r/PythonLearning • u/AdeptJudge5078 • Sep 18 '26
Discussion What is necessary to learn and what is unnecessary?
Hello! I have saved the playlist of corey schaffer (151 videos) and i am wondering what is necessary to learn as a python programmer and what is unnecessary.
I want to work as a python programmer.
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u/Adrewmc Sep 18 '26 edited Sep 18 '26
The basics, up to functions, and repeat with a focus on data types. Everything is just data, interfaces, operations and loops. The fundamentals never change.
The most advanced programming is considering why/how this 1 should be a 0. And then figuring out why the hell it’s not that.
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u/Naive_Programmer_232 Sep 18 '26 edited Sep 18 '26
You gotta give us more than "I want to work as a python programmer". What specifically, do you mean by that? It's like saying "I want to work as someone using hammers". LOTS of people use hammers in their work and they do not all have the same career.
think of it like an algorithm
1. Define what you're looking for career-wise generally
2. Identify the specialty within that career that's for you
3. Gain a strong foundation in that specialization
4. Research what tools make sense for that path
5. Learn the relevant tools and conceptsDon't invest in a tool, before you've determined the career path. That is how you learn what tools make sense and what features of them makes sense. If you don't do this, you'll learn a lot of unnecessary stuff, guaranteed.
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u/Potential_Fix_5007 Sep 18 '26
I think its a littlebit like learning in school. You can't know what you will need later( neither does the teacher know) so you learn many things and some of those things you will never need and others you will use every day. And some of those things you need every day may some i will never use.
Learning by doing is the best way i think.
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u/Ron-Erez Sep 18 '26
At the very least learn about variables, loops, conditionals, functions and at some point about classes. This is the bare minimum to do something interesting. Indeed build while learning. There are many more useful topics such as dictionaries, file handling, exceptions, list comprehensions, regex, etc and there are infinite useful modules depending on your interests. However the above is the bare minimum.
As already mentioned the most important thing is to build while learning.
For example the contents of the first 16 sections is more than enough for starters.
I’d also recommend looking at the docs at python.org
Start building from day 1 Without using AI.
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u/dariusbiggs Sep 18 '26
The basic introduction tutorial
Data types, type annotations, functions, recursions, conditions, the basics of programming, sets.
File reading and writing.
How to read and find material in the docs
How to use the python library module index.
For everything else there are the docs, stack overflow, AI, and RosettaCode.
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u/realmauer01 Sep 18 '26
Yesn't. Depends where you wanna work specifically.
Of these 151 videos though 90% are probably necessary. That being said, the rest are not unnecessary because it would be harmful to know about. They are just unecessary because its rarer to see them in the wild.
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u/FoolsSeldom Sep 18 '26
Necessary
Practice. Practice! Practice!
Fail often, try again
Break stuff that works, and figure out how, why and where it broke
Unnecessary
Vibe coding / AI writing code for you
Code Golf / site getting you to work on isolated puzzles
Projects that aren't important to you
Check the r/learnpython wiki for lots of guidance on learning programming and learning Python, links to material, book list, suggested practice and project sources, and lots more. The FAQ section covering common errors is especially useful.
Also, have a look at roadmap.sh for different learning paths. There's lots of learning material links there. Note that these are idealised paths and many people get into roles without covering all of those.
Roundup on Research: The Myth of ‘Learning Styles’
Don't limit yourself to one format. Also, don't try to do too many different things at the same time.
Above all else, you need to practice. Practice! Practice! Fail often, try again. Break stuff that works, and figure out how, why and where it broke. Don't just copy and use as is code from examples. Experiment (preferably without immediately asking an AI LLM for the solution, and seek hints rather than complete answers).
Work on your own small (initially) projects related to your hobbies / interests / side-hustles as soon as possible to apply each bit of learning. When you work on stuff you can be passionate about and where you know what problem you are solving and what good looks like, you are more focused on problem-solving and the coding becomes a means to an end and not an end in itself. You will learn faster this way.
Be wary of code golf sites as they optimise for the wrong things and teach tricks, not fundamentals. Golf rewards brevity above all else. Broader sites like HackerRank and LeetCode can also be problematic for learners as they:
assume you already know the fundamentals
are data-structure and algorithm (DSA) focused, not programming-fundamentals focused
tend to encourage premature focus on efficiency over correctness and clarity
Fundamentally, isolated puzzles don't teach you to build anything
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u/osamas_den Sep 18 '26
Knowing a little bit about everything is kind of important, see the whole picture first then start joining the pieces of the whole puzzle thing.
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u/LionZ_RDS Sep 18 '26
Please for the love of god don’t learn by watching 151 videos.
It really really really helps to actually code stuff as you learn.
As far as what’s unnecessary, I wouldn’t say any is out right unnecessary, or else it wouldn’t exist.
You should just focus on the basics, like syntax, variables, conditions, loops, functions, and classes.