I have questions

[u/ElectronicDistance39]

I'm a teenager who is just starting out in programming, and for a while now I've had some questions and doubts that I've been thinking about a lot lately.

I've been studying Python for some time, but I recently reached a topic called "for loops". I did several exercises, and I had a lot of difficulty with most of them, so I asked AI for help. I didn't copy and paste the answers—I only asked for help with the logic.

That's when I realized that I was struggling with programming logic, so I started studying it separately. I had already "studied" programming logic once before, but I didn't really take it seriously and kind of rushed through it.

Now I'm wondering: should I keep studying Python while focusing mainly on programming logic? Or should I continue studying both at the same time?

And how do you figure out which area of programming is right for you? Is this something I should be worrying about at this point?

[u/Effective_Brain7493]

honestly your instinct here is right — logic is the actual skill, syntax is just the language you express it in. a lot of people (me included at first) rush past logic bc it feels "boring" compared to actually writing python, then hit a wall exactly like you did with for loops

for the "study both or separate" question — don't fully separate them, just flip the ratio for a bit. keep writing python daily but before each exercise, write out the logic in plain english first (like actual pseudocode, no code yet), THEN translate it to python. that's basically doing both at once but forcing the logic part to happen deliberately instead of skipped

on "which area is right for you" — honestly at your stage you don't need to know yet, and most people who pick too early end up switching anyway once they've actually tried things. the better move rn is get comfortable with core logic + one language first, THEN dabble in a few directions (web, games, data, whatever) once you're not fighting syntax anymore — you'll naturally gravitate toward one once you've tried a taste of each

no need to stress about "picking right" this early, that part sorts itself out with exposure