How Long Does it Take to Learn Python? (Let’s find out)

What is Python?

Python is one of the most common language among programmers. A high-level language easy to implement and compatible with any operating system. i.e, Linux, windows or mac. 

It is mainly used in machine learning, data science and artificial intelligence.

Getting Started with Python

Python is currently the world’s #1 programming language and its popularity is growing every passing day, thanks to Data Science and Machine learning and awesome Python libraries like Pandas, NumPy, and TensorFlow. 

To learn any language, the basics are the same, written below are the topics, in order, to learn python.

1. Variables
2. Python Datatypes
3. Conditional statements
4. Operator Precedence
5. Loops
6. Nested loops.
7. Arrays.
8. Functions.

These are some of the topics one must go through and they form the fundamental language building blocks.

All these concepts are easy to grasp and can be very beneficial in logic building and professional programming practices. 

There are many available online resources to learn Python.

I’ll start by listing the free resources then I’ll also let you know my preferred choice towards the end of this article.

Without further ado, let’s get started.

5 Free Python Tutorial and Courses

1. Introduction to Python Programming

This is a free Udemy course, a quick and easy intro to Python Programming to get accustomed and familiar with Python and its syntax.

Requirements

• No programming experience is required!
• Access to a Computer or Laptop

What you will learn

• Program Python
• Know the basics of Python
• Write your own scripts and functions

Direct Course Link: Introduction to Python Programming

2. Python for Absolute Beginners

This course was designed for complete beginners with little to no understanding of programming and will give you the knowledge to get started coding using Python 3. 

Requirements

• Download Python 3 (open source)
• Download PyCharm (open source)

What you will learn

• Install Python on Windows, Mac, and Linux
• Run scripts in the interpreter
• Setup an IDE
• Understand programming basics
• Write functions & arguments
• Develop a calculator application

Direct Course Link: Python for Absolute Beginners

3. Learn Python for Total Beginners

This course teaches you the fundamentals of any programming language, with Python 3.6 and Anaconda 5.0.0 with Jupyter Notebook!

The course is suitable for those who are either completely new to programming or are coming from another programming language (R, JavaScript, etc) and are keen to get a solid grasp of using Python.

Requirements

• A PC or laptop with internet access

What you will learn

• What lists, tuples and dictionaries are, and how to use them
• How to apply control flow (logic) to code
• Handle errors
• Create and implement functions
• How to convert functions into lambdas
• How to convert for loops into list comprehension
• How to use for loops and while loops
• How to format strings
• Work with txt files

Direct Course Link: Learn Python for Total Beginners

4. Python for Everybody Specialization by Coursera 

This is the most popular and one of the best free Coursera courses on Python with over 1.3 million already enrolled learners and offered by the University of Michigan, one of the most significant academic institutions not just in the United States but in the world.

What you will learn 

• Install Python and write your first program
• Describe the basics of the Python programming language
• Use variables to store, retrieve and calculate information
• Utilize core programming tools such as functions and loops

Direct Course Link: Python for Everybody Specialization.

5. The Complete Python MasterClass (Learn Python from Scratch) 

This is a youtube playlist that has been specially designed to make it easy for the students to learn Python taking you from scratch to the level where you can build almost anything with it, be it a fully functional database-oriented web application or an automation tool.

This course will teach you Python right from scratch from a very basic level and will gradually move you towards more advanced topics.

This playlist currently contains 200 Python tutorial videos and it’s often updated by the instructor.

What you will learn

• Python Basics (Installation and setup)
• Beginner to Advance Python topics
• Popular Python Libraries like Django, Flask, Tkinter and Selenium.
• Also learn Data Analysis, Flask, Tkinter, OpenCV, Desktop App development with PostgreSQL & Web Scraping.

Direct Playlist Link: The Complete Python MasterClass

Our Preferred Learning Option for Python 

When starting out, I tried various multiple options for my personal use.

I also analyzed multiple course modules both free and paid resources to give readers of Website Hurdles the right recommendation.

From 322 reviewed courses, online tutorials and platforms, our very best point of call for learning Python is Complete Python Developer in 2022: Zero to Mastery Paid Udemy course by Andrei Neagoie.

Here’s what you’ll learn from the course.

