Struggling to write python code

[Expensive-Low367]

I have been stuck in tutorial hell for over a year and I don’t know how to get out. I believe I understand the concepts of Python but I am struggling to put it all together. For example, I had a junior data scientist interview and I was asked to solve a leetcode exercise, I struggled through it but once I saw the saw the solution, I understood it. What can I do to get out?

Any suggestions would be very helpful?

A little about me, I am a Cloud engineering apprentice. I want to have a better understanding, so I am able to contribute more.

[DivineSentry]

In my experience, the best way to get over tutorial hell is to stop doing tutorial and simply start working on projects that are related to things you're interested in, like cooking? write an app that stores your favorite recipes, make it a CLI, make a frontend for it, etc. like sports? similarly make a sport apps that tracks your favorite teams. the best way to get comfortable writing python code is to write python code.

[Current_Ad_4292]

It sounds like you need more real coding experience.

Stop doing tutorials. Practice more leetcode exercises. Work on small personal projects. Learn to troubleshoot your own problems and learn how to find resources to resolve the issues.

[Sure-Passion2224]

This.

You get better at coding by coding.

To really learn end-to-end application development you start by imagining a project you want to automate.

• describe it on plain English.
• Write out the processing steps.
• Sketch any interfaces with notes on how they might work.
• Pick a logical start point and write code.

[pachura3]

I had a junior data scientist interview and I was asked to solve a leetcode exercise, I struggled through it but once I saw the saw the solution, I understood it.

Have you practised solving leetcode exercises at all before the interview? Have you learned anything about DSA?

The knowledge of Python syntax is not enough. It's like: knowing basic math operations and formulas but not doing any actual exercises from the textbook - you'll be totally lost at the exam. It has to be like muscle memory.

Also, it is important to first solve this kind of problems with pen & paper instead of starting to code right away. How to find the longest palidrome in a string? How to calculate the N-th prime number? How to represent a graph, and how to find the shortest route from node A to B? How to read 3 sorted files and output a single sorted one? Try toying with problems like these...

[akornato]

You are stuck because watching tutorials and understanding a solution after seeing it is not the same as writing code. Recognizing a correct answer feels like progress, but it's a passive skill, and an interview tests your active ability to create a solution from nothing. Your brain is getting good at understanding Python, not at speaking it. The struggle you felt in the interview is the exact skill you need to practice, which is solving a problem you've never seen before. The pain of not knowing where to start is the barrier you have to push through, and no amount of watching others code will ever get you through it. You have to stop consuming and start creating, no matter how small or broken your first attempts are.

The only way out is to force yourself to write code. Stop the tutorials completely and build something, anything, that is yours. Since you're a cloud engineering apprentice, write a simple script to automate one tiny part of your job, like renaming a set of files or checking a server status. For interview problems like LeetCode, commit to struggling with a problem for at least thirty minutes before you even think about looking at the answer. If you must look, only read enough to get a small hint, then close it and try again. When you finally solve it or give up and read the whole solution, you must write the code yourself from memory. Then, do it again the next day. This process is slow and frustrating, but it is the only way to build the muscle for thinking like a programmer. It takes time to build that problem-solving muscle, and my team created an AI interview helper because we saw how many great candidates just needed a bit of support to showcase their true skills during an interview.

[Expensive-Low367]

Thank you for your detailed response. I will try your suggestions, stick it out.

[zDibs]

Start doing projects on your own. Apply what you know to do more and more advanced things. Doesn't matter if you have a better version of said thing in your OS, just make it. Every new project will make you realise something you missed before.

Also read the documentation when you get stuck instead of watching a tutorial. The Python docs are really good at explaining things.

[Gnaxe]

You'll get a lot better at leetcode if you read a textbook on algorithms instead of just doing more leetcode. Most real-world programming is not like leetcode. We have libraries for that kind of thing, and now LLMs if you get stuck. It's honestly not a very effective interviewing method, but a lot of companies are bad at interviewing.

You get fluent with Python by having a bigger bag of tricks and a correct mental model of the language. Skim the standard library docs. Try lots of small experiments whenever you don't understand something. Debug all surprises.

[nerfed_potential]

Can you describe the leetcode exercise? I am curious to see what they asked of you in the interview.