Python: Where to get Started

I get asked where to start a lot from friends and coworkers. If you're in college or some other kind of training course that's fantastic, but some of us have full time jobs and just don't have the time or energy and want to learn on our own time.

Python Automate the Boring Stuff is a fantastic starting point. The author Al Sweigart does a fantastic job explain the basics and where to go from there. He gives you simple problems that you would actually run into in the real world. From there he guides you through as you complete them. The book itself is fantastic and is available for free from his website. If you want an actual book or an Ebook it is available for purchase. If a book is not your style you can opt in for the same path that I did by purchasing his course at Udemy. If the link no longer works check in from his website linked at the top. The link provided has an 80% discount applied you can find the coupon code on his website at the time of this post. It is not a referral link.

If you want some additional work you can always try Code Academy as well. I've worked through their material and it gets the job done. It has a bunch of interactive lessons for you to practice on, but the real world scenarios are not as plentiful. It definitely helps while learning the syntax of Python. Which in my by far my favorite syntax so far. It just makes sense.

Once you get through one of these you can then start thinking of which path you want to focus next on. Python has many uses and picking something that is interesting to you is important to stick with it. If you don't enjoy it the motivation to continue will decline and you may just end up quiting.

Find projects you enjoy and you'll learn more and continue on your journey.