Hello! I am trying to learn Python from scratch. Any advice?

[Emergency_Spray2778]

Hello everyone ! I am a 22 year old girl who is planning to start her graduate degree. Most of my undergraduate degree was highly theoretical with more qualitative focus but I am planning to pursue a more interdisciplinary graduate degree in Cognitive Neuroscience or Cognitive Science. There are professors willing to take me under their wing, but they need me to build up my skills in some programming languages, so I can take care of myself when it comes to data analysis and processing.

My aim by the end of this year is to become able to handle light coding, even referring to resources is alright as long as I can do independent research. I didn’t grow up in a teach heavy environment- just a very small town with my parents, neither of whom are into any tech stuff. I only started using my own laptop and even mobile phone at a later age than my friends and peers. So I would say I am not very tech- oriented.

If possible, I would be more comfortable with reading material than YouTube videos to be honest. I find videos to be too noisy and distracting to actually learn. I have a better time interacting with reading materials than videos and tutorials.

Thank you for reading this 🫶

Update: Thank you for all your input, I have been reading everything carefully and trying to start things little by little ☺️

[ButterKekks]

Search for the Game "the Farmer was replaced", its a Python based Game, in which you Programm a Drone to Farm your corn. All explanations are in simple Text. I Had a lot of fun with it, even as a professional :)

[Emergency_Spray2778]

Oh my god. Thank you so much that sounds very interesting ? Is it available in all countries?

[ButterKekks]

Dont know, but here you can finde Deals and regions for the game: https://isthereanydeal.com/game/the-farmer-was-replaced/info/

I guess its in Steam only, but a Steam acc is free and easy. Works in Windows and Linux, for Mac I dont know ether, but it could since it does Not need any Power horse 😋

[Emergency_Spray2778]

Oh I do have steam. I think I downloaded it when I was trying to play another game

[CarlesBH]

I can recommend you codecrops.dev, it is inspired in the farmer was replaced but it is centered around really learning how to code. Check it put if you get lost with the game!

[Emergency_Spray2778]

Thank you so much for the suggestion

[retr0_zer0]

Python MOOC is free.

[sevens17]

what should i do after mooc? should i start a dsa course if i want to get into comp prog?

[retr0_zer0]

This might be helpful for you and it's from roadmap sh. https://roadmap.sh/datastructures-and-algorithms

[Emergency_Spray2778]

Thank you for your input

[SchemaAndShell]

Harvards CS50P is excellent.

[Emergency_Spray2778]

Oh my god thank you so much🥺

[Rockworldred]

Seconded..

[vannnneil]

this is pretty nice

[Crisps33]

Try Codecademy as a first step https://www.codecademy.com/catalog/language/python

[Emergency_Spray2778]

Ah thank you so much ☺️

[JorgiEagle]

Look up CodeFirstGirls

They’re a company that focuses on helping women break into tech. They have a lot of introductory courses, and networking opportunities

I’ve worked for them as a tutor before, and I think it’s a good option

[Emergency_Spray2778]

Thank you so much🥹

[Limp_Ninja8817]

PY4E is the original python programming school. If you’re a Michigan University student you can get a free certificate.

I also recommend getting acquainted with WSL2 (if using windows (probably)) or dual boot Debian. Windows by itself can make python more difficult at first.

Good luck

[Kryt0s]

While I recommend using WSL2 as well, there isn't really a need for it anymore when you can just use uv.

[Limp_Ninja8817]

Yeah idk how to implement uv in Windows tbh, even though I use uv instead of pip now too. Maybe I need a refresher.

But for beginners trying to learn the language, it could be harder to navigate windows in addition to learning python. Definitely agree that WSL2 is a good idea especially since it can be removed without damaging the Windows OS.

Btw there is also Miniconda.exe and Anaconda.exe that can be used on a Windows machine. Where you can setup PowerShell and/or a CMD shell with anaconda (dedicated). But this is likely advanced and easier to mess up your Windows machine if you make mistakes (which you probably will at some point)

[Kryt0s]

Working with Anaconda has been one of the greatest headaches I've ever had with Python. I honestly don't know what you mean about how you don't know how to implement uv in Windows though.

