“Is Python Programming Too Complex for Me as a Beginner or Am I Just Overwhelmed? How Can I Improve my Learning Approach to Succeed?”
#PythonProgramming #Beginner #LearningApproach #Coding #SelfTaught #Creativity #MusicSchool #ProblemSolving #HighSchoolMath #TutorialConfusion
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Introduction
Hi everyone,
Are you considering getting into programming, particularly Python, but feeling overwhelmed by the complexity? You’re not alone! Let’s explore how to address these challenges.
Background
- Self-taught in graphic design, video editing, and extreme vocal music.
- Eager to learn, solve problems, and create.
- Struggling with complex topics like music theory and math in the past.
Current Situation
After watching a tutorial on YouTube, feeling like the information isn’t sticking, and worrying about being too unintelligent for programming.
Help Needed
How can I adjust my learning approach to overcome these challenges and succeed in Python programming?
Thanks for your valuable input!
I recommend written tutorials instead of hour-long slogs on YT.
General recommendations for Python are https://programming-24.mooc.fi/ or books like Automate the Boring Stuff, or a Byte of Python, and so on.
There are many free online courses at places lit coursera that can help you get started. I was the same way a few years ago. Completely self taught. I am now active in the Open source community contributing to projects with bug fixes and adding new features. But to get there it took serious effort and time. It takes time to learn the basics, then intermediate level. The whole time you should be practicing and using what you are learning.
It was both incredibly hard and frustrating learning the way I did. The online classes let me feel like I was actually learning something. But the biggest advance after all of that was simply to spend a year working on my own project.
After that I went and started looking at the open source community and what interested me. I found a smallish project with less than 10 active developers who were supported by a much larger organization that were happy to have a brand new developer just jump in and start contributing. They were supportive and to this day are still very nice and I have learned so much more by helping others and working a few times on shared projects.
Learn by making projects. Start out with looking at some tutorials, and maybe just modifying their code to see how it works. Once you get past the first part, it gets much easier
Boot.dev is great for getting started
Ok, you just started python yesterday, right?? If that’s right, I’m going to let you know I’m self learning and have been at it for over a year. There are still days where I’m like “wtf am I doing??” You will not just know it after one try. This is a field where you will be humbled, a A lot. It’s hard. Hard hard. But it takes time and dedication to get to a level of comfort. If you’re looking for a field where things just click and you can do it right the first try or first few tries, this isn’t for you. It requires a lot of grit and patience. And like I said, you will be knocked down several times.
Dude, you’re a self-taught graphic designer, video editor, and extreme vocalist – you’re not stupid! You just need to find a learning style that works for you. Try breaking tutorials into smaller chunks, take notes, and practice regularly. You got this!
Um. You haven’t really started yet.
One hour?
I teach programming for a living, and my beginner class involves about 30 hours of video, and at least an hour of practice for each hour of video. That’s just to get the foundation down. (Though to make it interesting I include some game programming.)
My students (at least the ones who stick it out) learn to program. At least they learn the essential parts of it. I’m still learning programming and I’ve been doing it professionally for 35 years. You will not finish in an hour. Or a year. But you will learn how to do new things continuously if you’re willing to be humble and work hard.
You don’t get NBA contracts by watching basketball games. You have to practice. A lot. And you’re going to stink at first. But if you keep working at it, you will get better. Learning programming, art or music, or anything hard is like this. You’re going to have to suck it up when you feel stupid, and you’re going to have to try to work through all the self-doubt. You know this from your music background, I expect.
This is why actual classes are good. A good teacher knows what NOT to teach yet. A good class gives you just enough to start with that you can have some kind of success, then the next project builds on that with just one or two more little new ideas. And a good teacher will hold you accountable, reinforcing you when you learn well, and gently kicking your butt when you aren’t progressing. We have this mythology that self-teaching programming is the best way to go. It’s really not for everyone. In fact, it’s not for many people. Take a class. Even one on Udemy or something. Better yet, sign up for a programming class at a community college or online university.
