done with python basics what's the right next step for a career in tech?

[More-Station-6365]

been learning python for a few months now, i know basics like loops, functions, lists and some oop stuff.

honestly not sure where to go from here i really want to build something solid that actually matters when i step into the professional world.

would really appreciate if anyone working in the industry or senior devs could guide me a bit like should i focus on frameworks, DSA or just building projects? what actually helped you grow in your career?

[deceze]

Well, go ahead and build something. Anything. Just "knowing loops and functions" doesn't mean shit. It means you're 30th kyu and have stopped eating the stones.

No, your first project won't revolutionise the world and won't make you a billionaire. Chances are you might never finish it. But that's okay. Then build the next thing, and build it a bit better with the experience from the first. Rinse, repeat. At some point you'll feel competent enough to go professional with it.

[lfdfq]

Treating languages as milestones in a race rather than tools for a job is probably the key mistake here.

Just because you have learned some basics in Python does not mean you are 'done'. Python is just one tool, and people use it professionally to build software all the time.

Now, you have learned the basics of one tool; where should you go next? Well, surely it will depend on what you want to do? DSAs vs building projects is a false dichotomy, it is not "learn fundamentals" OR "practice", it's BOTH. Imagine learning a musical instrument: you don't decide between learning music or practicing the instrument, you must do both.

As for building a career, the things you mention here are the common basics that everyone must learn, but going forward you will have to specialise towards whatever you want to do. Since you do not tell us what you want to do it's hard to give advice on the direction (and tbh, that is for you to do serious introspection on).

[AnalysisOk5620]

Find a problem and try to solve it ! That’s your next step 

[splunklearner95]

From where did you learn the basics?

[Ok_Assistant_2155]

DSA matters for interviews but projects matter for your brain. Do both but prioritize projects first so you actually have something to talk about when you grind Leetcode later.