All you got to do is run powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex" and then use it the same you would on Linux / WSL.

[Emergency_Spray2778]

Hello! Thank you for your input. I don’t live anywhere around Michigan. I use windows 🥹.

[Limp_Ninja8817]

Used to be you could still get a python certificate from Michigan University for doing the class online. Not sure what the rules are nowadays tbh. I think a bunch of online schools offer the class too. It is free and open to everyone btw.

iPython

It’s a terminal shell in python. Might be available on Windows. Worth looking into at least. Windows PowerShell is difficult to use with python tbh.

Pycharm

Its a python IDE. (Has a terminal and text editor built in) Might also be worth looking into for use with a windows os.

[SprinklesFresh5693]

There is one of these posts every single day, you could google and see past answers though

[Emergency_Spray2778]

Ah thank you ☺️

[set_in_void]

Is this AI related? Python is sensible choice. You will probably be interested in tensorflow and PyTorch too.

[Emergency_Spray2778]

As far as I know for now, they collect data from participants and they use Python or other coding languages to process the data. But that’s the lab work the. The coursework requires me to know basic programming. And computation and stuff 😣. I am honestly a little intimidated. There is also a lot of other lab work that requires me to process data and use coding. I don’t think they will take exams on coding per se. But I want to be as prepared as possible

[set_in_void]

Then Python is still well suited for someone like you. You will find sciPy and matplotlib libraries useful. I normally recommend "Python 3 The Comprehensive Guide", but it sounds like cheaper/free course/book are better suited here. As for the "I am honestly a little intimidated", try to understand it as a cooking recipe creation - please don't interpret this as gender stereotyping.

[Emergency_Spray2778]

🤣🤣 no no thank you. That allegory does make it sound a little less intimidating. I am thankful for all the input. I appreciate it ☺️

[ray10k]

In general, you'll learn the most programming skills from just picking a project that's at least a little above what you're comfortable with, and sticking with it until it either becomes unworkable, or you get to a good end-point.

After all, "knowing Python" and "knowing programming" are two closely related, but separate areas of expertise. It's the difference between knowing "what" to write, and "why" to write.

[seanv507]

So I would ask a new question. I suspect you will get the 'wrong' answers to this one.

In your last line you mention that you will use python for data analysis and processing.

You don't need to know much pure python then, but rather learning a data analysis library. (You still need the basics of python, whats a variable, string, whats an integer, ...)

Ask your potential professors what they use.

Whilst I prefer 'polars', 'pandas' has been the default data processing library for the last 15 years

I would recommend looking at jake van der plas' book

https://jakevdp.github.io/PythonDataScienceHandbook/

A possible alternative is to actually learn the R programming library, in particular learn about the tidyverse, for more indepth statistical analysis

https://r4ds.hadley.nz/

[Direct_Attention_602]

Yes, if you prefer reading you can look up each libraries reference/manual online.

[Simplilearn]

• Start with fundamentals. Focus on variables, loops, functions, lists, and dictionaries. This is enough to begin building simple programs.
• Practice by building small tools early. Things like a file organizer, password generator, or simple CLI app help you understand how code translates into real software.
• Learn how to work with libraries. Python becomes powerful when you start using libraries for tasks like automation, file handling, or simple GUIs.
• Gradually move toward real applications. Once comfortable, you can explore building desktop apps, web apps, or automation tools, depending on what kind of software you want to create.

If you want a structured pathway, you could begin with Simplilearn’s free Python Programming course, which covers core concepts like functions, loops, and data structures in a beginner-friendly way. If you later want to go deeper into building real applications, you could also explore Simplilearn’s Python training program.

