Learning

Post #5 Learning by oneself

Learning by yourself can be difficult. When you're stuck, google is your friend and stackoverflow helps if you understand some of the words. I've gone through most of the basic things to know in Python from the Python crash course book. So far, I think I understand how to make a function or class, but I don't truly know how to use a function or class in a program. Probably better to make a program and play around with classes and functions. There is a rock-paper-scissors game that I previously made awhile back before I knew what a function and method was and it may be a good time to see if I can update that program.

I've also tried Newbie PyBites that came with a Humble Bundle python bundle and was able to breeze through them as they were the basically the same things I've learned. However, when I tried the next level of exercises, I was stuck on how to manipulate an array of numbers and how to split a string into a list. Considering it was just a "crash course," I should've known there would be gaps in my knowledge. I've also had the same problem when using hackerrank.com. It is another similar website that has multiple exercises.

I knew the crash course would get me as far as it can, but I do need to figure out where to go from here. One of the options I'm currently looking at is a book called "The Self-Taught Programmer" by Cory Althoff. It says it is designed for people who want to self-teach themselves and small curriculum is already made that I may just follow. I'm very sure there will be parts that I can just skim through as I've gone through it in the crash course book. There are chapters I am interested in such as chapter 6 which covers string manipulation.

The other "syllabus" I've been eyeing is from a reddit post in r/learnprogramming by u/TravisJungroth. r/learnprogramming has been a good resource, but it does get me worried on how some other people on the subreddit had problems with bootcamps or just plain motivation problems. The success stories also show it ain't easy to get what you want and may take 2 to 3 years to get a job lined up.

Anyway, the syllabus I looked at is the following in the following subreddit page

The syllabus is extensive and detailed which I and many others appreiciate. It does recommend Mastering Pycharm which is probably a good thing to go through as I know just how to write a code in it and run it. I don't know how the IDE can help make my life easier or know the tricks like in Microsoft Word or Excel. It will be beneficial to master it in the long run.

Either path seems good at the moment and I think I can try them concurrently so that I get the best out of both. It will mean it will take more time and I may be stuck in tutorial hell, but I think there is enough resources out there to get me through.