Hello, 
I need a guidance 
total noob in programming ( hardware guy 
that want to take a shot with software development. How good of idea is to start with python? I saw part of Programming with Mosh and Corey Schafer Youtube tutorials, are there any good? Have a limited free time unless i can do it on my phone, English not first language. I understand is gonna take a couple of years at least.
Thank you for your time 
3 Likes
Python is a great language. Theres a lot of Youtube content to help learn. My learning style benefits from a book (learn python in XX days are common titles). If you are new to programming, it might be important to learn the lessons around what programming is made up of: basic input and output to screen, variables, selection (if statements), loops, functionsā¦ if you understand how to get an idea of something you want to program or script in psudocode using those building blocks, then the language you are using is just googling syntax.
Once you get more senior in using a language, the differences between languages really stand out. The libraries, the speed to process, the community around it. Python is great at all those things.
4 Likes
thank you
1 Like
ĀæHablĆ”s espaƱol? Python and C are my personal favorite languages. They are polar opposites in many ways though, so get good with one before doing the other. And Python is indeed a wonderful language to start programming in. I got access to a bunch of Python Books for really cheap on Humble Bundle. You might want to look into that, and yes Corey Schafer is great.
2 Likes
Just a small tip if youāre learning python to make a profit as a programmer
One way Iāve indirectly learned coding language is by learning how to use them for what I need at any given time and just expanding my knowledge as my need increases. That way I have an ever-evolving setup and a well-rounded knowledge base on what is practical rather than having spent most of my time dedicated to learning one language.
In other words Iāve been more successful in life by learning to do what is practical and needed on a daily basis to not only directly improve my quality of life but be able to create markets for myself to make money on a per-person basis, e.g. upgrading peopleās internet to corporate-grade at a competitive price to the geek squad, even de-googling their android phones and backing up their data etc. Easy $500-1000 every time with the right clients
1 Like
Iām sure thereās a point your trying to put across, ā¦ but geek squad? upgrading peopleās internet? whatās it got to do with software engineering/development?
Is this like when youāre studying to behind a food scientist, but moonlighting as line cook?
Why is it that I always get attacked for giving genuine heartfelt advice on this forum?
If you werenāt nitpicking my comment for being āon topicā (which it certainly is) you would have gotten my point.
For one, how can you even remotely compare computer science to cooking? Are you trying to humiliate me for my chosen line of work?
Your comment is more off topic than anyone else in this threadā¦
Also not all of us want to work for corporate shills 9 to 5 every day, you can do computer work on a per-person basis just like a specialized mechanic would make a good profit helping his friends out with repairs and making business connections.
Apologies. I was tired when writing this and didnāt understand what advice youāre giving, and way I phrased myself came out wrong.
I used to make money off of āIT supportā (selling hardware, setting up networks, maintaining servers doing one thing or another, making websites) while at high school and later while at university. Itās work, you negotiate work and pay, and youāre on the hook to deliver. Thereās opportunities for overlap with what youād do as a developer, but in practice itās close to zero.
Software development takes time and skill, and building skills takes time.
Any time youāre spending driving around clients, waiting on progress bars or right logs to appear is worth something but is not time youāre investing in your skills. Itās good experience but it wonāt make you a developer.
You need at least about third of your awake and focused hours to be dedicated to solving problems developing code to really learn from experience. You need between 10-25% to maintain and not degrade the skill set.
Itās good work experience to do āIT supportā / āsolution providingā but itās not the fastest way to become a great junior developer, IMHO.
Some combination of structured learning and opensource development if youāre lucky to find a good mentor in an existing opensource project is more efficient (assuming your life circumstances can afford you that kind of thing).
Edit: it might be fun to consider learning about databases and SQL and a small bit of HTML or JavaScript alongside Python. Web UIs are one of the cheapest ways to make basic UIs (from a cognitive load perspective), and a bit of SQL can help when building small apps or even big apps.
The first language you start with isnāt very important. It is far more important to determine why you are programming.
I started writing code when I was 15 (Apple Basic) because I wanted a game (yep, copying it out of a book and playing with the code), and have been slinging code professionally for more than 20 years. So to me Python is just another of a large number of languages with up sides and down sides.
So Iād suggest you find a reason to code first and then pick whichever language lends itself to that reason. And try to have fun, it helps a lot.