Are you too stupid? In many years of teaching, I don’t know that I’ve ever met anybody who can function in life but is just too slow to learn programming. I have met plenty of people who don’t have the internal discipline to keep going when it gets hard, or the humility to ask for help when they need it. Again, since you’ve taught yourself other things, you have shown you can do it. But expecting to learn programming in an hour is ridiculous.
DM me if you want the youtube link to my classes online. I don’t monetize or anything, but if you want to see my class, you can have it.
Edit – spelling
I really hate python. Trying to use python, for me, looks like a lot of unnecessary barriers to doing the low level stuff I want to do
Unless you want to do the things each class/library is explicitly designed to to, I’d avoid python.
What kinds of things do you want to do?
> yesterday I finally decided to get started with learning Python.
> I watched and hour long tutorial on YT
Are you trolling us?
Programming is so conceptually difficult that a YouTube tutorial cannot start you on the basics. You need a book or a class, and dedicated experimentation/practice time with every new concept.
Once you’ve got a concept you’ve got it, but it’s a tough ramp up.
I’m always surprised by the posts on this sub expecting it to be easy. Like, can you learn calculus from a YouTube tutorial lol? Calculus is learnable, but not like that.
I studied music too, and I’m now studying computer science. Think about when you started to learn to read and play music. For me It was a slow tedious process at the beginning but when I started to form those neural pathways my development snowballed. then I hit a plateau and had to rinse and repeat, and the best part is that it will never end. Your progress is really about the hours you put in doing quality practice. I really started to see the music connection when I started to push past my first plateau in programming/comp sci – your brain is a muscle and it just needs to be put through its paces. 10 000 hour rule applies here. When you are starting t you need to be forgiving and just go through the motions slowly and deliberately, and just be ok with the fact that is where you are with the process. then you won’t be wasting time worrying about if you are good enough are not, because that mentality is a trap that leads to wasted time and mental self-sabotage.
Since you’re already a graphic designer maybe an alternative route to programming is a better fit.
Front end Webdesign
Html css and then into javascript.
Html and css are very visual orientated and require very little code to get stuff on screen. Make some basic static webpages and once you get the feel that go on to DOM scripting with javascript. That should cover the very basics of programming with clear goals.
Maybe try out the cherno, hes good with c++ if u also wanna try that out. Also, doing projects is the best way to learn. Start simple, the go up in complexity
It’s totally normal to feel this way for weeks & even months of practicing daily.
Programming is hard. And requires a completely new way of thinking about things.
Your first hour in is rough. So will the first few months.
I spent 8 hours a day for 3 months before I was able to even attempt anything that didn’t require copying.
Sorry about how youre feeling, man. Just practice a. lot.
You’ll get over it, I think its just a funk. Youre gonna be okay 🙂
Bro honestly, it’s like learning a new topic in math. It won’t stick first but when you start playing with it something will happen 😏
Check out [codedex.io](https://codedex.io)
Learning happens while making mistakes and exploring possible solutions.
Follow along tutorials aren’t the right way to learn anything you expect to apply independently in novel scenarios. A recipe, for example, can be tutorialized, because you don’t need to deviate from the recipe.
Learning any complicated skill, like graphic design, entails exceeding the boundaries of the tutorial you might use to learn a tool or style approach. If you reflect back on your self teaching, what was successful? I predict seeing something done, then running with it beyond the scope of the tutorial.
That means finding a resources that explains the tool, but doesn’t just give you code to follow along with, so that You’re forced to carry the ball. If someone shows you how to print a sentence, can you print off ten quotes you like?
Can you extend that use a format string and a name variable to print messages to whatever friends you name?
Once you can do that, you move to the next thing, but as you learn the next thing, integrate the previous skill. Anytime you’re tasked with an exercise, do it, then expand on it with what else you know.
Also, look at picking up a used book on eBay or something. You’ll go slower but you’ll pick more up. I got a copy of the python crash course for $14 and it was here in like three days.