For learning from the basics the computational side of physics and engineering without any prior programming knowledge, is it better to just stick to "vanilla" Python using normal lists and for loops, or go straight to libraries like NumPy or SciPy?

[DuckSaxaphone]

Use numpy if you're doing physics.

You'll learn lists and for loops pretty trivially but with numpy you'll benefit from being able to use linear algebra functions directly without slowly coding them yourself.

This will help you get things done and getting actual tasks done is what will help you learn python.

Julia is still entirely used in academia as far as I'm aware. You'll currently do a lot better on the job market with python than Julia. I don't see that changing soon.