Learning Python from Scratch: instructions for beginners

Want to learn the Python programming language from scratch? We have collected 5 ways to learn Python for free and not only from scratch and for beginners.

In this article about the Python programming language, you will learn:

1. Why Python is the perfect first language for a novice developer
2. What does a Python developer do?
3. How to become a Python developer
4. What does an employer expect from a novice programmer
5. Who is suitable for learning Python with a personal mentor
6. Python Language Structure
7. How to start learning Python from scratch
8. Who studies at Solvery
9. Feedback from our students
10. Literature for beginners about Python
11. What you will get if you start learning Python in Solvery

Why is learning Python cool, easy, and promising?

Python is a simple language with a clear structure, in which there is nothing superfluous.

Versatility: Python is used to create web applications, software, games, as well as in scientific research and Data Science.

Many well-known products are written in Python: Civilization, World of Tanks, Battlefield, Eve Online, Django, Zope, and others. This means that the chance to get a job in large and successful companies is quite high.

What does a Python developer do?

A Python programmer can solve almost any task: create products, optimize business processes, or engage in Data Science. On average, a Python developer in Russia earns 100,000 rubles: from 50 to 150 thousand, depending on the qualification. In January 2021, 4,973 vacancies were opened in Russia for programmers who know Python. * according to the hh.ru data

Detailed data on the salary of a Python developer can be found in the Habr report for the first half of 2020 —

How to learn to be a Python developer

Graduate from the university
If you do not have a family and a mortgage yet, then this is a good start to your career. If you decide to get a “higher” education, then you need to understand two things:

1. You will have to learn a lot not only programming, but also many related and not so much things. Especially in the first years.
2. You will still need to gain additional experience and improve your hard skills to get a job. The university is a good base. But the most up-to-date knowledge can only be obtained at work, from practicing specialists.

Take programming courses on your own

A few important details about programming courses for beginners:

1. Do not choose short courses. The minimum length of the course with a deep immersion in the topic is six months.
2. Programming courses do not guarantee you employment. If the school promises something like this, most likely, you are being deceived. No one can guarantee that after training you will have a job.
3. Every week, dozens of similar online schools release students in batches who have completed the same courses. This makes it harder to find a job.
4. The main indicator of the quality of any education is the knowledge, skills and success of graduates. When you choose a school, consult with those who studied in it and became a novice programmer with its help.

Learn to be a novice programmer with a mentor

This is the easiest and fastest way to become a novice programmer. Mentor is your personal programming tutor. The main advantages: this is a person “in the market”, he practically solves the tasks that he will explain to you every day. The mentor understands what tools are really in demand in your programming direction.

Together with the mentor, you will create a curriculum. Usually this is 1-2 classes a week, where you ask questions and discuss the material you have completed. The mentor explains the places that you don’t understand. Our mentors will help you learn a new profession and become a novice developer. We have specialists in Python of the most successful companies: Google, Yandex, Sberbank, Mail.ru and others.

Study at corporate programming schools

There are not enough qualified novice programmers in the IT market, so large companies organize their own schools to prepare them. For example, School 21 from Sberbank, the Yandex Academy, the School of Programmers from HH.

Pros: high-quality education from market experts; proximity to the company, which means it is easier to get a job and become a novice programmer; networking; free education for future programmers.

Cons: most of these programming schools are offline, which means that you need to be physically present in a particular city, usually in Moscow. And to get into schools, you need to pass a complex selection of several stages, almost like entering a university.

Learn to be a novice programmer on your own

The cheapest way to become a programmer that suits everyone, regardless of their place of residence and financial situation. All the basic knowledge about programming is available on the Internet: video lectures, textbooks and articles.

The disadvantages are obvious — it’s longer and you need iron discipline. If you don’t understand something, it will be difficult to find someone to ask for advice.

What an employer expects from a Python developer

1. Knowledge of the language base and the ability to use it. You can read the Python database structures below.
2. A non-trivial portfolio that shows your strengths to your advantage.
3. Understanding the special algorithms that the employer uses in their product.

Who is suitable for learning Python with a mentor

For those who want to get into programming from scratch, because Python is the perfect language for a beginner, and learning with a mentor is the most effective option.

In Solvery, you can find mentors for junior, middle and senior developers who will help you deepen your knowledge and become a more popular and highly paid specialist.

For CTO, TeamLead, and other managers, you can choose a mentor, who will teach you how to manage teams using Python more effectively.

Structure of the Python programming language

1. Conditional constructions. Comparison operations
2. Introduction to Data Types and Loops
3. Cycles. Data types. Data collections
4. Functions — using the built-in and creating your own
5. Classes and their use in Python
6. Opening and reading a file, writing to a file
7. Working with different data formats
8. Working with the requests library, http requests
9. Working with classes using the VK API example
10. Implementation of the version control system
11. Work history and branches
12. Teamwork
13. Introduction to databases
14. Types of databases. SQL/NoSQL, PostgreSQL
15. Database design. Connections. 3NF
16. Select queries
17. Insert/update/delete queries
18. Python and databases. ORM
19. Modules, packages, and imports in Python
20. Iterators, generator
21. Decorators
22. Test development
23. Regular expressions
24. Web scraping
25. Preparing for interviews

How to start learning Python

1. Select a mentor
   from the Python specialists directory. If you do not know who to choose, then click on the “Choose a mentor” button. Your personal manager will choose a specialist who is perfect for you.
2. Choose the time of the test call.
   During it, you will get acquainted with the mentor in 15-30 minutes, discuss the tasks you want to solve together, and make the first training plan. The test call is completely free. If for some reason you don’t like the mentor, we will find another mentor for you. It’s also free.
3. Select the date and time of the first class.

Our students

In Solvery, children from 17 to 63 years old, from more than 20 countries, are engaged. At the moment, the platform has already hosted 2000 training hours, which were attended by more than 600 students and 200+ mentors. Our graduates work in large companies and startups, such as Google, JetBrains, SberBank, Tinkoff and other IT giants.

Feedback

Dmitry Chernov, figured out the structure of Redux with Oleg Korovin:
Based on the lessons with Oleg, I can say with confidence that he is a highly qualified specialist in his field, thoroughly and clearly conveys information, answers all questions of interest. I really like working with him. I took an extra week of training. I highly recommend it.

Ivan Kobzev, improved his ML knowledge with Sergey Menshov:
The task was this: You need to master the skills in the field of machine learning. The initial level of python programming. I am interested in tensorflow and pytorch frameworks. Priority to the last one. The specific task at the moment is to apply the image classifier on your sample.

Classes went well. We discussed a lot in the format of correspondence, and two hours of communication was what we needed at the end of classes?. Sergey is an expert in his field, it was very useful

You can read more feedback here.

Literature about learning Python for beginners and other cheat sheets

• Eric Mathis. Learning Python. Game programming, data visualization, web applications
• Bill Lubanovich. Simple Python. Modern programming style
• Mark Lutz. Learning Python
• Starting to Program in Python, Tonny Gaddis, 2019, 4th Edition
• Programming in Python, Michael Dawson
• HyperSkills is an online Python problem book. The cases from there are perfect for your portfolio

What you will get when you start learning Python in Solvery

• personal mentor
• personal manager
• feedback from the mentor
• homework with checking and analyzing errors
• own learning rate
• cool projects in your portfolio
• recording classes

If you want to become the best in your profession, learn from the best Python-specialists!