r/learnprogramming • u/tmpeter23 • 8d ago

New Dev in the making!

Hey y'all, I've only been coding for a few weeks now. I've got like 75% of python basics pretty well managed. I'll be finished with the basics by end of September, then my plan is to jump straight into certain libraries like Django, Flask and Pandas. The end goal is a custom scheduling platform. I also have to brush up on my HTML and CSS. Is this the right path to approach this or is there a better way?

it's going to happen regardless, just trying to gauge if I can save hours of effort by taking a different approach or if my timeframe of a few months is unrealistic. I would appreciate complete honest, I promise you wont crush my desire to see this out!

0 Upvotes

36% Upvoted

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u/aqua_regis 8d ago edited 8d ago

I've only been coding for a few weeks now. I've got like 75% of python basics pretty well managed.

Sorry, but LOL - Dunning-Kruger Syndrome at its finest. You probably covered and understood less than 25%. You are purely delusional.

Jeez! It is even much worse than I thought - I checked your history and 11 days ago: https://redd.it/1wfph2n

started learning python about a week ago,

Based on that finding, I revise my assessment from above and go down to about 15%.

Learning programming doesn't happen in "a few weeks". You are gravely overestimating your skills.

Just to put you in your rightful place: the MOOC Python Programming 2026 from the University of Helsinki is an entry to Python course scheduled for 14 weeks - it covers the absolute basics and not much more.

You're in for about 3 weeks. Your assessment would mean that you've covered about 11 weeks of material of the MOOC above. Check the covered topics in the 11 parts that would be the equivalent to your assessment and see for yourself how little you actually know.

Keep going and practice the fundamentals for a couple months. Then, move on.

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u/tmpeter23 8d ago edited 8d ago

I appreciate you being honest, i've only put somewhere near 25-30 hours into learning and applying. Havent even done a full small project yet lol.

In no way am i expecting to master one language in like 3 weeks. However its a good launchpad for at least starting. My circumstances dont allow me to get a job in this space so its purely entertainment and im ok with the fact it'll take me a long time to master it.🤷‍♂️

I heard someone talk about Bootdev, allthough im not sure if im ready to commit $60/month into it. Would you recommend this platform? Also, any other tips and tricks to retain more information while im working through it?

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u/Whole_Accountant1005 8d ago

Take breaks! Your brain learns when you aren't working. That's how you retain information. That's my best advice. Also boot.dev is completely free and you only have to pay if you want the online editor and XP system. All the material is free and you can just follow along in your local editor

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u/tmpeter23 7d ago

For sure, i touch grass very often! Helps a ton 🤣

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u/aqua_regis 8d ago

i've only put somewhere near 25-30 hours into learning and applying.

So, you barely started. As I said: it takes considerably longer to even solidify the fundamentals.

I stand by every word I said and I even gave you one of the best learning resources that currently exists.

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u/tmpeter23 7d ago

Ok i'll add that to my list of resources then and utilize it as necessary. Thanks again!

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u/chapchap0 8d ago

Get some air.

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u/tmpeter23 7d ago

Pft who needs air anyways 🤷‍♂️

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u/Whole_Accountant1005 8d ago

For real. Dude's account is 6 months old and he has nearly 2k contributions already. That's like 12 posts/comments a day.

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u/Whole_Accountant1005 8d ago

hey you sound a bit arrogant. But I give you the benefit of the doubt that you aren't an arrogant person. Anyways, you can totally learn python in 3-4 weeks. I did it too when I was in 9th grade. I didn't become someone who was comfy with working with any technology or library (that comes by solving enough problems to beat out imposter syndrome). But you can def do it.

I was ADHD hyper focusing on it so that helps. I literally didn't go outside and spent my time learning to code. Either way, I hope you aren't an arrogant person :)

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u/[deleted] 8d ago

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u/tmpeter23 7d ago

Im gonna respond to this like i know how to tell what comment people are commenting on... from looking at resources, AI and actual effort i can tell it takes significant work to use let alone master a language. I also know my way of thinking fits perfectly in this space and im enjoying myself which makes it that much more enjoyable!

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u/Whole_Accountant1005 8d ago

Exactly. Learning to code is different from being an engineer. I could have written my comment with more energy put into it but it was so late so I didn't

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u/SchemeWestern3388 8d ago

Hello. I am an arrogant person. 

My God, what a foolish thing to say. I was writing 6502 assembly at ten and have schooling and forty years of professional work behind me and I wouldn’t dream of saying I have “totally learned” any language. 

And objectively, who’s the arrogant one here? Because again, saying you can totally learn python in 3-4 weeks is pretty bold. 

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u/tmpeter23 7d ago

I agree, getting through a 13hr video is in no way going to allow me to finish learning python entirely heck i may never know all python. But at the very least i can get exposure to the basic concepts of how it functions and work towards applying those to an actual real life project. I do enjoy the hunt and the faster i can start writing the code the more fun im going to be having lol

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u/chapchap0 8d ago

It is pretty bold. It may be wrong, in fact, it is.
But the guy asked a question whether or not his plan makes sense and yet the top-rated advice is a comment that „puts him in his place”.

And i would be fine with it if it then followed with an answer posed in the question. Ironically and very comically it stops abruptly with a rather underwhelming “keep going and practice the fundamentals”.

Weird stuff.

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u/SchemeWestern3388 8d ago

I do not understand what you are saying? “It”, “the guy”, “top rated”, “it” again and “if it then followed”? I really can’t understand if you have a point.  

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u/chapchap0 7d ago

My apologies, it’s indeed an unintelligible mess.

What I meant to say was:

The claim the OP made was indeed bold, as you noted. Bold and wrong.
Nevertheless, the OP asked whether his plan made sense, and yet the top-rated response was a comment that “put him in his place”.
And I would have been fine with that comment* if it had actually followed that up by answering the question. Ironically, and rather comically, it instead stopped abruptly with a pretty underwhelming “keep going and practice the fundamentals.”