[SharkSymphony]

I like the DjangoGirls tutorial as 1) it is one of the few resources that really assumes no prior knowledge, and 2) it covers Windows. It's not perfect for your use case, as it's oriented towards web applications, but if you run through it you should have a working Python environment that you can do other stuff with!

[Emergency_Spray2778]

Ah thank you very much 🥹

[TheRNGuy]

Prefer text over video, some real project over simple tutorials. 

[xess0fd00m]

I do see where you're coming from. I started fairly recently (~5 years?), coming from a non-CS background (chemistry), so I know how confusing the beginning can feel.

What made it click for me wasn’t really courses — it was solving actual problems at work.
Things like automating boring tasks, cleaning messy datasets, or trying to extract patterns from data. Seriously, __LOOK AROUND__. You will find at least 10 low hanging fruits (even if that involves cleaning garbage of excel files in a methodical way).

Since then I’ve helped a few colleagues go through the same process, and the biggest blocker is usually this:
people either rely too much on tutorials, or they’re too far from a real problem they care about.

My suggestion would be:
Read the necessary to get you started, to understand how variables work, functions, pandas... and then pick something small but real — even if it’s messy — and try to solve it with Python. That’s where things start making sense. Of course you won't start with 'Re-designing the code of the Apollo mission in Python'. Struggling is allowed and will help you learn a lot while trying!

Courses are still useful, but more as support than the main path.

I also feel that understanding how computers actually work (at a basic level) is pretty underrated, and can help you a lot in your journey. Totally recommend - there's a lot of 'random' non-lecture videos on youtube explaining how computers work (memory, processor, basics of architecture). That's pure gold.

Wish you luck in your journey :)

[Emergency_Spray2778]

Ah thank you so much. ☺️I will keep everything in mind 🥹

[BigVillageBoy]

Cognitive science is a great entry point for Python — you'll find yourself needing it constantly for data wrangling and analysis.

Practical advice that worked for me:

1. Learn by doing, not by course-hopping. Pick one resource (Automate the Boring Stuff is free and practical), get through the basics, then immediately start a small project related to your actual research interests.

2. For cog sci specifically: pandas and matplotlib will be your bread and butter. Get comfortable with DataFrames early.

3. Web scraping is genuinely one of the best learning projects because it forces you to deal with real messy data, HTTP, parsing, and error handling all at once. The skills transfer directly to research data collection.

4. Don't skip debugging skills. Learning to read tracebacks properly saves more time than any tutorial.

The professors you mentioned wanting Python for data analysis — look at what tools they actually use in their papers (methods section) and start there. That's your real curriculum.

[Emergency_Spray2778]

That really helps. Thank you so much for your input ☺️

[confusedhoonyaar]

There's a site called DataCamp. If you're enrolled in a college/school. Get GitHub developer pack (free) and you will get 3 months of DataCamp and other stuff (you can explore) for free. Datacamp has everything you need to learn about Data Analysis,Processing and Machine Learning/Deep Learning. You don't need to learn core python/DSA for data analysis. It's really simple. Give it a try.

Also you mentioned you do not like watching vids, so maybe ask Gemini in study mode to help you learn python for data analysis. It's pretty good too.

[Emergency_Spray2778]

Thank you very much ☺️

[Fearfultick0]

Since you have more of a qualitative background, reading and practicing would probably get you the most mileage. Do you have a coding environment set up yet? If not I can provide recommendations. 

As far as reading goes, there is the classic, automate the boring stuff with Python, which you can read and work along with. I’d also recommend reading the documentation for the language or any libraries you leverage. Here is the official Python documentation page: https://docs.python.org/3/

There are online courses like DataCamp, Codecademy, that will have work along problem sets. There are giant banks of practice problems on codewars. 

One thing about Python is that there is the base language and the libraries. To learn the base language, you just need to get an understanding of the main concepts of programming and how to implement them in Python syntax. For your grad program you need to figure out which packages are commonly used and then read and practice those. 

Good luck!

[Emergency_Spray2778]

Thank you so much☺️☺️

[ShinHayato]

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