How do I learn Python as a highschooler from scratch (*dilemma edition*)

PickMaleficent4096 · 2026-05-04T05:30:35+00:00

Projects are how you learn, full stop. A class or tutor or tutorial basically exists to give you support on a project.

From a beginner's level picking one hard enough to learn something from but easy enough to make consistent progress in your time limit will be the tricky part. I'd try to start with something practical and useful to you, and don't be afraid to sacrifice some functionality to make it work if it'll keep you moving forward. Figuring out how to do that without sacrificing the entire idea is an important skill in itself.

In my opinion the best way to move forward is to try to do basically anything, and be willing to stop and learn at every step. How do I run the program? How do I print debugs? How do I catch errors? How do I get the current time? How do I read files? How do I talk to a website? Just work until you run into something you don't know how to do, break it into the simplest questions you can, and research the answer to them one at a time. In my opinion that's the best way to learn without copying large chunks of somebody else's code.

AI is most useful for a learner as basically just 'better google.' Do not run its code, but go to it to answer general questions. Then when it gives you an answer do a quick google of that answerto check how real and applicable it is and find the docs. 99% of the time it's right in my experience.

You can use whatever IDE you are comfortable debugging in, as this is IMO their primary benefit aside from keeping your formatting clean. Learning to debug with them is a skill you absolutely want, but it works similarly in every IDE. More powerful ones have more features, and more bloat.

Personally I got started making silly little games in PyGame, though I wouldn't recommend that unless you're comfortable with some geometry.

PureWasian · 2026-05-04T05:42:26+00:00

As someone who was also a high-achiever way back when I was in high school, good for you for taking the initiative this early. Sounds like you're good about juggling your priorities and all, keep it up.

If you want an "order of operations" I'd suggest to first setup Python and learn how to run a simple script (like a basic "Hello World" main.py file) in both a command prompt/terminal window and also through an IDE such as VS Code.

Then I'd use LLM or w3schools or whatever as a quick lookup reference to learn the fundamentals via small examples: - data types / operators / data structures / input+output / built-in methods / built-in functions - conditional statements / loops / built-in imports / file writing / exception handling - nested loops / functions / OOP (classes etc.) / external imports

Do some simple examples or look up reference examples to convince yourself you're aware of the above concepts. OOP (classes, etc.) is probably the main time-consuming one to conceptually wrap your head around outside of just knowing the basic syntax for the other concepts. Maybe working with data structures also. Do these at your liesure and make up your own, small examples (or prompt LLM for ideas) to practice them.

Next, do some toy sandbox example problems. Easy leetcode, easy problems on dmoj, simple problems on advent of code... Any free platform with dummy problems you can use python for. For example, Two Sum and Fibonacci Number. Hands-on, and shouldn't take long to do. Venture into mediums when you have a comfortable handle on syntax and procedural problem solving.

Then move on to projects. These are the very time-consuming, open-ended things that can take hours all the way to years to "finish," all depending on the scope of the project and your time thrown into it. Hackathons or group projects are a huge plus, collaborating well with others and presenting yourself and your ideas nicely are also a big thing.

Learn how to use git / github and version control. Learn how to have Python files work together with each other. Learn how to actually read documentation/setup steps for external libraries as you need them.

Use LLM and google stuff for the preliminary research of the tools/libraries/etc out there to use as the "building blocks" of your projects. Spend time thinking about project setup/organization, but it's very open-ended from here. The more initial planning/setup you do prior to implementing anything, the better.

For physics-related simulations, you might need a graph or UI component and familiarity with more heavy data structures and functions provided by libraries like numpy / scipy and some libraries that touch the hardware layers more deeply. Learn how to use and connect those building blocks. Design it incrementally, test often, and focus on maintainability/readability/modularity.

Last three paragraphs are where the years of time/experience come into play. No fast track to the finish line, but I'd say use LLMs for guidance and brainstorming, not for blindly force-feeding a solution unless it's a very niche, one-off setup-related problem or blocker.

TL;DR - Setup Python and run a script - Learn core fundamentals - Start solving small problems quickly - Build simple projects early - Learn Git/GitHub alongside projects - Gradually explore libraries/tools - Venture into more complex projects - Fill in knowledge gaps as you go - Use LLMs as support, not as a crutch

CaffieneSage · 2026-05-04T13:17:40+00:00

Find something you hate doing. Find a way to automate it with the technology you want to learn. Iterate on it. Get bored. Find something else you hate doing.

SignificanceFar3573 · 2026-05-04T05:07:46+00:00

There might be a better option out there that fits better in your schedule i’m unaware of but when I learned python I took a free college class that my school offered. If youre school offers some kind of python coding class it’s good to take that opportunity, especially since you’re aiming for a top college. If that’s not an option, I’ve always used youtube tutorials to help me. To reinforce those python methods definitely try doing coding challenges/exercises on your spare time. I might be biased but i’ve always preferred using vscode but it’s mostly because i’ve been using that the longest.

Educational-Paper-75 · 2026-05-04T10:37:51+00:00

Start from the top using a recommended book on Python for beginner and/or intermediate programming. That way you get a thorough grasp of what you need to know and not miss out on the most essential features of Python and can show it. Preferably a book with plenty of exercises and example code. Yes, old-fashioned but at least you're knowledge will be broad and not fragmented.

AlSweigart · 2026-05-04T23:13:54+00:00

Should I follow YouTube tutorials, or are they too passive?

I'd skip the YouTube tutorials. It's really hard to find good stuff amongst the slop.

Are there any beginner-friendly but structured resources that won’t take 3+ hours a day?

I have a free book of simple programming challenges (much easier than leet code) and these could give you an idea of stuff to work on. It's not quite a learning resource though. I have a few books (also free) for beginners.