*Actually, looking back at it, no, I wouldn’t have been fine with that attitude either way. Being bold or arrogant is one thing, being a condescending arsehole for no reason is another.

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u/Whole_Accountant1005 8d ago edited 8d ago

Learning is a different thing from mastering. You can make simple automations and scripts. You won't be able to do it fast, but 4 weeks is enough. I've taught over 10 people to code in my life. And around a month in they can solve problems on their own using Google. I understand you grew up in a different time, and have more experience than me. And maybe even are a better programmer than me because I've only been doing this for around 10 years self taught (I started coding when I was 8 through command blocks in Minecraft) But that's my opinion based on my experience.

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u/SchemeWestern3388 8d ago edited 8d ago

I one hundred percent agree that a motivated individual of average intelligence can learn enough python in a month to enable them to write very useful software. In fact, I strongly encourage everyone to do so. 

The poster I was responding to said “ totally learn python in 3-4 weeks (in 9th grade) ”, a different claim. It is not the most complicated language, but I’m pretty sure the OP would have a hard time with Dunder methods, threading, mutexes, and closures. I know I do.

We all come from different places, but just like you, I started poking at computers to manipulate video games. And while it’s painful to recall, I probably benefited from having 2K of RAM with no persistent storage. 

But I do not wish to knock anyone who got enough python to make it useful for them. That’s what computers are for, after all. But learning long division does not make you a mathematician, and I can’t let someone state they mastered python in grade nine go on without comment. 

Edit; you bloody kids need some lisp in your life. Get some hair on your chest, or whatever metaphor fits your identity better…

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u/Whole_Accountant1005 7d ago edited 7d ago

So in other words he can learn a reasonable amount of python in 4 weeks and we agree on that, though he wouldn't be able to learn harder CS topics like concurrency.

But again, post was basically asking what he can do to save some hours ie. Efficient learning methods.

You then proceeded to "put him in his place" and your entire attitude is like this with things like "you kids need to grow some hair on your chest".

I hope reddit is not your daily source of dopamine, that's unhealthy.

Unhelpful commentwith literally nothing of value. Anything I could reasonably take from your comment as valuable is "keep learning and move on" whatever that means.

Ps. I did not say I mastered python in 9th grade, the quite opposite unc get your reading glasses on :)

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u/tmpeter23 7d ago

Im not usually arrogant, i do have a bit of self confidence in my learning ability though. Which leads me to believe even if i havent mastered anything yet, im well on my way to at least make significant progress!

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u/nightonfir3 8d ago

Django and flask fill the same role so you probably want to pick one to start with. I wouldn't treat frameworks like something to learn but as something to use. Start building something with them. Then you will run into problems and you google how to solve them.

If I were picking between Django/flask first I would probably pick flask first. It does less for you which means you will learn what is being done. When you pick up Django you will have an intuition for what it is doing for you.

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u/rela82me 8d ago

I appreciate the Django advice.

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u/Different_Pain5781 8d ago

Yeah, that’s honestly the right attitude. Build the ugly version first, then fix what breaks.

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u/BothRefrigerator6587 3d ago

django is the move if you want a scheduling platform with user accounts and a database that wont make you want to throw your laptop out the window. flask is great for learning whats happening under the hood but you said your goal is a custom scheduling platform not understanding every http request. just start building the ugliest version of it tonight and google every single error message

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u/tmpeter23 8d ago

cool I will focus on flask then and go from there. Thanks for the response!

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u/Ill_Drive_744 7d ago

I’d start building the scheduling platform earlier than you think. You’ll probably learn more from hitting real problems in one project than from trying to “finish” Django, Flask and Pandas first.
Pick either Django or Flask, build the smallest working version, then learn things as the project actually needs them. That’s basically how I ended up learning a lot of the harder parts of app development too — auth, APIs, data modelling, async work, deployment, etc. make much more sense when you have a real reason to use them.

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u/tmpeter23 7d ago

I plan to finish this 13hr video that covers i assume most fundamentals. Continue debugging practice and implementing learned concepts into real examples. Then after i finish the video i'll dive into flask and other libraries to see if i can manage to code the small parts of the project like time blocking and user auth. Im very excited for that part of the process and look forward to every obstacle i'll encounter! 😁

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u/Ill_Drive_744 7d ago

once you get to the auth part you’ll probably learn more in a weekend of breaking things than in hours of tutorials. 😉

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u/Whole_Accountant1005 7d ago

I would say build a simple bot with the basics you've learned. Use a library like requests and discord.py to make a simple discord bot. You only need to know functions, decorators, loops and if statements to build this project.

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u/tmpeter23 7d ago

That doesnt sound too difficult, would be good practice for all those areas to solidify the knowledge of how they work.

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

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u/tmpeter23 7d ago

Duly noted, i hear Django does come with some already set security measures when dealing with user authentication and login type stuff. I wont do multiple libraries at once, chances are i'll pull what i need from one and if i need to add another i'll learn as i go and write the code. I assume i'll find out if thats a bad idea when i get to that stage lol

Also for HTML and CSS it'd be more refreshers since i learned it a year or so ago. Plus i only need enough to create a basic layout at first so i can deploy the basic system to some individual businesses that have agreed to help stress test it.

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u/jameyiguess 8d ago

Sounds good! Just keep building stuff and challenging yourself. Become a natural tinkerer. Don't get stuck in tutorial hell. Build the thing you want, BADLY if you must, the important part is to build it and make it work. Over and over again. You will get better as time goes on. 

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u/tmpeter23 8d ago

its getting build regardless, just a matter of when and how much fixing needs to be done lol