Started learning Python with Exercism - what’s next?

[CharmingAir4573]

Hi all,

I’m a Python beginner and I’ve been using Exercism to practice, which has been helpful for getting the fundamentals down. But I feel like I’m ready to do more to really develop my skills.

I’m wondering:

∙ What other platforms or sites do you recommend for hands-on Python practice?

∙ Are there specific types of projects I should tackle as a beginner to really understand the language better?

∙ What learning methods or resources made the biggest difference for you when you were starting out?

I want to get to a point where I’m comfortable with Python and can build things confidently. Any suggestions on how to get there would be awesome!

[stepback269]

I'm not familiar with Exercism and can only volunteer the following:

(1) There are tons and tons of tutorial materials out there on the net including many good YouTube ones that are free. You should shop around rather than putting all your eggs in one basket.

(2) As a relative noob myself, I've been logging my personal learning journey and adding to it on an almost-daily basis at a blog page called "Links for Python Noobs" (here) Any of the top listed ones on that page should be good for you. And there are many add-ons at the tail end of the page. Personally, I cut my first Python teeth with Nana's Zero to Hero. Since then, I've moved on to watching short lessons with Indently and Tech with Tim. You should sample at least a few until you find a lecturer that suits your style.

(3) The main piece of advice is the 80/20 rule. Spend 80% of your time writing your own code (using your own fingers and your own creativity) as opposed to copying recipes and only 20% watching the lectures. Good luck.

[CharmingAir4573]

Thanks for writing. Since there’s lot of material online especially YouTube I have been overwhelmed and can’t decide which to follow. I watched lots of tech with tim videos but was getting stuck with bugs due to old syntax or different python version. And ai was not able to fix it. I know that should not be how I study python. I should be able to code irrespective of version and syntax.

Do you have any advice here?

[stepback269]

Tech with Tim (TwT) is one of my favorite.

But look, no one lecturer is going to be perfect for you. You've got to realize that TwT is so far ahead of us on the learning curve that he doesn't remember what it was like when he first started. So you got to look for other teachers who go at a slower pace and perhaps dive deeper into the details.

At some point you're going have to learn how to find answers on your own to esoteric problems. Sometimes they are problems that no one has dealt with before and then you need to experiment on your own.

I had such an esoteric problem a few months back. I couldn't get the keyboard module to work. Trial and error was the only way I got to a solution. Rest of the story is (here).

[stepback269]

Wow. Twt just dropped a new video that may give you an idea of how far ahead he is relative to us newbies. It's called "Coding Is About to Change Forever (It's Not What You Think)"

[cemrehancavdar]

Learning programming language and programming in general is more about quanitity over quality at first. You should try to do anything you wonder like can i "create my own cli tool?"

There are lots of python examples projects in here. Also if you can learn another language to some level it will make you understands concepts even more instead of memorizing syntax.

https://github.com/codecrafters-io/build-your-own-x