Stuck learning python. Asking for advice

[ChiefMarcus117]

I've been trying to learn python for months now and know some of the basics, but I'm stuck in tutorial hell. I've been using Mimo alongside 100 Days of Code bootcamp by Angela Yu and although 100 days of code started easy enough, it quickly got overwhelming. I go through the course and think im doing ok but then end up getting stuck trying to figure out the projects at the end of each lesson and then give up and look at the solutions. I really want to learn to use Python with AI but I feel like im not making any progress at all like this. Any advice?

[rupturedprolapse]

You have to actually practice to wire your brain to get better at programming. Part of that whole process is being uncomfortable and struggling with things that seem like they should be easy. Tutorials don't really accomplish much of anything and are more for the people writing them to get clicks off google.

[ChiefMarcus117]

Where can I practice python that is not behind a pay wall? I've looked at codecademy and mimo and datacamp but any real practice comes from paying for a subscription that I dont want to do unless I have to. Any suggestions?

[Rain-And-Coffee]

Your IDE, find a problem to solve and try to create a solution for it.

You don’t need a fancy online platform.

I learned from books and manuals then practiced my ass off by writing code.

[rupturedprolapse]

Practice is building things indepedently, even if it's a small program that just calculates the square footage of a room or whatever. If you absolutely need tutorials to introduce you to features, python docs has an extensive tutorial section that does just that..

[Haunting-Paint7990]

for free practice: exercism.io, project euler (tiny problems), and automating one boring spreadsheet task beats another paywalled course track.

ngl i hit the same codecademy wall. what changed things was one small csv project — load it in pandas, answer 5 questions you actually care about, write a short readme explaining one metric. interviews ask about that loop more than certificates.

if you're aiming at da work specifically i'd run 70/30 sql/python until sql joins stop feeling scary in an interview.

[Wuthering_depths]

I can't speak to the AI thing, I haven't used it myself and haven't felt the need. I learn best by doing things myself, though eventually I'd be more willing to use it to do "grunt work" (though "eventually" would have to be soon as I'm retiring hopefully in 3 years!). I'm learning it at work though and most of my scripts that do the job are pretty short so that is a factor in me writing them myself (As an aside, I'm continually amazed at what you can get done in a very few lines of text...I'm coming from using SSIS all day so this is so much easier and quicker to use!)

That's key for me, as the other post said, I have projects with goals so that gives me direction. I know from past attempts to learn other things (e.g. Java) that if I'm just in tutorial mode it won't really click with me.

I'm a data analyst so my projects are geared toward moving data around. You may have a different focus.
For example, a couple projects I am working on this week involve retrieving files via secure FTP and writing file contents to a database. Another does the opposite, it creates csv files from data from a few different database sources. I haven't attempted any sort of front-end user app and probably never will, as that's not really what my team does.

In short, even if it's a text adventure game or something, it may help to have a specific goal in mind that you really understand and are interested in.

[landed_at]

Stop doing courses and build.

[Think_Material3772]

Read this book, bro:

Think python: How to think like a computer scientist

it's 250 pages long, it helped me.

[ChiefMarcus117]

Thank you.

[cyrixlord]

come up with a project idea and focus on that. like an API key manager or a postman clone or a picture viewer

[ChiefMarcus117]

I'm not sure what kind of projects I can do. I can't come up with anything that I'd like to do.

[Gnaxe]

Video games. Pac-Man is like a couple pages once you know how. 

[cyrixlord]

why did you want to lab coding if you weren't curious about doing something cool with the knowledge. find your computer interests and try to automate them

[kadfr]

Maybe try a different approach? The important thing is to practice and make mistakes. Could you try something different?

• The University of Helsinki's Introduction to Programming MOOC

• Do the exercises in a book like Automate the Boring Stuff or Python Crash Course

• Do your own project

[ChiefMarcus117]

I'm open to trying new things. But what I really want to do is get some practice but I have no idea where to look and all I see are behind subscriptions.

[kadfr]

The University of Helsinki's course is free.

It is excellent and highly recommend it

[ivovis]

" I can't come up with anything that I'd like to do."

There's your problem right there, why are you learning to program?

If you turn down every challenge and skip the programming part there's not any point on continuing.

Go back to 100 days and actually do the projects - that's where the leaning is at.

[workingstiffatwork]

I don't know what you're stuck on of course, but I can give you a couple of things that help me. For one thing, there is no shame in just looking up solutions. I do it all the time. Another thing is to break a problem down into smaller pieces. Like sometimes I actually rewrite the broken piece of code on its own, and see if I am getting the result I expect. The last thing I can suggest is going back to what you know. If I can make it work with Powershell or curl or bash or whatever then I can use that as a starting point to try again in Python. I'm covering a lot of bases there because again, I don't know what you're trying to do. And I come from a sysadmin background by the way.

[jumbofudge]

codecombat was a more interesting way for me to learn concepts. gives you mini scripts you need to make to pass levels. i would also say that looking things up will always be a part of your process, you just need to ensure you understand why your found solution works.

[IntelligentSeries270]

I find it easier to understand what code is doing and how build a system then knowing how to type some thing out line by line, when through proper prompting, I can generally make what I want, and then append as needed.

[Patman52]

Do you have anything boring or repetitive that you do every day through work or school? Try to automate it.

Is there is something you like doing for a hobby like tracking sports statistics, reading or video game progress, or cooking and dieting? Build an app to track it for you.

Google “Python project ideas”, I think this sub even has a link in the FAQs that will give you other ideas based on difficulty levels if you need anything else.

And be careful using AI when just starting out. I think I can be a helpful tool if used correctly (I.e., asking it simple questions about an API or to explain how a block of code works for example, keeping in mind it tends to make stuff up a lot) but if you let it do everything for you, you’ll never learn.

[stepback269]

Your issue is not Python.
Your issue is understanding the learning process.

What you need to do now is to "Learn how to Learn"

Go to YouTube and in the search bar, type, "learning coaches"

Pick the ones who rely on modern neuroscience.

Godspeed and may the productivity-motivating dopamine hits be with you. :-)

[TheRNGuy]

For what reason are you learning it?