What you’ll learn

• Become a professional Python Developer and get hired
• Master modern Python 3.10(latest) fundamentals as well as advanced topics
• Learn Object Oriented Programming
• Learn Function Programming
• Build 12+ real-world Python projects you can show off
• Learn how to use Python in Web Development
• Learn Machine Learning with Python
• Build a Machine Learning Model
• Learn Data Science – Analyze and Visualize Data
• Build a professional Portfolio Website
• Use Python to process: Images, CSVs, PDFs, and other Files
• Build a Web Scraper with Python and BeautifulSoup
• Use Python to send Emails and SMS
• Use Python to build a Twitter bot
• Learn to Test, Debug and Handle Errors in your Python programs
• Learn best practices to write clean, performant, and bug-free code
• Learn to use Selenium and Python in Automation
• Set up a professional workspace with Jupyter Notebooks, PyCharm, VS Code + more.

You just convinced me I could learn Python for free, why should I pay for this course?

You’re 100% right. But this is an option if you want everything in one place so you can focus on learning, extra help with your questions and want to be part of the best thriving community of thousands of students & developers who are also going through the same course and helping each other out every day.

This course is come in highly recommended because Andrei uses a unique learning approach and with well-produced, 333 lecture videos split under 25 sections, 56 articles, and 20 downloadable resources, the course takes beginners to advanced Python developers.

Thanks to Udemy, you can always get it at a very subsidized rate.

Python Learning Community

When learning Python from scratch, it might not be all that rosy regardless of how simplified the learning resource is so it’s advisable to have people you can fall to with your question and queries as you also learn to use the internet to find helpful answers.

If you purchase the Complete Python Developer in 2022: Zero to Mastery, you won’t have to worry about this because it has the best Python community I’ve seen in the programming learning space.

It employs the paired learning approach in the Discord Group where every student is required to introduce themselves, state what they are learning, and the timeframe they intend to complete the course.

Once this is done, they get to pair up with 1 or 2 partners on the same learning track and this serves as the individual’s accountability buddy, merge themselves into a group, tackle problems together and share what they’ve learned with themselves at the end of the day.

There’s also the active Python channel with well-to-do Python developers helping newbies tackle any advanced hurdles and disturbing queries.

This is an efficient way of learning Python for self-taught programmers

Regardless of the programming language, you are learning, I’d encourage you to always have an accountability buddy or coding mentor that you can always turn to for help as covered in our proven ways to learn coding faster guide.

After completing any Python course of your choice, what next?

Practice

“Practice makes a man perfect”.

In programming, practice has a lot of significance, if you do not practice what you’ve learned, you can never be a good python developer. 

4 ways to practice Python

1. Practice on websites with coding challenges

There are many websites that offer coding challenges in many languages like hackerRank which has helped over 16 billion developers from all over the world to learn multiple languages.

We also have leetCode which specifically helps with interview questions tailored towards landing quality jobs.

Here is a snippet of how it looks:

2. Seek Help from Google and Stack Overflow 

While coding, you definitely get stuck over small errors or warnings and there are times when you just don’t know what to do, and that’s where Google comes in handy.

Since python is an open-source language used by many developers, most of the recurring bugs and problems are solved and have solutions on the internet. 

One great platform is Stack Overflow it is a huge community of developers from around the world who help each other with coding problems, bugs and fixes. 

Most of the time you can find your problem either solved or discussed before, but if not you can ask questions and your queries can be answered.

3. Analyze Codes on the internet

Since python is practiced by many developers, a lot of codes are designed and written and can be found on Google, GitHub, and other websites.

You can analyze those to get an idea of solving complex coding challenges but remember, don’t fall into the habit of copying and pasting code from the internet without understanding the logic.

Get familiarized with Github.

Dedicate 4 – 6 months to learning and practice for 3 – 4 hours every day.

Don’t fall into tutorial hell – a state of watching tutorials repeatedly without trying projects on your own.

Start getting your hands dirty with projects just after learning the basics and try out the technology stacks learned.

At the end of the set timeframe, you’ll be surprised how much you’ve achieved.

You are Good to Go!

Followed the process listed above?, then you are good to go. 

If you wish to pursue your career as a Python developer, you can go for a Python based-interview as there are lots of job opportunities for Python developers.

You can also pick up other languages and extend your coding prowess.

Conclusion

For Python beginners, with no coding knowledge, it can take you 4 – 6 months to learn Python.

For Python beginners with very solid coding knowledge of another language, it can take you less than 2 months to learn Python.

This varies across individuals as everyone has a different assimilation rate.

Nevertheless, learning Python is largely dependent on the individual’s learning consistency and efficient practice.

There are various free python resources to get you started.

Our preferred learn Python learning resource is the Complete Python Developer in 2022: Zero to Mastery, a course by Andrei Neagoie.

Avoid tutorial hell by building projects with what you’ve learned and keep practicing.

Support Website Hurdles

Website Hurdles is readers supported.

If you find this content helpful, you can support me by buying me a cup of coffee.

Till we meet again on another article,

Happy Coding!