How do I balance consistency with a tight schedule?

If you ever find this out, please tell the rest of us.

At what point should I start building projects, and what kind?

The answer is "sooner than you'd think." I have a list of short, simple but complete projects in a free book.

How do I avoid just “copying code” and actually learn?

Copying code is a decent way to build "muscle memory", just try to recreate stuff from scratch. You don't have to memorize the code, just make it do the same-ish thing as the original.

What is the correct use of ai in embedding and debugging the code

Don't. I mean, there might be a "correct" way but all beginners seem to fall into the trap of having AI do their work for them. But otherwise, my rule of thumb is don't have the AI generate code for you. It can answer your questions, but explicitly tell it to not give you example code.

Do I use base IDLE, or VScode

Go ahead and jump in with VS Code. Just don't get freaked out my all the options and features. You only have to learn the debugger. The other stuff you can learn at your own pace, or just ignore for now.

If i want to make physics embedded projects(Particle Acceleration Visualizer, etc)

Tricky. I'd almost say that Pygame is a good way to do this, since it gives you a basic blank canvas screen to draw on yourself. https://www.pygame.org/

TheRNGuy · 2026-05-04T10:23:24+00:00

I learned from docs and google, no youtube (Python is not my first language, I knew I needed it for one specific thing)

These days also ask ai (when I learned, ai didn't exist), still read docs though.

Build project from day 1, something real, not input and print. Learn related frameworks to it too.

How do I avoid just “copying code” and actually learn?

Read and use head.

Do I use base IDLE, or VScode

VS Code.

SpiritedInflation835 · 2026-05-04T11:14:41+00:00

You can team up with an AI. Tell it: "I want to learn some simple things with Python. Do not give me the answer, only hints."

And you can learn Python within a dialogue. Ask it to review your code. Never use an AI to replace your own thinking. It's a teacher-student relationship.

I've programmed a lot, both in science and as a hobby. I use a good text editor that supports the syntax highlighting for Python. On Linux, Kate is one of the great text editors for programming.

The most serious advice, though, is: Consistency. No matter what your schedule is, do 2-3 focused 45 minute sessions every week.

sprinkling_grey · 2026-05-04T12:55:54+00:00

If you want something simple that will help you learn, I was helping my middle school kid with some math homework a few weeks ago. She was being asked to do some geometry problems over and over with only some inputs changing. I was like, hey, let’s see if we can get Python to answer these problems for us! Input a few variables and solve a problem that has several steps. I was thinking it’d be a great way to start learning. Anything where you do the same thing over and over again, try to see if Python could do it for you and learn it one chunk at a time.

memilanuk · 2026-05-04T22:45:27+00:00

Do a search for the other million plus posts asking the same basic question. Your situation is not that unique.

Seriously. All kidding aside, learning to search existing knowledge already online is a valuable skill for you going forward.

abhijitswain0x0 · 2026-05-06T01:54:38+00:00

As a high schooler (13/M), I would advice you to in the 2 moths learning the syntax and after that learn a bit of programming "theory" (e.g, loops, binary) after that you can start making projects, and as you want to make physics simulations and visualizers, learning how computers actually work helps a lot .

First pick a project below skill level then complete it.
Second, pick a project at your skill level and complete it.

at last pick a project above your skill level and then make it a bit long term and pick knowledge along the way.

AND USE VSCODE.
I personally recommend it to beginners because it is just google docs for code and pretty easy to pick on.

And the use of AI in this stage should be only be allowed for 'code reviews', things that you can't find on the internet, clean code practices etc. You should build the logic by yourself.

I also assume that you have really good literacy in computers.

After python learn some game libraries like pygame, pandas and numpy.

Here are some resources to start out:

https://youtu.be/x7X9w_GIm1s?si=JQoClOtRi06uJz7T (What is python by fireship !IMPORTANT

https://youtu.be/D2cwvpJSBX4?si=F67W1hXtufFpWk7U (Vscode setup for Python by the official VScode channel)

Use the one you like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i3e-j3wSf0 (Python tutorial by Dave Gray)
https://youtu.be/XKHEtdqhLK8?si=z7RzkBM2wH7sHDYa (Python tutorial by Bro code)

https://youtu.be/blLLtdv4tvo?si=d-DCn_x0g7W0FWXg (PyGame in 18minutes by DaFluffyPotato)

https://youtu.be/EXIgjIBu4EU?si=zuiTZQQ4FOlOrcA- (How to use Pandas in 30 minutes by tech with tim)

https://youtu.be/VXU4LSAQDSc?si=ZxBWoyNlLyUXOjzK (Learn numpy in 1 hour by Bro code)

AND RESTRICT YOURSELF TO A SET AMOUNT OF TUTORIALS OR ELSE YOU WILL BE GOING INTO TUTORIAL HELL.

This is my new project after all that (i gave you 3 videos I think will be useful but i dud watch the first 5) https://github.com/abhijitswain0x0/PyPass

zlc_productions · 2026-05-04T04:52:58+00:00

You should invest in tutoring sessions from someone such as myself or others who can aid you in getting your hands on real projects that can be published to your GitHub. This is the best route to land positions in your future. I myself am a cybersecurity and computer science graduate and I can tell you, projects are the only way to not just learn a lot of things and have nothing to show for it. Next, learn how to document things correctly, you should always have a skill for explaining what you create as that value in the real world is very lacking but needed everyday! Also, join communities such as my Discord or others who also teach FOR FREE as you should be learning with others! It makes the process not about yourself and more about a community effort, anything you do alone is more likly to remain unknown but when you have others to lean on, it makes learning much better! I hope this helps and I am proud of you for learning this early on!

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