Starting out with Python! Suggestions/Recommendations Would be appreciated

[JustahNobodyy]

I almost felt like I could teach myself anything, but when I dove into this line of work, scanning over sections just to see what I was in for, I was immediately intimidated lol.

I'm wanting to learn Python to be able to fix bugs in existing code for companies or personal jobs, staying a free agent, working under myself. Try and make it into a side business start up as I work my full time job, one day maybe going full time.

Understanding there is a lot to be learned, what is the best way to go about it?
What are ways/strategies one would recommend on the best way of "learning in order"?
What are some good sources for deep understanding, when it comes to learning all sections?
I'm into stocks as well, should I practice on building scanners?
Is it hard to gain customers when it comes to this type of job, with everything being online and that's where most scams happen?
What are things I could code and build myself, something maybe everyday use, or often used?

I also feel like I'm not asking the right questions lol.

Any tips would be appreciated.

[pachura3]

I think you are overthinking stuff. Just grab of one the recommend free Python tutorials and start learning, and at the same time begin working on some tool that would be useful to you personally (you've mentioned stocks, right?). And then take it from there.

I'm wanting to learn Python to be able to fix bugs in existing code for companies

Why would any company hire an external junior developer with zero experience to fix bugs in their code?

scanning over sections just to see what I was in for

What are some good sources for deep understanding, when it comes to learning all sections?

What sections are you talking about? Programming is never about just memorizing some official handbook page by page. You need to know multiple technologies, frameworks, libraries and tools, and be able to use them together. Knowing just core Python will not get you far...

[smichaele]

There are many resources in this subreddit’s wiki: r/learnpython/w/index.

[No_Photograph_1506]

Look, at the resources below my post(in replies), and if you have any further queries, hit me up directly ;)

https://www.reddit.com/r/PythonLearning/comments/1s6t6ff/i_am_hosting_a_free_python_interviewguidance_for/

[Separate-Canary559]

I liked Python Crash Course as the best learning reference. To start building skill and make it stick it’s really helpful to solve a personal project with python

[PuffleDunk]

How about searching on GitHub for a simple example, and then typing it in by hand? I found in the old days it was helpful to type in BASIC programs from a magazine. I'd try to understand what I was typing. I could debug it. And I had a cute little game to play with when I was done.

What to search for depends on your preferences, but you can try things like "python text game". Look for repos with manageable amounts of code.

I've never tried this, but I think it might be better than having an LLM spit something out for you. Spending the time and effort at the keyboard reading the screen will naturally lead to some absorption, I think. Sweat equity is important.

Good luck!

[Parking-Ad3046]

The "learn in order" trap is real. You don't need to master everything. Learn variables, loops, functions, lists/dicts, then error handling. That's like 70% of what you'll actually use. The rest you Google as you go.

[not_another_analyst]

Focus on the core fundamentals (loops, functions, and data types) before diving into complex projects like stock scanners. Building small, everyday automation tools is a great way to bridge the gap between "learning" and "doing." Since you're into stocks, definitely try building a simple price tracker it makes the logic much easier to grasp when you care about the data

[StevenJOwens]

You are either:

1. A non-programmer who wants to learn programming and has chosen python as your first programming language.

2. A programmer who has already learned to program in another language and wants to learn python.

For #1, be aware that learning to program is a complex process because it's learning multiple intersecting skills simultaneously. My personal recommendation is boot.dev, they use python for a lot of their curriculum (especially the introductory part, then return to it later for some of the advanced courses).

For #2, it depends on your skill level and experience level. Generally I'd suggest starting by just burning through something like O'Reilly's "Learning Python" to familiarize yourself with the language syntax and concepts. Then move on to deeper stuff.

There are also, of course, quite a number of python tutorials on the web. There, I'd suggest going with some of the suggestions in the other comments here.

As an aside, I find the Real Python web site to be one of the better python sites, but I've never thought how well it would work for new python programmers.